It isn't too hard to figure out where to start talking when it comes to the SEC.

It seems like it only takes a minute before there is a new sound bite or headline featuring the new head coach at Tennessee, Lane Kiffin.

If it isn't about his recruiting violations it is about something he has said or the way he has responded to something said about him.

I think he has rubbed at least three different SEC coaches in a bad way.

Each and every game for Tennessee next season will be more interesting just to see what will come out of his mouth in the pre and post game press conferences.

I think the college football nation is in a pretty solid agreement that the team to beat next season will be the Florida Gators. The defending National Champions are returning arguably the best quarterback in the game today, Tim Tebow.

Tebow has two SEC titles, two National Championships, was the first ever sophomore to win the Heisman trophy. He has also brought home such trophies as the Maxwell Award, the Davey O'Brien Award and the James E. Sullivan Award.

Florida will be the early favorite to take the SEC and a place in the National Championship game. Their biggest threat in the East is likely to be Georgia again.

Usually these two, along with Tennessee, are the constant contenders for the East. With Tennessee coming off a very down year, along with a new coaching staff, I have to believe they will not be a factor in 2009.

Coming off of a 12-2 season Alabama will be favored to win the West division in 2009. The Tide have brought in top 10 ranked recruiting classes for several years now and have a coach that knows how to win.

Ole Miss has emerged as a contender after a break out year in 2008. The Rebels jumped from an 0-8 conference record in 07 to a 5-3 record in 08.

It is hard to count out LSU as well. They do have some questions and had something of a down year on defense in 08. Their dominating performance in their bowl game with Georgia Tech, on the other hand, would suggest that the Tigers are a team to be taken very seriously.

There are of course a few other things going on around the conference.

Auburn made headlines with the controversial hire of Gene Chizik as the new head coach. Chizik was hired over coaches who have had more recent success.

Chizik went 5-19 in his two seasons at Iowa State, and yet somehow, was deemed the best candidate for this job?

I will give him credit for the staff he put together including Ted Roof for his defensive coordinator and Gus Malzahn for the offense.

Vanderbilt made their first bowl in 26 years and they won it. Now the question arises, can they maintain this level of play or was 2008 a one hit wonder?

To be honest I don't know who they have returning or who they are losing so I don't have much of an opinion on Vanderbilt or what kind of success they may have.

I don't want to get into the ever popular conference debate. I think every conference has it's up sides and down sides.

The SEC has, undoubtedly been one of the strongest conferences in recent years. Even in 2008, which most consider a down year for the conference, they still had a 6-2 bowl record, including Florida winning the National Championship.

I don't think anyone would be surprised to see an SEC team in a position to play for the National Championship at the end of the season.

Though the bowl season didn't fair well fro the Big XII, the regular season gave the conference a lot of credibility and had people arguing if the Big XII might just be the best conference in 2008.

The 2008 season started with five teams ranked in the top 25 and finished with the same amount. Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech and Missouri all stayed while Oklahoma State replaced Kansas.

Of those five teams, two were in BCS bowls where they went 1-1. The overall bowl record for the ranked teams was 2-3. For the entire conference, the record was 4-3.

Many will point out that the South division is the stronger division with Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State all ranked in the top 25. This division alone went 1-3 in their bowl games.

What can we expect for 2009?

One thing I think most people will agree with is that the South is still way ahead of the North.

It seemed like with Missouri and Kansas the North may have been catching up. Now I honestly question where Missouri will go now that they are losing so many of the players that have made their offense a success.

Nebraska looks like they may be on the way up again, but it is hard to know for sure just yet.

Kansas State has brought back one of their most successful coaches, Bill Snyder. Kansas State found pretty good success under him the first time but he is pushing 70 right now. How long will he last in this stay at Kansas State?

I think Kansas and Nebraska are likely to be ranked but I am not so sure Missouri will be. I really just think they have lost to much.

The South, on the other hand has, I would think Oklahoma and Texas in the top 10 if not top five to start the season.

Both are returning Heisman candidates at quarterback in Colt Mcoy (Texas) and 2008 winner Sam Bradford (Oklahoma).

Oklahoma State could be top 10 as well but probably more likely top 15.

Texas Tech could possibly be ranked as well they have lost a lot like Missouri did, but their system has proven to succeed no matter who you plug in to it.

Can the Big XII North close the gap to the South?

If they can I don't think it will be this year or in the immediate future for that matter. Eventually it could happen. Having Nebraska back on the upswing helps.

One of the biggest things that happened last season was in the Big XII South where it came down to three teams with the same records with wins over each other.

