The start of the 2006 college football season may be a couple of months away, but that only means it’s the perfect time to cash in on futures betting. With the Texas Longhorns and the USC Trojans losing star players like Vince Young, Michael Huff, Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart, the door is wide open for other teams to take home the national title.

There are a few changes to the Bowl Championship Series equation that could affect who gets an invitation.

Cardinals Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, which is in line to host this year’s title game, will not only host the National Championship game between the BCS’ No.1 and No. 2 ranked teams, but will host the Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Day, a week prior. The Fiesta Bowl will feature two more “At Large” berths.

Also, teams who are not in the BCS, but are ranked higher than 16th will get the preference over a BCS conference champ with a lower ranking.

With a variety of media outlets providing different preseason polls, here are four teams you might want to take a look at.

Former New England Patriot offensive wizard Charlie Weis weaved his spell on the unlucky Fighting Irish last year. Quarterback Brady Quinn, who came to the forefront under Weis’ tutelage, is an early candidate for Heisman honors and returns to call signals for the boys from South Bend. Also returning are both WR Jeff Samardzija, one of the mighty Quinn’s favorite targets and tailback Darius Walker, who gives Quinn an option on hand offs and out of the backfield.

Schedule: The Irish lost a heartbreaker to the USC Trojans last year, but have a chance to make amends against the Bush and Leinart-less Trojans on the 25th of November. It should be also noted that the Irish haven’t fared very well in bowl games in the past few years, most recently losing to the Ohio State Buckeyes in last year’s Fiesta Bowl.

If it weren’t for close losses to Texas and newly rejuvenated Penn State, Ohio State would have been playing for the national title in the Rose Bowl. But as fate would have it, they ended up playing at the Fiesta Bowl instead.

The Buckeyes are being listed near the top of many preseason polls; unfortunately, a mass exodus on defence keeps them from being a clear cut No. 1.

Offensively, Ohio State is still potent. Though they lost weapon WR Santonio Holmes in the draft, WRs Ted Ginn and Anthony Gonzalez, RB Antonio Pittman, and QB Troy Smith will return.

The defense on the other hand, saw more defections than the Soviet Union’s hockey team in the mid 80’s. Linebackers Bobby Carpenter, defensive anchor A.J. Hawk, and Anthony Schlegel and defensive backs Donte Whitner, Nate Salley, and Ashton Youboty all migrated to the NFL. There are certainly players who will step up to fill their spots, but will they have same impact that those six had last year?

Schedule: Ohio State has a fairly tough schedule with games against Texas, Penn State, Iowa, Michigan State, and of course, Michigan.

Last year’s runners up lost the likes of QB Matt Leinart and TB Reggie Bush, but coach Pete Carroll has done such a good job recruiting over the last few years, that the Trojans might not feel the pinch.

Though the top two candidates competing for the vacant starting spot at QB are question marks—John David Booty is recovering from surgery and Mark Sanchez was arrested for an alleged sexual assault—they do have a blue chipper in WR Dwayne Jarrett. Standing at 6’5” and weighing in at 210 lbs, Jarrett will provide the starting QB an easy target.

Schedule: Playing in the not-so-strong Pac-10, the Trojans shouldn’t have trouble with their conference sked, but they will have to be on their toes against Notre Dame, who will be seeking revenge after a last second loss late last year.

Texas Longhorns: Big 12 South (+800)

Though it’s impossible to replace a player like Vince Young, who brought a lot to the table, the Longhorns will not be shooting blanks on offence. Though both QBs competing for the starting spot aren’t Vince Young clones by any stretch of the imagination, they do have potential. Experts are comparing Colt McCoy to Longhorn alum Major Applewhite and according to offensive coordinator Greg Davis, Freshman Jevan Snead is “more physical” than another Texas alum, Chris “Son of Phil” Simms.

Schedule: The Longhorns will have to play smart football early on. After opening the season against North Texas, they will have to face the Ohio State Buckeyes the following week and you can be sure that the Buckeyes’ “D” will be ready to devour any inexperienced Texas QB.