Welcome To The Blogpoll

two of those three are waaaay too high. South Florida’s probably about right, I’d drop the other ones…the Big 12-please.

1. Georgia (22) – about right

2. USC (14) – without sanchez they need to drop (+ they lost half their team and they have jock itch…i mean c’mon)

3. Ohio State (14) – i’d move them to 2

4. Oklahoma (3)

5. Florida (5)

6. LSU (3) – OVERRATED!!!!!!!!

7. Missouri – I don’t know what to think of them this year.

8. West Virginia – OVERRATED!!!!

9. Clemson – who the hell knows with this team and the ACC. For a preseason poll it’s about right

10. Texas

11. Auburn

12. Wisconsin – wasn’t last year supposed to be there year as well?

13. Kansas – back to 8-4 for these guys

14. Texas Tech – i’d move them up…Crabtree is a BEAST

15. Virginia Tech – love their Defense but they’re still VT and thus they still suck!

16. Arizona State – chances they found a defense?

17. Brigham Young

18. Tennessee – solid. not spectacular

19. Illinois – umm…25 at best

20. Oregon

21. South Florida – they should be higher
 
22. Penn State – should be higher

23. Wake Forest

24. Michigan – Are you kidding me? How are they receiving votes?

25. Fresno State – whatever….

On the Fringe: Alabama (UL-Monroe), South Carolina (who’s the QB?), Utah (should be top 25), Rutgers (who’s the RB?), Boston College (who’s the QB?), Cal (If Longshore is good to go they are a top 15 team..we’ll see), Pitt (still sucks!)

LSU should be about 17

WVU should be 24

I say let pitt in at 25, they have the talent and schedule to be here (please don’t ban me)

Wisconsin and PSU should be side by side around 18/19, both in very similar situations going into the year

Illinois and Michigan should not be ranked, let them earn their way on (they won’t)

It’s easy to sit here and pick teams apart and say this guy is overrated and that guy should be dropped. But thing is, and if you tried putting a poll together from scratch you would see this, every time you drop a team, everyone else moves up a spot. So you can say so-and-so doesn’t belong in the top ten, but you have to couple that with telling me who DOES belong in the top ten. I could drop LSU, Missouri, and West Virginia, but that is going to bump Auburn, Wisconsin and Kansas into the top ten which I’m not sure is correct.

…ask me again in twenty minutes and it’ll be slightly different.

My bias: I feel pretty confident in my BigXII and BigTen assessment, fair on everything that isn’t the SEC, Big East, or ACC, and have no idea about those three conferences I listed.

1. Oklahoma
2. Ohio State
3. Georgia
4. USC
5. Missouri
6. Florida
7. Clemson
8. LSU
9. Auburn
10. Texas
11. Texas Tech
12. West Virginia
13. Brigham Young
14. Arizona State
15. Utah
16. South Florida
17. Virginia Tech
18. Penn State
19. Kansas
20. Wisconsin
21. Tennessee
22. Oregon
23. Wake Forest
24. Illinois
25. Alabama

1. Georgia
2. Ohio State
3. Oklahoma
4. Florida
5. Mizzou
6. USC
7. Auburn
8. Clemson
9. Texas Tech
10. PSU
11. USF
12. Texas
13. BYU
14. LSU
15. Arizona State
16. Utah
17. VT
18. Kansas
19. Wisconsin
20. Tennessee
21. WVU
22. Oregon
23. Wake Forest
24. Michigan State
25. Cal

I’d consider knocking UGA down a spot or two.

1. Ohio State
2. Georgia
3. USC

If you look at who ohio state has coming back and their schedule, I definitely think they deserve to be number one. Most people seem to be too scared to admit that ohio state returns a really good team this year.

If Georgia doesn’t play the spread (do they? i don’t know) I would pick ohio state to beat them if they played right now on a neutral field. The spread seems to be the thing that really kills osu. Ohio St. is decent in stopping a regular rushing attack.

or if you’d rather think about who’s more likely to finish #1 at the end of the season, I’d pick Ohio State because I think the big ten is weak. (sort of a lame argument and backhanded diss at the same time, but hey thats how wvu has been ranked high early on in the past years)

or if you’d want to think about what set of players you’d rather take to play a game for your life right now, I’d take the ohio state players. they’ve been to the biggest stage. twice. they have tons of experience. (and 1 more returning starter). if georgia is going to be so good and espn loves the sec, why can’t i name any other georgia player except for knowshean moreno (spelling? I have no clue).

or you can consider all the suspensions/injuries that georgia has had already. they have definitely decreased their ranking i think.

too much is made about bowl performance. Georgia beat Hawaii for cryin’ out loud. That wasn’t even a fair game. I’d be willing to bet that any team in a new years day bowl (or above) could have beaten the Warriors. (heck i’d even pick penn state to beat them).