A tiebreaker had to be used and it ended in a lot of upheaval from the team that was left out, as well as fans from other teams.

No one could understand how, when it came down to the two teams, Oklahoma and Texas, Oklahoma was chosen as the representative for the south in the Big XII title game over Texas, who had beat the Sooners head to head.

The tiebreaker for the Big XII was attacked over and over by every sports writer and sports caster everywhere.

As far as I know, despite all the complaints and criticism, the tiebreaker is still in place.

If something similar happens in 2009, I would hope a cry for change is made.

As it stands right now, it would appear that the winner of the Red River Shootout would be in the lead position for the conference and a spot in the National Championship.

But like I said they have a weird tiebreaker so who knows what will happen.

I have nothing but questions for the Big 10 going into 2009.

Will Michigan return to their storied past and win again or will the grumblings about Rich Rodriguez grow louder?

Will Juice Williams return Illinois to top Big 10 team like he did in 2007 or falter again like 2008?

Can Indiana find the 2007 motivation and "play 13" again?

Will Wisconsin, an early 2008 favorite, recover from finishing seventh?

Will Michigan State be able to win without Javon Ringer?

Will the change to a brand new outdoor stadium have an impact on Minnesota?

Will Iowa challenge for the Big 10?

Or will it be Northwestern that surprises? They had the same record as Iowa just without the big win like the Hawkeyes did by beating Penn State.

Will Ohio State be able to keep this years game with USC closer than last years?

Will Joe Paterno ever retire?

How will Purdue do with Hope as the new coach now that Tiller has retired?

Will the conference put the 1-6 bowl performance behind them?

Do they still think the Big 10 Network was a good idea?

To be honest I don't have a single answer. I do have some thoughts though.

Michigan fans be patient. It took Rich Rodriguez more than a year to get West Virginia highly ranked and winning, given time how can he not do it at Michigan?

Illinois looked pretty good when Williams was a Sophomore. Now that he is a Senior, and some of the other players have more experience I could see them getting back to a bowl but probably not a BCS bowl.

I think Indiana is capable of a 6-6 record in 2009. I don't know that they will actually do it but it wouldn't be impossible.

Wisconsin's schedule looks manageable to where they could improve their conference record. So recover to better than seventh yes, win the Big 10, I have my doubts.

Michigan State lost four games last season, in each of the losses Ringer ran for less than 100 yards. They won two games where he ran for less than 100 yards but they only won those by a combined margin of four points. The next back only had 97 yards for the year. I am sure they will get some wins, but I don't see them being as good without him.

I figure Minnesota plays outdoors at other stadiums and the other teams do too. No I don't think it will really have an impact on the season. I have to say, the mock ups and previews look real nice.

Iowa looked really good at the end of the season. I think they will be a legit contender in the Big 10.

Northwestern had a pretty good year too but I would be surprised if they did any better than 2008.

I think being at Ohio State with Pryor playing more and the losses that USC is suffering, the Buckeyes do in fact keep it closer than the 2008 game. I still see USC winning.

Joe Paterno will never retire. He will be in office as the head coach of Penn State until the end.

Purdue, with Hope, will be like what they were with Tiller. I see Purdue continuing to just miss or just make bowl games while sitting in the middle of the Big 10. The end with Tiller wasn't pretty so hopefully they will do better than that part of his career.

I obviously cant make a prediction as to if the Big 10 will produce a better bowl record than they did in 2008 without knowing who they will be playing. I don't know how they could do much worse though.

I still question the Big 10 network. If the attempt was to get the conference and their teams more publicity, I think they failed. It is now harder to see the Big 10 teams unless you live in the area or are willing to pay a fee to your cable or satellite provider.

I suppose they are providing more access to their immediate fan basses and television markets but they are alienating the rest of the nation.

I can't wait for the 2009 season and checking off these questions and more to see if I am right or wrong.

There was no conference that had more balance than the ACC in 2008.

No team was safe and the "any given Saturday" was never truer than in the ACC.

It seemed like every time a team got ranked they lost within a game or two.

The conference set an NCAA record by sending 10 teams to bowls. Nine of them finished the regular season above .500. Six teams finished at .500 in conference play.

Getting 10 teams to bowls was an amazing thing, now they just need to win a few more of them.

Ever since the expansion to 12 teams in order to have a conference championship game, the divisions of the ACC have never made sense to me.

Atlantic

Go ahead pick who you think will win this division.

Are you willing to put money on it?

I would not be all that surprised to see each and every one of the six teams in the division with a chance to win the division at some point during the year.

Florida State and Boston College were at the top last season tied at 5-3, the other four were all 4-4. The division was decided by a tie breaker for the top two who only had a one game lead.

