Fall camps are under way and the regular season will be here soon so that means getting an early jump on the 2006 NCAA football season. Knowing the teams now will save you time and author is here to help you get a grasp of what to expect this upcoming year. We go from worst to first in this 2006 College Football Preview.

#8 LSU Tigers 11-2 SU; 6-5-1 ATS

Fargos Take With 33 wins over the last three years, the Tigers have become one of the most dominant teams in the SEC and in the country for that matter. First year head coach Les Miles led LSU to 11 wins last season and if not for a heartbreaking loss at home against Tennessee, the Tigers would have been undefeated heading into the SEC Championship against Georgia. A thrashing of Miami (Florida) in the Peach Bowl put an exclamation point on another successful campaign. In order for the Tigers to repeat that performance or even possibly improve, they must replace key players all over the field, especially on defense. The offense has plenty of weapons once again but a thin and inexperienced offensive line must step up right away. The potential is there for another trip to the title game but standing in their way are four tough road games, highlighted by Auburn, a team the Tigers visit in the third game of the season.

Returning Starters on Offense 5 LSU enters this season with the top ranked offense in the SEC and that is due to having not only the best quarterbacks but also the best receivers. JaMarcus Russell had a sensational 2005 season before hurting his shoulder in the SEC Championship but he will be ready to go even though he missed spring drills. His backup is Matt Flynn who led the Tigers to that win over the Hurricanes to close out the year. Three of the top four receivers are back led by All-SEC Wideout Dwayne Bowe. Juniors Craig Davis and Early Doucet are both also ready for huge seasons. Alley Brousard, LSUs leader rusher in 2004 is back after missing all of last season and he will be backed up by Justin Vincent who rushed for 488 yards last season as a second string. Three NFL drafted players need to replaced along the offensive line, the biggest concern heading into fall.

Returning Starters on Defense 5 The Tigers finished 3rd in both total defense and scoring defense last season and LSU wont falloff big despite needing to replace six starters. The secondary is going to be the best in the SEC with safeties LaRon Landry and Jessie Daniels both being preseason All-SEC selections. Chevis Jackson, another possible All-SEC selection, will man one of the corner slots. The front seven took the biggest hit and despite five projected starters being just sophomores, there is an abundance of talent. Linebacker Ali Highsmith, the leading returning tackler, will lead that unit while defensive end Chase Pittman will lead the front four. Tackle Glen Dorsey is ready for a breakout season. All told, this is a young defense but one that picked up good experience last season that will help right from the start.

Schedule Despite having eight home games, the Tigers do not have an easy schedule to contend with. Starting the season against La-Lafayette will be a good test for the young defense. After that, the Tigers stay home to face a tough Arizona squad before hitting the road for the first time against Auburn in an all-important early season contest. The next three home games are all easy wins against Tulane, Mississippi St. and Kentucky but sandwiched in there is a tough road game at Florida. Following the Kentucky game, the Tigers host their last non-conference game against Fresno St. The third road game is at Tennessee followed by home games against Alabama and Mississippi. The finale is at Little Rock against Arkansas. The benefit of the slate is that there are two home games in-between every road contest.

You can bet on The four toughest games in the SEC all happen to come on the road so the success in those will determine how far the Tigers go. LSU went 5-1 away from home last season but the competition was no where near as difficult. It went 4-5 in road games in 2002 and 2004 which are the same types of road schedules it will face this season. The Tigers are 11-5-1 ATS since 1999 as road underdogs and they could be in that situation in all four contests this year depending how the season is moving along. LSU is definitely going to be a target this year after what it did in 2005 so another winning ATS mark on the highway will be a challenge. The games at Florida, Auburn and Arkansas will all be revenge games that the Tigers won by a combined nine points last year.