The Oklahoma Sooners kick off the 2010 season (finally) Saturday evening at Owen Field. Their opponent? The Utah State Aggies, a team that visited Norman three years ago. OU dominated that game 54-3, but the Aggies are not planning on repeating that result come Saturday.

Utah State compiled a 4-8 record in 2009, but their record is not a very good indicator of how they performed throughout the season. The Aggies easily could have been 6-6 if a couple of things had gone their way in several games. The Aggies lost 38-30 at Texas A&M in the second game of the year and gave Nevada all they could handle in a 35-32 loss.  

The 4-8 record was the best record in Logan, Utah in seven seasons.  

Head coach Gary Andersen is in his second year as the coach of the Aggies and has brought an entirely new attitude to a program that has been dormant for several seasons.

Offensively, the Aggies are going to score points on people this year. They have returning talent at all of the skill positions, but it all starts with their quarterback, Diondre Borel.

Borel, a senior, passed for 2,885 yards and 17 touchdowns in 2009 while only throwing four interceptions. Borel is also a dynamic runner, rushing for almost 500 yards and six touchdowns as well.  His total yardage of 3.343 yards on the year set a school record.

The Aggies offense was dealt a huge blow when running back Robert Turbin was lost for the year with an injury. Turbin rushed for 1,296 yards and 13 touchdowns last season on a very impressive 6.3 yards per carry average.  Turbin will be replaced by a committee of running backs including senior Michael Smith, who was the team's third leader rusher last season behind Turbin and Borel.  

Utah State does not possess one changing receiver like the Sooners' Ryan Broyles. Instead, they have several receivers that fill the role of pass catchers quite nicely. Five receivers had at least 23 catches last season. The group is led by junior Eric Moats, who caught 27 passes a year ago.

The problem for the Aggies last season was their inability to stop anyone. The defense was easily the weak unit of the team, ranking 100th in the country at best in every single major statistical category. Improvement is really the only thing that can happen with this unit.

This year's unit is led by linebacker Bobby Wagner, who led the team with 114 tackles last season. The Aggies also have a pair of seniors at the cornerback position in Rajric Coleman and Chris Randle, so experience and veteran leadership is definitely there.  

No opponent is to be taken lightly and that certainly applies here for the Sooners, who are facing a pretty dangerous offense. However, unless the Aggies defense has improved dramatically, Oklahoma will have no problems scoring points on Saturday.

The Sooners should roll and will become the seventh team in college football history to achieve the 800 win plateau.   

Read more Big 12 Football news on BleacherReport.com

Going into Thursday night, Iowa State was returning nine starters on offense and five starters on defense, coming off their first bowl win since 2004.

However, they also had the third toughest schedule in all of college football, including at No. 9 Iowa, K-State in Kansas City, No. 24 Utah, at No. 5 Texas, at No. 7 Oklahoma, and No. 8 Nebraska at home.

Most people were looking down, seeing a good Cyclone team wouldn't get the chance to go bowling this winter because of this brutal schedule.

Late Thursday night, heads were turned. Sure, Ohio State, Miami, and USC got the highlights on ESPN, but the state of Iowa knows what they have right now.

Austen Arnaud showed a ton of improvement from last year, completing over 75 percent of his passes and running for a touchdown. Alexander Robinson hasn't missed a step from his 1,000-yard year last year, rushing for 97 yards, including a 60-plus-yard prance to the end zone.

Five Cyclones caught three or more balls, and the Iowa State defense, surprisingly, bent but only broke once. Ten points against a potential All-American running back in Chad Spann? We'll take it—especially with a solid Iowa State offense.

I've said it for weeks/months now, but 403 yards and a 27-10 victory later, people are starting to look. If you aren't, start looking now. If anyone so much as thinks that Iowa is going to walk all over ISU next Saturday, then you are naive, or didn't watch the game, or you're just a stubborn Hawkeye fan.

"Congrats, you just beat a MAC team by 17..." This coming from the fans that root for the team that beat the FCS Northern Iowa Panthers by one and the Arkansas State Red Wolves by three? Oh well, that's another story for another time.

Iowa State's efficient, balanced, and successful offense against Iowa's two new linebackers and two inexperienced cornerbacks. Yes, Iowa has the best defensive line in America and an All-American in Tyler Sash. That's not the entire defense.

Iowa State's defense vs. Iowa's offense? ISU's defense looked surprisingly good last night. Now, obviously DeMarcus Grady is no Ricky Stanzi and the Northern Illinois Huskies are no top-10 team, but if Iowa State's defense bends but doesn't break, don't be shocked if the score of this next game is closer than you'd expect.

But aside from Saturday, Thursday showed me a lot of things. Austen Arnaud HAS improved. Alexander Robinson is arguably the best running back in the Big 12.

The Cyclones have a very talented group of wide receivers, and the offensive line could use a little bit of improvement, but they'll be fine.

But what startled me the most was Iowa State's defense. Sad to say it, but they reminded me of an Iowa Hawkeye defense—bending, but not breaking; giving them all the yardage they want but stopping them at the goal line.

I think that perfectly complements Iowa State's soon-to-be high scoring offense. This Iowa State ball club is a poor man's version of the 2009 Oklahoma State Cowboys.

Yes, the schedule is tough, but I could see eight wins coming. Sure, there are four top-10 teams on the schedule. But all of them are beatable and all of them have a weakness somewhere.

