michelle beadle espnWhen ESPN personality Michelle Beadle innocently posted a blurry picture of herself wearing a sexy red dress right before the ESPY Awards on Twitter, it quickly lit up all corners of the web.

"I liked the dress, but I didn't think it was that big of a deal," she told Asylum. "It got me a lot more followers on Twitter."

These days, Beadle, co-host of ESPN's "SportsNation," has a 90,000-strong Twitter army, all of whom get access to a constant stream of her mostly sports-related insights. (She recommends following Bill Simmons, The Big Lead and Sports by Brooks for sports news.)

Since fall is approaching, we asked the die-hard University of Texas Longhorns fan for the five things she'll be watching for this college football season. Read on to check them out, as well as the photo that made her a Web celebrity.

5. Boise State
When it comes to the college game, Beadle keeps her eye on the little guy: "I always argue that the Boise States of the world deserve a title shot," Beadle explained. "This year, they open up against Virginia Tech, so if they win that, who knows? I just hope [the BCS] lets them in the title game if they run the table."

4. New QBs With Big Shoes to Fill
"I'm going to be watching Texas, obviously. Colt McCoy is gone, which is very sad for all lot of us, but Garrett Gilbert will be fine," she predicted. "Between that and watching what happens at Florida with John Brantley stepping in for Tim Tebow, it should be an interesting year for new QBs"

michelle beadle twitter pic3. USC
Beadle dismisses those who think that USC's probationary punishment -- which includes a two-year postseason ban and a loss of future scholarships -- won't affect how they play on the field this year. "I have to think there is just this huge cloud over their program," she argued. There are a lot of folks in Knoxville, Tennessee, who will be hoping she's right.

2. Big 12
A Big 12 gal ever since the demise of the Southwestern Conference, Beadle was "worried for a minute that [the Big 12] was being completely dismantled."

The conference mostly survived college football's most radical realignment since the death of the old SWC, and Beadle will be keeping a keen eye on the Big 12's last year with its current allotment of teams.

"I want to see how Nebraska goes out. It's been a while since I cared about Nebraska," she told us.

What about Colorado, the other Big 12 team which is leaving in 2011 for the ostensibly greener pastures of the Pac-10? "It's funny," Beadle taunted. "Nobody cares about Colorado."

1. The Hardware
"I don't think it will be [Alabama running back and 2009 Heisman Trophy winner] Mark Ingram," Beadle told us, when we asked who would take the Heisman this year.

"It's obviously hard to do that twice. I think it's going to be an arm -- you know what, I should just say it and stick by it: It's going to be [Washington quarterback] Jake Locker."

As for the national champion: "Well -- if it can't be Texas -- I'd love it to be Boise State."

There you have it. Locker and Boise State. Remember this. And if Beadle is right, you'll probably hear about it on Twitter.