10 REASONS THIS SEASON WILL BE DIFFERENT : NEW, IMPROVED TIEBREAKER AMONG WINNING CHANGES.

Byline: Jon Wilner Daily News Staff Writer

1. The Tiebreaker.

The system has been used in Division I-AA for years and was implemented for I-A bowl games last season, but only the Las Vegas Bowl needed it.

Here's how it works: Each team begins its possession at the opponent's 25-yard line, and - much like soccer penalty kicks - play continues until one team is ahead and both teams have had an equal number of possessions.

Possessions end when a team scores, commits a turnover or fails to make a first down.

``People don't like ties, they like wins,'' UCLA coach Bob Toledo said. ``It'll create more excitement for the fans, and I don't think it'll make coaches more conservative in the fourth quarter.

2. The new conferences.

Let's start in Texas, since that's the source of the changes.

The Southwest Conference is no more. Texas, Texas A&M, Baylor and Texas Tech have merged with the Big Eight teams to form the Big 12, which is divided into North and South divisions.

Texas Christian, Rice and Southern Methodist are now in the Western Athletic Conference, which has added six teams - Tulsa, UNLV and San Jose State are the others - and split into the eight-team Mountain and Pacific divisions.

Houston, the other SWC team, has joined Conference USA, which is better known for its basketball (Cincinnati, Louisville, Memphis).

The Big West is down to six teams and includes Division I-A first-timer Idaho - and former Bruins quarterback Ryan Fien.

The Big Ten still has 11 teams.

3. Playoff games.

College football's metamorphosis into the pro version takes a significant leap forward with the proliferation of playoff games.

For four years the Southeastern Conference held the nation's only playoff game - and was criticized for the money-grubbing, NFL smell of it.

But this year the Western Athletic and Big 12 conferences have added playoffs. (The Big 12 coaches were overwhelmingly against it, then overruled by their presidents.)

4. The Huskers are chasing history.

Nebraska enters the season with a 25-game winning streak - last loss: the 1994 Orange Bowl to Florida State and Charlie Ward - and this year the Cornhuskers are aiming for an unprecedented third consecutive national title.

5. No Heisman Trophy race.

It's two-man shootout between quarterbacks Peyton Manning (Tennessee) and Danny Wuerffel (Florida).

Combined, they threw for 57 touchdowns, 6,200 yards and completed 64 percent of their passes in '95. Wuerffel is a senior, Manning a junior. Wuerffel is more accomplished collegian and benefits from the Gators' Fun 'N Gun offense. Manning, son of Archie, is the better pro prospect.

6. The great programs have great teams.

Any list of the nation's 10 most legendary programs includes Nebraska, Notre Dame, USC, Miami, Alabama, Michigan, Penn State and Florida State.

But because of coaching changes (USC), NCAA violations (Miami) and underperforming (Alabama, Notre Dame), the top teams have rarely been good at once in recent years.

This season, they are.

7. A reduction in intersectional games.

This is a direct result of league expansion, which necessitates an additional conference game. (Colorado dropped Miami when the Big 12 formed, for instance.) The number of great non-conference matchups are few, so don't miss the following:

Sept. 14: Michigan at Colorado.

Sept. 21: Notre Dame at Texas.

Oct. 12: Florida State at Miami.

Nov. 30: Florida at Florida State, and Notre Dame at USC.

8. The return of the great runners.

Sure, a few of the nation's best backs from '95 are now in the NFL but there are more good college runners this year. The nation's leading rusher, Iowa State's 2,000-yard man, Troy Davis, is back. He's joined by Penn State's Curtis Enis, Northwestern's Darnell Autry, San Diego State's George Jones, Louisiana State's Kevin Faulk, Notre Dame's Randy Kinder and Florida State's Warrick Dunn.

9. Bowling down under.

The Pacific-10 is part of the first overseas, postseason bowl game - the Dec. 26 Haka Bowl in Auckland, New Zealand against an at-large opponent. The Bowl is not committed to a particular conference for its second team.After the conference champ goes to the Rose Bowl, a second tem goes to the Cotton or Holiday (Cotton has first choice), then the Haka Bowl picks a Pac-10 team.

10. Notre Dame's trans-Atlantic trip.

That's right, on Nov. 2 the Irish will play Navy in Dublin, Ireland. Talk about a home-field advantage. Actually it's hard to argue with the Irish schedule. Coach Lou Holtz hasn't loaded up on pasties this year, with Texas, Washington, Ohio State, Boston College and USC ready to pounce. Holtz will combat the gantlet with one of his best teams in years. But is it good enough to beat Nebraska in the National title game.

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Chart: College Football Conference Shake-ups