Questions, predictions as a new era in college football kicks off

PROVO— College football is upon us today. It's time for predictions.

You can feel it in the air. We're hours away from kickoff, tailgate parties, the bands, cheerleaders, corporate sponsor signs and announcements that we just saw Floyd's Fresh Water Softener Play of the Game.

This is the season that kicks off a new era of college football in Utah — a season where BYU and Utah are not blood brothers and a voting bloc in the same conference. They've been through many a two-against-everybody-else votes on issues concerning the WAC and Mountain West for decades.

It's a time for highlights, replays, HD television, overpriced hotdogs and nachos, and expensive season tickets that will never be pocket change again.

There are plenty of storylines this fall:

Will Utah make a nice entry splash into the Pac-12 by challenging for a Southern Division title?

Will Norm Chow be able to create an effective offense with the material left from the spread?

Will BYU thrive as an independent in football, or play uninteresting games at home while loading up with road games in the Big 12, SEC and Pac-12?

Can Brandon Doman call plays in the heat of a game? Can he put his new theories into action against somebody else at BYU?

Is preseason hype accurate or just smoke?

How good is Weber State?

Does Utah have a kicking game? Does BYU?

Will Robert Turbin be the leading rusher in the state of Utah out of Aggieville?

Is Jake Heaps for real?

Is Jordan Wynn really healthy and does Utah have a legitimate running back?

After the NCAA finishes with the Miami Hurricanes, will there be much of a zephyr left?

All this, and much more, waits for us to discover in days to come.

This week pushes college football out of the chute with plenty of interesting matchups and surprisingly key games this early. None loom bigger than No. 3 Oregon at No. 4 LSU, and No. 5 Boise State at No. 19 Georgia. The Broncos put their BCS bowl chances on the line very early this week. A loss, according to history, dooms non-BCS entities.