1. USC-the Trojans have way too many starters coming back. Booty is a legit Heisman contender and this is one of Carroll’s best defenses. The butt kicking that they delivered in the Rose Bowl should propel them into the title game and win a national title. USC, in my mind, is the best team this season.
2. Ohio State-the Buckeyes will have a very talented defense going into next season. Offense is a bit more of a question, but they should be like the 2006 Buckeyes but in reverse. The offense will be really young losing a lot of players, but the defense will be the experienced side. Look for OSU to rely on Wells early on to carry OSU through the early part of the schedule.
3. Florida-yes, I know that the 06 Gators were better than the 06 Buckeyes so don’t jump on me here. Looking at next season, Florida will lose their 4 best defenders to the NFL, something that is really hard to come back from. Add on to the fact that they must make it through the SEC with, at most, 1 loss, it doesn’t look like a repeat title is probable. But Tebow and the offense will be very good, but that defense is the question mark. They should still go to the Capital One Bowl.
4. Arkansas-the Razorbacks have Mustain with a year under his belt and that rushing attack
, it should be pretty scary. Arkansas will have a decent defense. The rushing attack will be heck for the defenses trying to defend it and they should be in a BCS bowl by the end of the season even though they didn’t close out last season very well.
5. LSU-my 3rd SEC team in the top 5, LSU is loaded as usual. They are one of the most talented teams in the country and filling in spots where they will lose the starter is no biggie. Flynn will pick the offense back up from where Russell left them and the Tigers won’t miss a beat offensively.
6. West Virginia-yeah, the defense is bad, but they should be a wee bit better this season. White and Slaton are back for a 3rd go-around and the offense should improve from last year’s performance. The defense will get torched a time or two, but 11-1 should be expected.
7. Virginia Tech-the QB position is the real question mark for this team. I think that Glennon will have learned a lot from last year, but Ike Whitiker may be the new starting QB. VT’s defense should be one of the best again and they’re a lock to finish in the top 5 in total defense. This is my dark horse to be in the championship game.
8. Nebraska-the Cornhuskers being at #8 may surprise a few of you, but I see Sam Keller excelling in this offense. In case you hadn’t noticed, Nebraska has gotten a little bit better year-by-year and this should be Callahan’s season. Keller will do fine and they’re a legit BCS contender. My pick to win the Big 12 this season.
9. Texas-the Longhorns are loaded again. McCoy will be developed, somewhat, and he has weapons to work with. The defense will be decent. I think a lot of people will forget about Texas when they are upset by TCU, but they should find a spot in the Big 12 title game.
10. Wisconsin-the Badgers are probably the most underrated program in America. All they do is continue to win and win and win and win and they never get any credit for it. Granted, last year’s schedule was so freaking easy, but that doesn’t mean that they weren’t a good team. P.J. Hill should do his thing and the QB issue should be fine. In case you hadn’t noticed, Wisconsin has put a lot of quarterbacks in the NFL like Brooks Bollinger, Jim Sorgi, and I think there’s another that I can’t remember right now. Anyway, they will be solid as usual. I don’t think that they’re as legit of a national title contender as some others, but they are a good football team with a shot at the Big 10 crown.
11. Louisville-Kragthrope’s first season should start off with a big bang. Losing Petrino and Bush will hurt somewhat, but with Brohm who could be the best QB in the nation this season, the Louisville offense will not miss a beat. Louisville has a very underrated defense. There’s a lot of talent on that side of the ball. The Cards should be back in the BCS next season.
12. Oklahoma-the Sooners will be perfectly fine without A.D. next year. We saw what they could still do in the running game when he was out with that collarbone injury. QB may be an issue, but they’ll recover for sure. My problem with OU is the loss of players on the defensive front. If it weren’t for the front 7 losses, I’d have Oklahoma in my top 5.
13. Boston College-Jagodzinksi has some talent to work with. A ton of defensive talent is coming back. Not to mention that he has one of the toughest quarterbacks in the country. I think that last year’s team wasn’t a great one because I saw a weak ACC last year, but that should change as the conference as a whole should be back and loaded. BC will be one of the best teams in that conference next season.
14. Cal-the Golden Bears will be nothing spectacular next year. This will be your typical 9-3 Cal team. They always seem to be on the cusp of brilliance but they’re never quite good enough to get there.
