Preseason College Football Top Ten: Part 3
continued. . . . . .
4. Texas-- The Longhorns are poised for another Big 12 Title. QB Colt McCoy will be a Sophomore, and it looks like he will be great for Texas. He had a sensational Freshman season, and he looks to not only be a year wiser, but bigger as well. Reports from Austin are that he bulked up. This is necessary if Texas is going to keep him healthy all year. They also return a good assortment on defense including 4 of 7 up front. That helps give the secondary time to jell before September 29 against Kansas State. The OL also has to get better, but that has never been a problem for any Texas team. Watch out for the November 3 game at Oklahoma State. Texas always struggles to win in Stillwater.
3. West Virginia-- Well, I see so much returning for this West Virginia team, including their head coach. Same system, same coaches. Same destruction of opponents. West Virginia graded second on my scale with Wisconsin, but I put them ahead of Louisiville because they return their system, and their coaches. WVU returns what they need to remain a contender until the new starters begin to jell. Their pass defense needs to be better if they are going to win the Big East outright and make it to the BCS Title game. They return most of their secondary, and maybe they will be better than 109th in the nation. If the defense is better against the pass, this might make for a great WVU team. The Mountaineers play 4 of their first 6 on the road, and then, if they win those, they will at Rutgers on October 27 and at home against Louisville November 8 to play for the Big East Title. Then, if they want to compete for the National Title, Pat White needs to be a lot better at passing the ball.
2. Michigan-- Rarely have I seen a team return so much fire power on offense. Michigan has an All-American RB, a rocket-armed QB, and two big, fast, Junior WRs. They return most of their OL too. They don't return as much on defense, but they have someone back in each of the key areas: DT, LB, CB, and FS. And, Michigan never lacks the talent to fill in those other spots. Two of the projected starters at LB are Seniors. The point is, they will have what they need to put a good defense on the field. This reminds me of Ohio State's defense last year which was suppose to be in a rebuilding year. They did pretty well. Of course, the Michigan offense can control the game with RB Michael Hart. This Michigan team is poised to make another run at the Big Ten Title and a National Championship.
1. USC-- The Trojans are number one hands down. They return an incredible 10 players on defense! In the first couple of games, their defense may score as much as their offense. Also, they graded out highest in my, ahem, scientific grading system. They were tied with Louisiville, but I think USC is the tops because they have so much defense returning and no coaching change. When USC goes to Nebraska, that's the game to watch on September 15. This is the game when those that will step it up on offense will emerge as go-to players. This is what USC needs too. They return 6 on offense including QB John David Booty, but they lack a proven running game and Dwayne Jarrett is gone to the NFL.. That makes for a tough stretch early until they figure those things out. Look for freshman Joe McKnight to help at RB, and maybe another freshmen to emerge at WR. If they can get those things solved, then USC will be playing for the National Title in January. But, who knew?
4. Texas-- The Longhorns are poised for another Big 12 Title. QB Colt McCoy will be a Sophomore, and it looks like he will be great for Texas. He had a sensational Freshman season, and he looks to not only be a year wiser, but bigger as well. Reports from Austin are that he bulked up. This is necessary if Texas is going to keep him healthy all year. They also return a good assortment on defense including 4 of 7 up front. That helps give the secondary time to jell before September 29 against Kansas State. The OL also has to get better, but that has never been a problem for any Texas team. Watch out for the November 3 game at Oklahoma State. Texas always struggles to win in Stillwater.
3. West Virginia-- Well, I see so much returning for this West Virginia team, including their head coach. Same system, same coaches. Same destruction of opponents. West Virginia graded second on my scale with Wisconsin, but I put them ahead of Louisiville because they return their system, and their coaches. WVU returns what they need to remain a contender until the new starters begin to jell. Their pass defense needs to be better if they are going to win the Big East outright and make it to the BCS Title game. They return most of their secondary, and maybe they will be better than 109th in the nation. If the defense is better against the pass, this might make for a great WVU team. The Mountaineers play 4 of their first 6 on the road, and then, if they win those, they will at Rutgers on October 27 and at home against Louisville November 8 to play for the Big East Title. Then, if they want to compete for the National Title, Pat White needs to be a lot better at passing the ball.
2. Michigan-- Rarely have I seen a team return so much fire power on offense. Michigan has an All-American RB, a rocket-armed QB, and two big, fast, Junior WRs. They return most of their OL too. They don't return as much on defense, but they have someone back in each of the key areas: DT, LB, CB, and FS. And, Michigan never lacks the talent to fill in those other spots. Two of the projected starters at LB are Seniors. The point is, they will have what they need to put a good defense on the field. This reminds me of Ohio State's defense last year which was suppose to be in a rebuilding year. They did pretty well. Of course, the Michigan offense can control the game with RB Michael Hart. This Michigan team is poised to make another run at the Big Ten Title and a National Championship.
1. USC-- The Trojans are number one hands down. They return an incredible 10 players on defense! In the first couple of games, their defense may score as much as their offense. Also, they graded out highest in my, ahem, scientific grading system. They were tied with Louisiville, but I think USC is the tops because they have so much defense returning and no coaching change. When USC goes to Nebraska, that's the game to watch on September 15. This is the game when those that will step it up on offense will emerge as go-to players. This is what USC needs too. They return 6 on offense including QB John David Booty, but they lack a proven running game and Dwayne Jarrett is gone to the NFL.. That makes for a tough stretch early until they figure those things out. Look for freshman Joe McKnight to help at RB, and maybe another freshmen to emerge at WR. If they can get those things solved, then USC will be playing for the National Title in January. But, who knew?
Labels: Preseason Top Ten
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