College football, to put it as charitably as possible, had a less-than-ideal offseason.

From the Southeast to the Pacific Northwest, a series of scandals, controversies, academic outrages and incidents of boorish behavior has taken a toll on the good names of several schools.

This weekend's spotlight game, for instance, pits No. 3-ranked Oregon, a school that's under NCAA investigation for possible recruiting violations, against No. 4 LSU, whose top quarterback, Jordan Jefferson, is suspended for his part in a brawl outside a campus watering hole called Shady's.

This summer of scandal has left millions of chastened fans and alumni asking themselves the same dreary questions. Is it time to take down that pennant in my office? Should I peel the sticker off the rear window of my car?

This year, rather than simply predicting how each of college football's 120 major programs will fare on the field, we've also thrown in a helpful new variable: how embarrassed each team's fans should be about their allegiance to the program.