I’ve tried to give an explination of each choice i have made. Some of them might be a bit suprising, but i think you can at least understand my logic.

1. Georgia (22) – Return a very talented team with only a few question marks, such as losing their starting left-tackle and a few other changes on the offensive line. Last year their line was predominately underclassmen, so I don’t think this is as big of an issue as it is for other teams.
2. USC (14) – Great defense and as usual they have the weapons to become a great offense. Losing the starting quarterback for at least the season opener hurts, but let’s face it USC will just plug in another great quarterback.
3. Ohio State (14) – Have the talent on both sides of the ball to make another trip to the NCG. Whether or not they can shake their bowl problems remains to be seen. Some people would argue that this team should be marked lower because of their disappointing season ending, but during the regular season they are very dominant. We will find out how good they really are when USC tests them.
4. Florida (5) – Heisman winning quarterback leading a very good offense. Last season this offense was basically all about the quarterback play because there were no other viable options. With the addition of a (potentially) good rushing attack this should help the offense become even better. The defense must continue to improve, however this team has the tools to be very good.
5. LSU (3) – If there is a team that can re-load it must be LSU. They are always having great wide receiver play along with a very good offense. Sure this year they have no great options at quarterback, but they will be fine with running the ball and doing things to get the ball in the hands of their playmakers. Defense has lost some dominant players but LSU has recruited well so they should have people ready to step up to fill the gap.
6. Missouri – When you first look at Missouri, you think they were a "one year wonder" but look a little deeper and you realize they have got some special players. They’ve got a great quarterback and some really dangerous wide receivers. They must find a suitable replacement for the loss of their tight end and running back, but with such a prolific offense there should be plenty of openings for these newcomers to gain yardage. Defense should be good for this team, however how good I am not really sure.
7. Oklahoma (3) – As you can see I have this team ranked lower than most other people ("experts") have them mainly because besides Sam Bradford (their quarterback), no one comes to mind. They don’t have a star running back or wide receiver this year to rely on (at least not yet). Sure Bradford lead the league last year in percent completions, but losing such a good wide receiver will definitely hurt his production. As usual Oklahoma should have a great offensive line, but since this is a preseason prediction, and its not linemen that are scoring touchdowns Oklahoma is going to be lower.
8. West Virginia – Great returning quarterback along with a great running back. This team really has the weapons to win; the question is how much of a change will the team undergo? While West Virginia hired a new head coach, I don’t think there will be too many changes to their offense because their head coach was hired from within. Offensively the loss of Slaton will hurt them, but this team is well stocked to continue to dominate the ground game.
9. Texas – A healthy Colt McCoy along with a great defense means that Texas is a force to be reckoned with. Remember last year Texas was playing very well but it was injuries to Sweed and McCoy that really sent their season downhill.
10. Clemson – Fair or not this is one of the hyped teams. They’ve got a good returning quarterback along with two good running backs. Combine that with a good recruiting class and this team breaks the top ten. I feel like this is a bit high for this team since they always seem to choke, but for preseason….why not lets through them in the top ten.
11. Boise State- Alright so this is a surprise for most of you. That’s fine, look at the record 42-7 the past three years! They have lost key players and even their coach and they just plug in a new guy and keep on winning. They’ve got some great young coaches that have good football knowledge and can coach a great offense. They’ve got Ian Johnson returning at the running back position and a sophomore wide receiver that really played well in the game vs. Hawaii.
12. Texas Tech- The best wide receiver in the nation along with a quarterback that knows how to spread the ball around and play a wide open offense. For years Tech has played good offense but people simply kept the ball and forced the defense to make a play. It was the defense that lost them football games; however Tech is starting to recruit defensive players better and should have at least a decent defense this year.
13. Kansas – Returning quarterback that understands their hurry up offense. The lost of Aqui Talib hurts them, but they should be able to continue to play well.
12. Wisconsin – Last year they played well but really relied on the running game to get the ball down the field. They had few good wide receivers and as a result relied upon their running game and tight ends. While they should have another good defense this year, last year numerous teams gave their offense problems. Heading into this year I don’t know if any of those problems have really been addressed or fixed yet.
13. Auburn – A lot of stockpiled talent however they are unsure who their quarterback will be.
15. Virginia Tech – As usual Virginia Tech has a good overall team that can compete. Remember last year they had two good quarterbacks that were fighting for playing time so they should not have a problem with that area.
16. Arizona State- Struggled with injuries to their quarterback (Carpenter) last year but with a healthy quarterback this team is set for a break-out year.
17. Penn State – Experienced Offensive line, but they lack a clear cut started for quarterback. The secondary should bounce back after a disappointing year but both sides of the ball are very solid.
18. Brigham Young- A lot of returning players that played very well last year. This team showed what it was made of during the bowl game against UCLA, and has the pieces to be a very successful team.
19. Tennessee- This team has an untested quarterback but everything else is in place for this team to be a contender. That is unless their coach isn’t too busy being subpoenaed to court.
20. Illinois- The loss of Mendenhall will hurt this team a lot because they relied upon him to make a play. I think this team could be very good with the combination of Williams to Benn but overall I think the will take a step back from where they were last year.
21. Oregon – Losing their two best players on offense hurts so this team isn’t as talented as last year. However, there have been glowing reviews about their defense and their new freshmen running back. This team is always competitive so look for a good showing this year.
22. South Florida- Last year this team showed how good they could be. With a two year starter in Grothy, this team looks very good offensively. If the defense can continue to get to the quarterback they have the potential to make another run this year.
23. Wake Forest- This team always plays smart; if you watch them it’s the most noticeable thing about them. They don’t have the best athletes or amazing play calling, this is a team that wants to win and to do that they play smart. They should continue to be a force due to their brains and with better players entering the program they only stand to get better.
24. Nebraska – A somewhat surprise pick, Nebraska’s players seem to have responded to their new coach very well. They are buying into the system and making the necessary moves to become better. Let’s not forget that Nebraska has recruited well the past few years, so they should have playmakers around ready to make a difference. The big change in this team is coaching and since the players are buying into it, they could be a good sleeper choice.
25. Cal- Last year they showed they know how to play defense against USC. If they can continue to play defense on that level and get some offensive fire-power they might be a serious force in the Pac-10

