The Top 25: My Thoughts

[R. Rich]

Here we go again. The college football season is upon us, so it's time for the media and the coaches to annoint someone as the best team. Here's a link to ESPN's listing of both the AP and USA Today list of the top 25 teams.

 

For those who can't access the link, here they are:

 

AP TOP 25

 

1. Ohio State (35) 0-0 1,558

2. Notre Dame (10) 0-0 1,470

3. Texas (8) 0-0 1,411

4. Auburn (3) 0-0 1,395

5. West Virginia (6) 0-0 1,354

6. USC (3) 0-0 1,345

7. Florida 0-0 1,178

8. LSU 0-0 1,144

9. California 0-0 975

10. Oklahoma 0-0 960

11. Florida State 0-0 949

12. Miami (FL) 0-0 893

13. Louisville 0-0 844

14. Michigan 0-0 824

15. Georgia 0-0 743

16. Iowa 0-0 720

17. Virginia Tech 0-0 614

18. Clemson 0-0 479

19. Penn State 0-0 386

20. Nebraska 0-0 332

21. Oregon 0-0 324

22. TCU 0-0 257

23. Tennessee 0-0 215

24. Arizona State 0-0 182

25. Texas Tech 0-0 181

 

 

 

USA TODAY TOP 25

 

1. Ohio State (28) 0-0 1,487

2. Texas (11) 0-0 1,378

3. USC (1) 0-0 1,348

3. Notre Dame (9) 0-0 1,348

5. Oklahoma (13) 0-0 1,320

6. Auburn (1) 0-0 1,206

7. West Virginia 0-0 1,202

8. Florida 0-0 1,054

9. LSU 0-0 1,037

10. Florida State 0-0 874

11. Miami (FL) 0-0 839

12. California 0-0 798

13. Louisville 0-0 785

14. Georgia 0-0 784

15. Michigan 0-0 778

16. Virginia Tech 0-0 591

17. Iowa 0-0 519

18. Clemson 0-0 493

19. Penn State 0-0 406

20. Oregon 0-0 373

21. TCU 0-0 270

22. Nebraska 0-0 261

23. Tennessee 0-0 216

24. Alabama 0-0 210

25. Texas Tech 0-0 198

 

 

 

Michigan could be better than where they're ranked. Too early to say, but they've got the potential to be a darkhorse this year in terms of the national title.

 

Ohio State, on paper, looks to be the class of the field, but I still believe they're going to lose one or two. It's going to be a tough season for whoever wins the Big 11, and I don't think anyone will sweep their way to the title.

 

Texas has another strong recruiting class coming in (Mack Brown can recruit), so they should be in the mix. Their conference is in a down period, so they shouldn't have a whole lot of difficulty getting to their conference final again.

 

Cal and West Virginia are wild cards. I personally feel they will justify their rankings and could even surpass them, especially the Mountaineers. Their impressive bowl win last year when many (myself included) thought they didn't deserve to be there spoke volumes.

 

Yeah, yeah, "that school" is going to be very good. They feature perhaps the best offensive player in the country in Quinn (though I think the guy on the team they'll face in their opener, Georgia Tech's Calvin Johnson, could end up being more dominant) and if their defense improves, they'll be tough for any team to beat. Another outstanding recruiting class and the great strides they made in Year 1 of the Charlie Weiss era has to give the golden domers hope.

 

Be on the lookout for OU. I think AD is ready to have a monster season and put them back in the spotlight.

 

My team? Well, the return of Posluszny was great and I do think Morelli will be okay @ QB, but the loss of such a great secondary is going to sting. Up front, they'll be okay, but they're going to need for the young guys in the secondary to step up HUGE! We'll find out very shortly, when they travel to the midwest to play "that school" (way to gouge people w/ the high ticket prices!), just how much we'll miss Zemaitis, Lowry, Harrell, and Phillips.

 

I'm really looking forward to this season. It should prove very exciting, as I can see quite a few teams in the mix for this year's national title.

[Chilly]

Michigan could be better than where they're ranked.  Too early to say, but they've got the potential to be a darkhorse this year in terms of the national title.

 

Agreed, I think Michigan is underrated.

 

Ohio State, on paper, looks to be the class of the field, but I still believe they're going to lose one or two.  It's going to be a tough season for whoever wins the Big 11, and I don't think anyone will sweep their way to the title.

 

I believe they'll lose in the 2nd week of the season.

 

Texas has another strong recruiting class coming in (Mack Brown can recruit), so they should be in the mix.  Their conference is in a down period, so they shouldn't have a whole lot of difficulty getting to their conference final again.

 

Our defense this year is going to be insane, better then last year's. Apparently Chizik was pissed during the Rose Bowl and at lats year's defense (which was pretty damn good), and claims the D is stronger at this point in the season.

 

Our O-line is the best in the country. If McCoy can get the ball to our WRs, I think we have a pretty friggin strong team, with or without the recruiting class.

 

Cal and West Virginia are wild cards.  I personally feel they will justify their rankings and could even surpass them, especially the Mountaineers.  Their impressive bowl win last year when many (myself included) thought they didn't deserve to be there spoke volumes.

 

I don't think theres any way in hell Cal deserves their #9 ranking. They might be very good this year (1 or 2 losses), but a top 10 at this point is lame.

 

Yeah, yeah, "that school" is going to be very good.  They feature perhaps the best offensive player in the country in Quinn (though I think the guy on the team they'll face in their opener, Georgia Tech's Calvin Johnson, could end up being more dominant) and if their defense improves, they'll be tough for any team to beat.  Another outstanding recruiting class and the great strides they made in Year 1 of the Charlie Weiss era has to give the golden domers hope.

 

Indeed, they will be.

 

Be on the lookout for OU.  I think AD is ready to have a monster season and put them back in the spotlight.

 

He's gonna get the beat down versus teams with a good defense, having a WR as their QB and all.

 

My team?  Well, the return of Posluszny was great and I do think Morelli will be okay @ QB, but the loss of such a great secondary is going to sting.  Up front, they'll be okay, but they're going to need for the young guys in the secondary to step up HUGE!  We'll find out very shortly, when they travel to the midwest to play "that school" (way to gouge people w/ the high ticket prices!), just how much we'll miss Zemaitis, Lowry, Harrell, and Phillips.

 

I'm really looking forward to this season.  It should prove very exciting, as I can see quite a few teams in the mix for this year's national title.

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Yep, Penn State has a decent shot this year.