Today marks the beginning of the 2010 college football season here on College Football Haven. Before revealing the College Football Haven Preseason Top 25, let me quickly review what you can expect each week.
MONDAY: New opinion poll. Each week there will be a new poll to vote on regarding a pertinent issue in the game.
TUESDAY: Heisman Hopefuls. Track the top Heisman Trophy candidates with updates on their season stats and who is leading the race.
WEDNESDAY: College Football Trivia. Test your knowledge of college football with the weekly trivia question. Each question will be answered the following Wednesday when a new question is posed.
THURSDAY: Game predictions. I will give my predictions on some of the week's top games.
FRIDAY: Game of the Week. College Football Haven will preview the marquee match up of the week.
SATURDAY: Game Day Talk. Visit throughout the day and talk about the games. Share what you like and dislike, what surprises and disappointments you have as the action unfolds.
SUNDAY: Updated Top 25. As soon as the games end on Saturday, a new Top 25 will be released. It may be up earlier than Sunday. It will all depend on who plays when.
In addition to this regular schedule, commentary on the biggest issues and hottest events will be posted as frequently as possible. In any event, there will be a reason to visit each day.
If you missed any of the "5 Step Drops" for any of the FBS conferences last week, links to them are provided below.
TOP 25
Just a quick note before listing the teams. These rankings are intended to reflect how each team will fare this year. Of course, there will be some movement each week, but this is how I think it will be in the end. That being the case, it was impossible for me to rank Alabama number one. The Crimson Tide will be good, and they are my pick to win the SEC, but they are marked men, and I don't see them having another perfect season. I expect all of my top 4 will be undefeated. As for the number one team, I have learned not to doubt them and until someone can beat them to prove otherwise, they have earned the top spot.
1. Boise State (3 AP/5 USA Today)-The Bronco's return 21 of 22 starters from last year's 14-0 team that shocked everyone in week one and in the Fiesta Bowl. Like them or not, it is time the college football world gets to see what they are really made of.
2. Oklahoma (7/8)-Barring the rash of injuries that happened last year, Bob Stoops will have his players ready for an undefeated run.
3. Iowa (9/10)-The Ricky Stanzi injury was the only thing that kept Iowa from a 12-0 record and a spot in the Rose Bowl last year. Favorable schedule has Ohio State, Penn State, and Wisconsin all at home.
4. TCU (6/7)-Lots of players return. Very high chances for a second consecutive undefeated regular season and BCS bowl appearance.
5. Alabama (1/1)-Lost a lot on defense combined with a brutal schedule, and the SEC championship is a far as this team goes.
6. Ohio State (2/2)-Terrell Pryor will have a good year, but he is one year away from taking the Buckeye's to the national championship game.
7. USC (14/--)-Lane Kiffen will have there guys playing with a chip on their shoulders after the disappointing 2009 season and the recently levied NCAA sanctions.
8. Miami (13/13)-The Hurricanes are hungry to return the program to the top. That hunger will get them the ACC Championship.
9. Texas (5/4)-Garrett Gilbert still has some growing pains to go through.
10. Arkansas (17/19)-The Razorbacks will be the team this year that exceeds everyone's expectations. Ryan Mallett will have Bobby Petrino's offense humming like a well oiled machine.
11. Wisconsin (12/12)-John Clay will carry the Badgers this year.
12. Nebraska (8/9)-Fueled by the Big XII title game loss, the Cornhuskers are going to play all year like they have something to prove.
13. Virginia Tech (10/6)-Until Tyrod Taylor lives up to his potential, I am going to temper my expectations for the Hokies.
14. Pitt (15/15)-The Panthers and Dion Lewis won't take anyone by surprise this year.
15. Oregon State (24/22)-After another slow start, the Beavers will finish extra strong and play their way into the Rose Bowl.
16. Florida (4/3)-How do you not expect a drop off after losing guys like Tim Tebow and Brandon Spikes? Not to mention, Urban Meyer has to make some changes to the way he handles his job if he is going to be around for 2011.
17. Florida State (20/20)-A new coach will bring new life into this storied program.
18. LSU (21/16)-No longer getting the benefit of the doubt, Les Miles needs to deliver more Ws to Baton Rouge this year.
19. Penn State (19/14)-New quarterback, and a tough top 3 in the Big Ten this year will keep Penn State from finishing higher in the rankings.
20. Georgia Tech (16/17)-The Yellow Jackets will feel the sting of losing Jonathan Dwyer. The good news is that Josh Nesbitt is still around.
21. Oregon (11/11)-All the distractions this offseason will take their toll on the Ducks.
22. North Carolina (18/18)-We'll see if/how the Tar Heels will be affected by the recent news about Butch Davis and an academic scandal.
23. BYU (--/--)-Led by strong coaching and talented players to fill the holes left by veteran starters, the Cougars will have another good year.
24. Washington (--/--)-The darkhorse in the Pac-10. Steve Sarkisian will continue to turn around this once proud program.
25. Houston (--/--)-Another team with a senior quarterback and an up and coming coach.
OTHERS TO WATCH: Auburn, Air Force, Georgia, UConn, Stanford, Temple, Rutgers, Northwestern, West Virginia, SMU.
5 Step Drop
ACC
Big 10
Big XII
Big East
Conference USA
MAC
MWC
Pac-10
SEC
Sun Belt
WAC
Independents
are you IN LOVE with underdogs and underachievers?
ReplyDeletePoint well taken. These rankings can come across that way.
ReplyDeleteYes, I like the underdogs. But I don't like underachievers.
I would love to put Oklahoma a lot further down. They have underachieved in BCS games over the years. I am just trying to list how I see things shaking out this year.
I have VaTech much lower than in the AP and USAToday polls for that very reason--they underachieve. Tyrod Taylor has just as much talent as anyone else in the game, but he is not having a Michael Vick like run.
I stopped reading at "1. Boise State"...
ReplyDeleteI stopped reading at "1. Boise State"...
ReplyDelete------------
Me too pal. BSU has a limp wristed schedule that should keep them out of any BCSNCG. I say they would be in line behind any 1 loss SEC or Big 10+2 team. Florida at #16 is also laughable. They're still going to be one of the top 5 teams in the country.
Also, once VA Tech hammers BSU in the opener, we'll get a clearer picture of what the BS in BSU stands for.
What if VaTech wins the ACC and is playing in the Orange Bowl.
ReplyDeleteOregon State wins the Pac 10 and is in the Rose Bowl.
BSU will have beaten two AQ conference champions, two teams in BCS games. How many other teams will be able to say that?
"As for the number one team, I have learned not to doubt them and until someone can beat them to prove otherwise, they have earned the top spot."
ReplyDeleteCouldn't and shouldn't you say the same thing about Alabama?
Boise State only has to practice for 2 teams so they have been doing so since January; the rest they just have to show up. They have a good shot a beating those two since those teams have to actually balance their preparation against conference teams.
ReplyDelete"What if VaTech wins the ACC and is playing in the Orange Bowl.
ReplyDeleteOregon State wins the Pac 10 and is in the Rose Bowl."
What if I had wings? I wouldn't bump my butt a-hoppin'. Neither of these things are going to happen. Seriously? Oregon State winning the Pac 10?? And that's a lot of "if"s. I will take Boise State seriously when they play a serious schedule.
For the sake of continuing this argument, I offer another recently published preseason Top 25 from my college fantasy football blog, CollegeFantasyCoach.com:
ReplyDeletehttp://bit.ly/drWtTf