its a friday……..i cut an pasted…..

NOT ONE OF YOU LISTED NOTRE DAME.

you will pay for your lack of foresight. clausen will win his second heisman this year.

Should be somewhere around 23/24.

Are nothing more than glorified blindfolded dart throwing, but since they are still a part of the game…

Can someone explain the “you can’t lose that much offensive talent and be in the Top 25” argument to me… Before you do though, let’s recall how many defensive starters Ohio State lost from their ’06 squad heading into ’07… what was it, 9? What was their preseason rank? Top 5? Then throw in that they lost Troy Smith, Ginn, etc…

Methinks many of you doth protest too much all based upon 1/3rd of the game… the Wolverine D is loaded, all kickers return (yeah, special teams!), and the talent is there on the offensive side of the ball but it is young. So is it totally inconceivable that Michigan could start the season at 24th?

Regarding the rest of the poll, I think the argument could easily be made that OSU has a legitimate claim to the top spot. People are errantly looking at last year’s and the year prior’s results as a reflection on this season’s team. Don’t you think you should judge a team based upon it’s outlook for the upcoming season? Combined with returning talent and schedule, I have a harder time putting Georgia ahead of OSU.

Everyone piles on the Buckeyes for their last two national title game appearances, but that shouldn’t distract from the fact that they have a ridiculous squad coming back this season (it hurts to have to say that…).

I also agree with those who question the Wisconsin love, Wisconsin has always benefitted from playing high-schools in their out of conference schedule… they’re a solid team, but top 15??? I don’t agree there. I think both Penn State and Wisconsin fit in somewhere between 17 to 20.

As for other teams that are, in my humble opinion only, overrated right now: West Virginia and Texas Tech.