1. The Mountain West Conference will have a good, but not great, year. Ultimately, entry into a BCS game is tge measuring stick for “great”. While there are a number of outstanding teams in the conference especially BYU, Utah and TCU. The problem is two of the three suffered a loss over the weekend (BYU at home to Florida State and Utah to Oregon). Based on the current polls, it appears impossible that TCU could vault past an undefeated Boise State squad. But hey, this is College Football, anything can happen.

2. The Pac-10 is about to become wide open again. USC has dominated the past seven seasons, all ending with a conference championship and, at least, a BCS berth. After watching what is happening at UCLA, Cal and especially Washington, I believe their conference dominance is coming to an end.

3. Brian Kelly will not be at Cincinnati in 2010. Out of all the great games and surprises, nothing impressed me more than the way the Bearcats went to Corvalis and defeated the Beavers of Oregon State. If he wasn’t a hot name in the coaching circles before, this year will do it.

4. Auburn and Tennessee might not have better head coaches, but they have better coaching staffs. Last season, the Tigers coaching staff was filled with back biting and a lack of continuity. It ultimately cost Tommy Tuberville his job. As for the Vols, Phil Fulmer and his squad had struggled since David Cutcliffe departed for Mississippi. The current coaches, Auburn’s Gene Chizik and Tennessee’s Lane Kiffin have surrounded themselves with winners who are high on energy and long on experience. Look for both programs to come back sooner than originally expected.

5. I’ll be stunned if Charlie Weis is back with the Irish next season. The head coach at Notre Dame is a brilliant offensive mind, but they just don’t seem to be making improvements. This is still one of the top five jobs in football, but they’re just not on the level of Florida, Texas and others right now. His team isn’t winning so much as they are surviving.

6. The ACC seems to have figured out Paul Johnson. Georgia Tech’s head coach was handled by Miami 33-17 after nearly losing to Clemson the week before. With a big game looming against North Carolina on Saturday, the Jackets need to adjust in a hurry.

7. Miami is on the rebound. Definitely one of the most impressive performances from the first three weeks is the Hurricanes. QB Jacory Harris has been fantastic and delivered in the clutch. With games against Virginia Tech and Oklahoma the next two weeks, they could quickly insert themselves in the BCS National Championship discussion. Based on how FSU rebounded last week, could the ACC Championship game rematch these two squads?

8. The Cal Bears are their run to the Rose Bowl (or more) starts this week. Jahvid Best has been on a tear, scoring 5 touchdowns on the road at Minnesota. If they can win in Eugene this weekend against the Oregon Ducks, the October 3rd home game against USC becomes arguably the biggest in school history.

Recently, I talked about some teams who are utilizing the 12th game to their advantage by scheduling some non-conference marquee matchups.

But what games – in and out of conference – will have the biggest impact on the perception of the national media, the BCS standings and who plays for the BCS National Championship this season?

Here’s the MrBCS.com Top 10 College Football games for 2009.

September 3rd: Oregon at Boise State. It won’t take long for it to feel like mid-season with these two BCS contenders facing off on opening night. Last year in Eugene, the Ducks fell to Boise State in what some Oregon players called “an embarassment.” They get to do somethig about it on Thursday night. Boise State can, and likely will, make the BCS as an at-large without this win. Oregon will not. This one is huge for the Ducks.

September 5th: Virginia Tech vs. Alabama (Atlanta). Last year, Alabama used this game with Clemson to get their season off to a fast start, eventually running their record to 12-0. The Hokies, who lost their starting running back Darren Evans, will look to do the same and can clear their most significant hurdle between them and the BCS Championship game by emerging victorious at the Georgia Dome.

September 12th: USC at Ohio State. Will it be rout #2 for the Trojans or redemption for the Buckeyes? The winner of this one takes a big, big step in the polls and BCS rankings with a victory in Columbus.

October 3rd: USC at Cal. Will USC’s championship dominance come to an end or will another Pac-10 power emerge in 2009? This game couldn’t come at a worse time for the Bears who will be coming off an emotional road game at Oregon the week before.

October 10th: Florida at LSU. The last time these two teams played in Baton Rouge, the Bengal Tigers won by converting an amazing 5 of 5 fourth downs, all in the 4th quarter. Look for LSU to provide the biggest road test for the Gators in 2009. This one is not for the faint of heart.

October 10th: Alabama at Ole Miss. Houston Nutt always had his teams at Arkansas playing their best when their backs were up against the wall. How will the Rebels fare in their biggest test of the season? The winner of this game will likely play for the SEC Championship.

October 17th: Texas vs. Oklahoma (Dallas). Don’t plan anything on this Saturday. The 2009 Red River Rivalry will be one for the ages. In addition to two top five teams facing off, this one is juiced by the bad blood following the Longhorns exclusion from the Big XII and BCS title game despite having defeated the Sooners 45-35 in 2008. You won’t want to miss this one.

October 31st: USC at Oregon. If the Trojans survive the trip to Berkeley against Cal, this is their last stop between an undefeated season and a shot at the BCS National Championship.

November 7th: Ohio State at Penn State. The belief here is that the undefeated Nittany Lions will be facing a one-loss Buckeyes squad. This should be Joe Paterno’s biggest challenge to another undefeated season. Should the Buckeyes win, look for the Rose Bowl to deal either USC or Ohio State to another BCS game to avoid a rematch of September 12th.

November 28th: Oklahoma State at Oklahoma. Just when you think the Sooners have wrapped up the (fill in the blank here) the OSU Cowboys seem to disrupt the party. If Oklahoma State can defeat the Georgia Bulldogs on opening weekend, they could be in line for a BCS at-large berth -or more – with a victory here.

One final point to consider. If there are more than two undefeated teams (Florida, Penn State, USC and Texas/Oklahoma), who will be shut out? MrBCS.com believes the storyline of the Gators will be too much to ignore, especially given their current poll position. As for their opponent? Look for it to be the Texas Longhorns (provided they are undefeated) or the USC Trojans. If multiple undefeated teams exist again this season, it should really get the momentum recharged for a playoff and plus one plan.

What do you think? Is there a game you’re especially excited about this season?