All six realistically had a shot at the division. It was just a matter of who beat who and by how much late in the season that opened and closed doors for the other teams.

Coastal

Give this one a try, too.

Most would probably pick Virginia Tech. Given the history of the conference and the Hokies, that's probably one of the safer bets.

I still don't know that I would put a lot of money on it.

Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech actually both had a 5-3 conference record. North Carolina and Miami were at 4-4. This division was also decided by tiebreaker.

That's all a bit to close for me.

Go ahead look back over who you picked to win the divisions.

Do you feel like you are making a good bet?

Picking this conference isn't like picking Boise State in the WAC or even a fairly safe bet like Oklahoma in the Big 12. Sure, they have some competition but I would still feel better with money on the Sooners than any team in the ACC.

Virginia Tech is not only going to be one of the favorites to win the conference, but the team that holds the best chance to regain some credibility to the ACC. Last season, A highly ranked Clemson team lost to Alabama. Not only lost, but pretty much got blown out.

I don't think I see that happening with Virginia Tech. I think they will put up a bit more of a fight. Who wins however, well I don't feel ready to make a prediction yet.

There are a few other games around the conference that would go a ways to gaining respect for the ACC.

These games are all played in the month of September.

Maryland at Cal

North Carolina at Connecticut

TCU at Virginia

Nebraska at Virginia Tech

South Florida at Florida State

Rutgers at Maryland

Pitt at North Carolina State

None will have the early impact that a win over Alabama could though. Cal would be a good win, but it still won't be as big an impact as Alabama.

I like that the ACC is so up in the air. It truly makes it fun to watch when every game can go either way.

There was no one dominant team in the conference and I don't know that there will be in 2009.

For the first time in four seasons, the Big East champion went to a BCS bowl and lost. It has been since the 2004 season when Pitt lost to Utah that the Big East lost a BCS bowl.

Over those all of these seasons, only West Virginia has repeated as conference champions and they shared it with Connecticut in 2007.

West Virginia has been the class of the conference since the 2005 defections of Miami, Virginia Tech, and Boston College. They have finished in the top three of the conference every year since 2002. For now, it can never be a stretch to say they will be one of the early favorites again to win the conference.

The good news for the rest of the conference is that Pat White is gone.

Connecticut surprised everyone going from a 4-8 record in 2006 to 9-4 and a share of the Big East title in 2007.

The nations leading rusher, Donald Brown is leaving early for the NFL which may hurt the chances of the Huskies winning the conference.

Cincinnati has turned in back to back 10+ win seasons. In 2008, the Bearcats were picked to finish in the bottom half of the conference but managed to win it all.

Playmaker return man and wide receiver, Marshwan Gilyard is done at Cincinnati.

Rutgers has maintained a certain level of success going 8-5 each of the last two seasons. This is nice but they have yet to get back to as great a success as they had in 2006 when they went 11-2. The Red Knights were able to string together a run of seven straight wins to finish 2008.

The do lose quarterback Mike Teel and receivers Kenny Britt and Tiquan Underwood.

South Florida has been a team that everyone has been waiting for to break out. In recent years they have managed to reach as high as a No. two ranking during the season. Unfortunately they haven't been able to finish there.

With quarterback Matt Grothe leading the offense and end George Selvie leading the defense, perhaps 2009 is the year the Bulls finally fulfill those expectations. The problem is losing 4 o-line starters.

The Pitt Panthers finished in second place in the conference last season with a 9-4 record. This was a 180 degree turnaround from finishing at seventh in the Big East in 2007. The question remains how they will do with LeSean McCoy opting to go to the NFL.

I honestly think this is a six team race. All of these teams have shown what they are capable of and have enjoyed success but also endured the agony of defeat. I think this maybe one of the hardest conference races to predict next season.

There are changes in the conference that are going on behind the scenes.

Big East conference commissioner, Michael A. Tranghese, will be stepping down at the end of June this year. He has been commissioner since 1990.

Prior to his appointment as commissioner, Tranghese worked for the Big East founder, Dave Gavitt, and helped to create the conference in 1979.

He helped guide the conference through the 2004-2005 seasons when several teams left for the ACC and the acquisition of others from Conference USA to fill in the gaps.

Tranghese will be replaced by senior associate commissioner John Marinatto. He is an alum of Big East member Providence. Marinatto also served as the athletic director for Providence.

I am not sure what direction the new commissioner will want to take the conference. I think it could be one of the hardest conference to be the commissioner for due to the difference in football and the other sports. It will be interesting to see where he decides to take the Big East in the coming years.