Stewart Mandel: A Q&A With Sports Illustrated Writer

One Great Season is marking its one-year anniversary this week with interviews of several sports media personalities. Today's subject is Sports Illustrated college football writer Stewart Mandel. Feel free to suggest future interview subjects by clicking here.

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

One Great Season: Which conference's Media Days will you be covering?
Stewart Mandel: The Big Ten, and then the PAC 10 tour event here in New York. In general over the past few years, the conference media days have become less and less useful. They used to be a great opportunity to get some quality time with coaches and players for your preview stories. But the SEC, for example, has become such a circus nowadays. More people are covering it as an event unto itself. I used to go to ACC media days at a country club, and the public didn't even know it was going on. Now, people are live-blogging from every conference's media days. For (national writers) working on trend pieces or features, you can't get anything exclusive so it's not even worth it to go anymore.

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Joe Schad: A Q&A With ESPN Reporter

One Great Season is marking its one-year anniversary this week with interviews of several sports media personalities. Today's subject is ESPN college football reporter Joe Schad, who does in-studio work as well as sideline reporting for the Worldwide Leader. Feel free to suggest future interview subjects by clicking here.

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

One Great Season: You've covered the NFL and both major college sports. It seems you've found a home with college football. What is it that you love so much about it?
Joe Schad: A lot of people would ask, "How did a guy from Queens, New York, end up covering college football for the biggest sports media entity in the world?"

It goes back to when the Orlando Sentinel sent me up to Gainesville. It was the first Division I game I ever attended. It was Florida vs. Florida State at The Swamp and it really opened my eyes. It was great to see 100,000 people descend upon one stadium, make a lot of noise and really cheer on a bunch of 18-to-21-year-old kids. There are many things about pro sports that are great, but they don't have the rivalries, traditions or the pageantry of college football.

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College Football Preview: Early Edition

Tide To Roll To Another National Championship

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

The One Great Season crew is en route to Louisville to give you some boots-on-the-ground Kentucky Derby coverage the next two weeks, but I wanted to leave you with one non-horse piece before I spend all day traveling Wednesday.

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Herewith, a quick-and-dirty OGS 2010 College Football preview. Enjoy:

TOP 10

1. Alabama: Defending champs could be as dangerous on offense as they were last season on defense.
2. Boise State: Twenty-one of 22 starters returning from a 14-0 team.
3. Ohio State: Loaded with talent once again, and Terrelle Pryor looks ready to be a complete quarterback.
4. Texas: By September, quarterback Garrett Gilbert will have had eight months to build off an impressive emergency appearance in the national title game.
5. Iowa: If the Hawkeyes can go a full season without losing a starting running back, they'll contend in an improving Big Ten.
6. Florida: Whether Urban Meyer is on the sideline, in the booth or at home on a couch, the Gators will win the SEC East once again.
7. Nebraska: Despite the loss of one of the sport's most dominant defensive players in recent memory, Ndamukong Suh, Bo Pelini has the 'Huskers headed back to elite status.
8. Virginia Tech: Ryan Williams will carry the Hokies in an ACC that will be slightly better than mediocre once again.
9. Wisconsin: The burly Badgers looked impresssive in beating speedy Miami in the Champs Sports Bowl, and Bret Bielema's squad appears capable of earning a BCS bid.
10. Oregon: The Ducks seemed a Top 3 lock until quarterback Jeremiah Masoli was suspended, but LaMichael James will keep them screaming in Eugene.

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS

ACC: Virginia Tech

Big East: Pittsburgh

Big 10: Ohio State

Big 12: Texas

Mountain West: TCU

PAC 10: Oregon

SEC: Alabama

WAC: Boise State

HEISMAN WATCH

+ Mark Ingram, RB, Alabama: Sharing carries with Trent Richardson could hamper the reigning Heisman winner's bid to repeat.

+ Dion Lewis, RB, Pittsburgh: I saw Lewis in person last year and this youngster is legit. He'll run behind an experienced offensive line in 2010 and will be a candidate all season.

+ Ryan Mallett, QB, Arkansas: Mallett will post gaudy stats like Brian Brohm once did under offensive genius Bobby Petrino.

+ Kellen Moore, QB, Boise State: All he does is put up sick numbers, and that trend will continue in 2010.

+ Terrelle Pryor, QB, Ohio State: I saw him play twice in person last year, but it was the Rose Bowl we all saw on television in January that convinced us he's ready to sit at the grown-ups' table.

TOP SEPTEMBER GAMES

+ Sept. 6, Boise State at Virginia Tech: The Broncos will take their Top 2 or 3 preseason ranking three time zones away to Maryland in their most important game of the year.

+ Sept. 11, Penn State at Alabama: Finally, a regular-season matchup between heavies from the Big 10 and SEC.

+ Sept. 11, Miami at Ohio State: Quarterbacks Jacory Harris and Terrelle Pryor lead their teams into an early season matchup of Heisman Trophy hopefuls.

+ Sept. 25, Oklahoma at Cincinnati: Likely Top 20 teams will meet at Paul Brown Stadium. OU will try to return to greatness, while UC hopes to prove it can win without Brian Kelly.

+ Sept. 25, West Virginia at LSU: The SEC is certainly superior to the Big East, but I could see the Mountaineers stealing one in Death Valley.

BCS PREVIEW

+ Rose Bowl: Iowa defeats Oregon

+ Fiesta Bowl: Boise State defeats Nebraska

+ Orange Bowl: Pittsburgh defeats Virginia Tech

+ Sugar Bowl: Texas defeats Florida

+ BCS Championship Game: Alabama defeats Ohio State