Here it is!! I’ve spent my nice month-long “vacation” researching new conferences, schedules, key players, and the best looking college football coach (Mario Cristobal FYI). This will be a very interesting year with plenty of great games between ranked teams, weekly upsets, and sure surprises at the end of the season! It is obvious that the SEC and Big 10 are going to run the board this year!
Without further ado, here are the teams that I see in the Top 20! (25 is too many teams)
20) Auburn – Mississippi St., South Carolina, Arkansas, LSU, Alabama / Extremely tough SEC schedule, Obvious loss of QB Cam Newton to the NFL, Very few returning starters, Loaded with young talent, Could possibly fall out of Top 25 this year.
19) Missouri – Oklahoma, Oklahoma St., Texas A&M / Loss of Blaine Gabbert with no strong leader replacing him, Good news = 9 returning starters on offense, including WR T.J. Moe (1,000+ yds in 2010).
18) Mississippi St. - Auburn, LSU, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Arkansas / Many winnable games for the Bulldogs, Top 3 WR’s return, Won’t have a defense strong enough to compete with top SEC offenses.
17) Arkansas – Alabama, Texas A&M, Auburn, South Carolina, Mississippi St., LSU / Arguably toughest schedule in the NCAA this year, Lost QB Ryan Mallett…projected replacement = Tyler Wilson, Knile Davis out for the season with an injury, Much to prove early on.
16) Ohio St. - Michigan St., Nebraska, Wisconsin / No more Terrelle Pryor, Big name (Herron, Posey) suspensions may cause them to drop, Luckily have an easy first 5 games before Nebraska.
15) TCU – Boise St. / Another mid-major team with a weak schedule that will hurt them, 25-game regular season win streak, Andy Dalton will be missed, Will depend on top 3 RB’s and their defense (1st in pts against last year with 12.0).
14) Nebraska - Wisconsin, Ohio St., Michigan St. / Move into the Big 10 this year will make the conference much stronger, New offense might be tough to adjust to but also fun to watch, Lack of WR’s, QB Taylor Martinez is similar to former QB Eric Crouch, but must improve on his passing game, Best defense in the Big 10 this year.
13) Wisconsin - Nebraska, Michigan St., Ohio St. / Incoming NC State transfer, QB Russell Wilson, fills the one hole in this offense, Deep at RB position, Could move up in rankings, Potential Big 10 champions.
12) Michigan St. – Notre Dame, Ohio St., Wisconsin, Nebraska / Led by 2010 Big 10 Coach of the Year, Mark Dantonio, Great offensive backfield, QB Kirk Cousins will put up even more passing stats with new offense, Must replace LB’s on defense, Young defense (only 2 Seniors in top 22 defensive players).
11) Virginia Tech – No scheduled games against ranked teams, Lack of competition during the regular season will hurt their bowl appearance, Must replace QB Tyrod Taylor (HUGE QB Logan Thomas) and RB’s Evans & Williams, Beamer Ball, All WR’s back, First week loss to Appalachian State???
Make sure you check back tomorrow for Part 2 of the NCAA rankings!!
