My list, and a few words on why I expect the team to be good, bad, or mediocre. No hardcore analysis here, just general conclusions.

1. USC

Reports of the Trojans’ demise have been greatly exaggerated. It’s USC. Really bad seasons are an anomaly, and last year’s debacle was the kind of thing that only happens once every couple of decades. Too much elite talent and too much depth of that elite talent to go more than a couple of years without steamrolling the South Division. No other team on the schedule has what USC has. It’s the only game on the schedule that gives BYU approximately zero leeway for mistakes.

2. Washington

Washington doesn’t have the talent or depth of USC, but it is farther along in having all the parts synced and coordinated, and is the only team other than Washington State that has a legitimate shot at beating USC for the conference title.

3. Tennessee

Tennessee has been improving, and, yes, the SEC is the strongest conference in college football. Tennessee is likely a mid-level SEC team this year. A mid-level SEC team is still a pretty good team.

4. Boise State

Solid, consistent program. They won’t be in the running for an NY6 game, but they should be pretty good.

5. Utah State

Utah State has had some good years, but it hasn’t established a sustained strong program. Some excellent starters, but no real depth overall. A pretty good quarterback, but not as good as the hype, and his deficiencies will be exposed this year. I anticipate him throwing at least three interceptions against BYU.

6. Toledo

Toledo should surprise a lot of casual college football fans, and is probably the most dangerous in the sense that they could be a pretty good team that is easy to overlook. So, not the best team BYU will face, but also not the worst.

7. Liberty

An up-and-coming team that could hang in there for a half, and maybe even three quarters. They don’t have the personnel to do more than that valiant effort, though.

8. South Florida

Pretty good some years. Not this year.

9. San Diego State

Consistently mediocre or worse in recent years, and I see no reason to believe that will change this year.

10. Utah

Utah has established a consistent pattern of starting the season with some wins—typically over very weak teams, with a couple of wins over big-name but struggling teams. Members of the media who don’t watch no-name teams playing games in the middle of the night Eastern Time inexplicably vote Utah up in the polls...until Utah inevitably gets exposed as being a mediocre team that had that one great year an increasingly long time ago, but never actually fulfills the hopes of the media that a no-name team will be newsworthy again for another fifteen minutes. Utah has been significantly overplaying its hand since joining the Pac, and only had a winning record last year because the conference was horrible. This is about the point at which the lack of real substance can’t be compensated for anymore by some solid defensive play and good kickers. The Potemkin Village comes crashing down this year, starting with getting curb-stomped to start the season. 

11. UMass

I just pray that UMass doesn’t sustain too many injuries during the game.

12. Idaho State

It will be a nice payday and a learning experience for Idaho State.