15. Florida State-I know this may seem odd having a team that finished 6-6 last year at the 15 spot, but FSU went through a lot of maturing last season. I expect the Noles to be back. Losing Timmons and Davis at LB shouldn’t be a problem because they reload on defense like no other. As Billybud would know, FSU had a ton of defensive injuries last year and that should make the team stronger heading into next season. This team is probably a legitimate contender for the ACC title.
16. Michigan-some people have the Wolverines ranked so high and I can’t believe it. The team is losing too many starters. Lloyd Carr is one of the worst coaches at a big-time program. I don’t think he is really a good coach, the name “University of Michigan” sells itself. He has botched a lot of talent here, and the team is losing too many defensive starters. Michigan is stuck back in the 80s in terms of their offensive strategy. Expect the Big Blue to be in the Outback Bowl, 9-3. They’re going to lose to Oregon, mark it down.
17. TCU-make some room for Eric, ‘cause I’m hopping on the TCU bandwagon! The defense is outstanding and they should be in the BCS at 11-1. I doubt they would though. I think that they will defeat Texas and be on the way to a Fiesta Bowl appearance. They’re this year’s Boise State. TCU has had a lot of success against the Big 12 in recent games.
18. Georgia-this is your typical Bulldog team. Very good defense, somewhat shaky offense. Stafford won’t be as bad as he has been in 2006. They should be in a good bowl game.
19. Auburn-I’m a little wishy-washy on the Tigers this year. I actually don’t think they’ll be that good this year, but they deserve to be ranked depending on where they finished last year. Still, Auburn is a pretty safe bet that they are a top 25 material team. There’s a huge upset looming on the horizon when they play South Florida…….
20. Georgia Tech-the Yellow Jackets are alright. I don’t think that they’ll be better off for losing Calvin Johnson, but they should be a little bit improved everywhere else. Taylor Bennett showed what he could do in the Gator Bowl
! GT will have a decent defense. I guess on whether it depends on Chan Gailey’s future because he was interviewed by the Pittsburgh Steelers. I don’t think he’d have a huge effect on the season, but it would be a somewhat big deal. They should be a top 25 team regardless.
21. Iowa-Iowa had a bad season. If you look at it, its possible that they may be on the decline. Iowa should be better next year and there’s no way that they’ll be 2-6 in league play next year. I like the looks of the Hawkeyes in 2007.
22. Miami-I love the move to hire Randy Shannon. He will get those guys on offense to be a little more tough-minded and the defense will do their thing next season. Whether it’s Wright or Freeman, the offense will click a little more and not be as bad as they were this year. I know it’s the MPC Computers Bowl, but winning their bowl game will set things on the right foot for 2007. The Canes will be back where they belong-a January bowl game.
23. South Florida-the Bulls are this year’s dark horse in the Big East conference. I actually think that they have a legit shot at winning the conference. USF has a very speedy defense, Grothe is a sophomore, and I’m pretty sure that they get the entire offensive line back. All 3 of those things are a huge + for the team. USF could be in a new year’s bowl.
24. Penn State-PSU was okay last year, but did anyone see Anthony Morelli in the Outback Bowl this year?!!!? I did not see that coming. He was very efficient. If he can play like that, PSU would become a legitimate top 25 team. They’re going to be better next year. Joe Pa usually fields a pretty good team.
25. Boise State-for the sake of having the Broncos in the top 25, I had to put them on here. I was a little hesitant to jump on Boise’s bandwagon. I knew they could hang “with the big boys”, but I had that nagging gut feeling that told me they’d slip up somewhere down the line in WAC play. Turns out that they didn’t. So, I may be wrong, but with the amount of departing seniors, I can’t see Boise State having the same amount of success as they had last year. This year will be more comparable to 2005, but 10-2 is likely. The system is in place where they can just plug-and-chug. Boise State has one of the best programs in the nation in terms of success and we can count on them to always field a winning team.
Oh well, it's never too early to talk about college football, huh?
, I think that Georgia is way to low. I dont see Georgia losing more than 2 games next year. There should be a minimum of a Capital One bowl for Richt and the boys. New offensive coordiantor/play caller and a lot more experience under Stafford's belt, show an offense that will look completely different next year.
At least you got a consideration....
