Alright, Vince is officially going to the big time, so it's time for the ridiculously early 2006 NCAA Football Top Ten.
Understand that this involves a decent amount of media fellating (hence ND being ranked so high) and major speculation (hence WVU being ranked so high).
And just to prove out irrelevant preseason rankings are, over the past 20 years, only 3 teams have started AND finished the season ranked #1. Those teams were:
1993-1994 Florida State
1999-2000 Florida State
2004-2005 USC
What am I supposed to do, just sit back and watch the NBA for 6 months? Without further ado:
1.Ohio State: I know this is bold, especially at this early stage, but you have an offense here that averaged 38 points in the last 7 games, and developed into a true unit. Troy Smith ended up 4th in the nation in passing efficiency. This offense will be very dangerous. Plus there's this little nugget. But replacing key defensive players will be tough.
2. Texas: Hey, you're dealing with the defending national champions. And although they lose Vince Young (who I believe needs one more year to develop), but they still have a tough rushing and receiving corps. The Longhorns will also be looking to replace some key defensive players.
September 9, in Austin, they'll host the Buckeyes. I'm counting down. In fact, it's exactly 8 months from today.
3. Notre Dame: Now, this is complete media fluffing in my opinion, but if Brady Quinn and Charlie Weis are as good as everyone thinks they are, the Irish will be tough. The bottom line is that they were exposed in the Fiesta Bowl, and they're losing a few key players. Plus they have to play Penn State, Michigan, Purdue, UCLA, and USC. Maybe in 2008.
4. USC: After watching the transition from Carson Palmer to Matt Leinart in 2003, everyone's wondering if this team will ever stop recruiting superstars? And is it me or is this team just kind of on another level in general? They come back with LenDale White, and they'll probably kick some more ass this year. But without Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart, they'll be dragging a little behind.
5. West Virginia: This is a team that almost ran the table with freshmen playing BOTH quarterback and running back. This team is a long way from being out of the top 10, and with playing in the Big East, maybe they can run the table next season?
6. LSU: Why? Well, first of all because of their thoroughly boring 40-3 destruction of Miami in the Peach Bowl. Secondly, they have a tough offense returning, so they'll be able to put up those kind of numbers next year. But like so many other teams, they have numerous defensive spots to fill.
7. Florida: I believe in Urban Meyer. I really do. My friend played for him at BGSU and attests to him being a great coach, so I can't argue. Chris Leak will be a top Heisman finisher, and they'll be returning lots of good players. This team is hard to overlook every year, and they had HUGE wins against conference rivals this past year (Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida State). Look out for the Gators.
8. Penn State: Joe Pa should hold a press conference where he just says "Fuck You" to all the haters out there who have told him to retire year in and year out. There is that issue about whether or not he has anything to do whatsoever with play calling (he doesn't wear a headset), but still, he knows how to build a team. They lose Michael Robinson, but have someone named Morelli replacing him. Will he be the next Kerry Collins?
9. Oklahoma: Let me just state for the record how thoroughly pleased I was watching Oregon lose to Oklahoma in the Whatever Bowl. After the whining, crying, and pouting about anti-PAC 10 bias, it was nice to see the Ducks get put in their place. Anyway, Oklahoma has a quarterback in Bomar who has a bit more experience, and they have this Heisman candidate you may have heard of named Adrian Peterson, who even has his own Web site. I think they'll even get back on track against Texas next year.
10. That Team Up North: Michigan was overrated coming into this season, but they'll be worth it next year. With the return of Henne, Hart, Manningham, and Breaston, you know they'll be better than this year. Lloyd will make the appropriate coaching adjustments, but Michigan has been disappointing fans since that 1997 national championship (Since 1997, Michigan has had at least 3 losses 7 out of 8 years). I truly hope they turn it around next year, and I think they will.
Now I, like any other sensible college football fan, have biases against the Pac 10, Big East, and teams from Florida in general. Please keep that in mind. With that disclaimer, all comments are welcomed and encouraged.
6 comments:
Ok. This is my first post. Here goes....I am from the little town of Tuscola where I watched Colt McCoy play for 6 years. You need to know a couple of things about him. First, he is a winner. In his entire football career, he has only lost two football games (from seventh grade thru 12th), that was the 2A Division I State Championship in 2003 as a Junior and the Quarterfinal Playoff game in 2004 as a Senior. Colt is extremely hard working on the field and in the weight room. He's intelligent, graduating high school with a 98 GPA. He broke most Texas 2A passing records, including most pasing yards (6,550). He seldom played into the fourth quarter of a game. In sixth grade he gave up soft drinks because he heard they weren't good for athletes. Colt is unbelievably athletic. He can run as well as pass. You will see a different kind of arm from him than you saw from Vince Y. He can "chunk 'dat football." He was 6'3" last May when he left Tuscola. Did I mention that last Spring he led his basketball team to our school's first ever State Championship Basketball game? The boy can do it all. He has a strong faith in God and has an intensly disciplined work ethic. I know you're all sad about losing VY, but give this guy a chance. He's definitely National Championship material.
"I see a smart quarterback, and a lot of hard work, a lot of hard work," Young said. "I've seen a great arm, as well. He's already gained the respect of the guys, and like I told him all year, that's the biggest key. You have to gain the respect of the guys and get them to believe in you. You don't have to make every play all the time, just be their leader and their quarterback. ... And, you have to take it upon yourself to do different things to learn the offense. He's been answering a lot of questions in meetings that when I was a freshman, I couldn't even answer."
-Vince Young
Thanks for the comment man! Don't you think that, regardless of his talent, he's going to take at least a year to get where he needs to be, playing against tough defenses and in hostile stadiums?
If you tell me you think Texas will win the crystal ball again in 2 or 3 years, I'll agree with you.
one more thing. what's a 98 GPA? the guy must be a frickin' genius, no learning curve for him!
98 GPA = danktastic
Clemson lands 5 top 150 players, including the number one rated all-purpose back in the country, signing CJ Spiller (from Gainesville) over Florida St, Miami, USC and Florida. May be a little flighty, since he says one big reason is that his favorite player is Warrick Dunn and that Clemson had 28 available and Florida St didn't.
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