Iowa's? Two new starting linebackers, an inexperienced offensive line, and Ricky Stanzi. The Utah Utes? For all we know, Pitt could have been vastly overrated. Texas? Anything can happen. Colt McCoy is gone. Oklahoma? Last time ISU played the Sooners, they almost upset them, losing 17-7 back in 2007. Nebraska? Does eight picks and a win coming out of Lincoln ring a bell?

Yes, I am a Cyclone fan. But after last night's victory, there is tons of room for optimism. No one expected the 2007 Kansas Jayhawks to go 12-1 and make it to the Orange Bowl. But one thing is for sure...

Next Saturday in Iowa City is going to be a slugfest.

Read more Big 12 Football news on BleacherReport.com

This summer was dominated by expansion talk. But now that September is here, discussion will again turn to the National Championship hunt.

Does Boise State have a shot? Do they even deserve one? Will Alabama and Florida get knocked out by the tough SEC competition? Could a mid-major appear in the Rose Bowl?

For those of you that remember last year's series, this year will examine various playoff proposals and their implementation given the week-to-week BCS and conference standings.

Conference and division leaders will be determined by the least number of losses in conference or by BCS rank if head-to-head is insufficient. Note: A game between two teams which has not yet been played is not counted as a loss for either team.

Please comment on (1) which proposal you think is the best,  (2) the pros and cons of certain proposals, and (3) how different proposals compare to each other.

Proposal A

This is the current BCS model. The top two teams playoff in the National Championship, while BCS champions and at-large teams fill four other bowl games.

No. 1 Alabama - No. 2 Ohio State (National Championship)

No. 3 Florida - No. 7 Oklahoma (Sugar Bowl)

No. 4 Texas - No. 17 Pittsburgh (Fiesta Bowl)

No. 5 Boise State - No. 9 Oregon (Rose Bowl)

No. 8 Virginia Tech - No. 11 Iowa (Orange Bowl)

Proposal B

Keeps the BCS model and adds two additional play-in games. Here is how the 10 BCS teams are chosen.

No. 1 Alabama - No. 3 Florida (SEC Championship Game)

No. 2 Ohio State (Big Ten Champion)

No. 4 Texas - No. 10 Nebraska (Big 12 Championship Game)

No. 5 Boise State (Mid-Major Champion)

*No. 6 TCU - No. 12 Miami (BCS Play-In Game 1)

*No. 7 Oklahoma - No. 11 Iowa (BCS Play-In Game 2)

No. 8 Virginia Tech - No. 21 Florida State (ACC Championship Game)

No. 9 Oregon (Pac-10 Champion)

No. 17 Pittsburgh (Big East Champion)

The 10th BCS spot goes to the highest ranked team, after these games, that is not yet in a BCS bowl (probably the SEC Championship loser).

Proposal C

Takes the idea of nationwide play-in games and creates one great game between two National Title hopefuls. The Top two teams remaining still play in the National Championship Game.

No. 1 Alabama - No. 3 Florida (SEC Championship Game)

*No. 2 Ohio State - No. 5 Boise State (BCS Play-In Game)

No. 4 Texas - No. 10 Nebraska (Big 12 Championship Game)

Proposal D

This is the first true playoff. It matches conference champions that finished in the Top five in two BCS bowl semifinals. A fifth BCS bowl is also added.

No. 1 Alabama - No. 5 Boise State (Sugar Bowl)

No. 2 Ohio State - No. 4 Texas (Rose Bowl)

Proposal E

This couples Proposals C and D. Two border-line playoff teams play-off in December and the top four champions go into the semifinals.

No. 1 Alabama - No. 3 Florida (SEC Championship Game)

No. 2 Ohio State (Big Ten Champion)

No. 4 Texas - No. 10 Nebraska (Big 12 Championship Game)

*No. 5 Boise State - No. 6 TCU (BCS Play-In Game)

Proposal F

Takes the Mountain West proposal and adds some selection flexibility for the non-playoff BCS bowl.

No. 1 Alabama - No. 6 TCU (Sugar Bowl)

No. 2 Ohio State - No. 9 Oregon (Rose Bowl)

No. 4 Texas - No. 5 Boise St (Fiesta Bowl)

No. 8 Va Tech - No. 3 Florida (Orange Bowl)

*No. 17 Pittsburgh - No. 7 Oklahoma (fifth BCS Bowl)

Proposal G

Replaces Conference Championship Games with regional tournaments at the beginning of December. All 11 Conference Champions Qualify.

West Bracket - winner to Rose Bowl

Central Michigan @ No. 1 Boise State

No. 3 Oregon @ No. 2 TCU

South Bracket - winner to Sugar Bowl

Houston @ No. 1 Texas

No. 3 Nebraska @ No. 2 Oklahoma

East Bracket - winner to Sugar Bowl

M Tenn St @ No. 1 Alabama

No. 2 Florida @ No. 3 Pittsburgh

North Bracket - winner to Rose Bowl

Miami @ No. 1 Ohio State

No. 3 Iowa @ No. 2 Virginia Tech

Proposal H

Takes Proposal G and allows cross-regional games.

No. 1 Alabama - M Tenn St

No. 2 Ohio State - Houston

No. 3 Florida - Central Michigan

No. 4 Texas - No. 17 Pittsburgh

No. 5 Boise St - No. 12 Miami

No. 6 TCU - No. 11 Iowa

No. 7 Oklahoma - No. 10 Nebraska

No. 8 Virginia Tech - No. 9 Oregon

What do you think? What are your playoff ideas?

Read more Big 12 Football news on BleacherReport.com