Here's my top 10


1. USC- Booty and company should be lethel on offense. Look for big things out of WR Patrick Turner. USC stumbled against two less talented teams ( UCLA and Oregon State). If SC doesn't make the same mistakes this year, the Trojans should be the favorite to win the championship. SC travels to Lincoln to take on Nebraska. This could be a potential obstacle for USC. Playing ND in South Bend at the end of the year could be tough too.

2. LSU- The Tigers are loaded everywhere. The only question that remains is the QB situation. Will Matt Flynn lead the Tigers or will highly touted Ryan Perrilloux be the man? If LSU finds an adequate replacement to Russell, they could play for the natioinal championship. If not, the team will be ranked 5-10.

3. WVU- With College football's most prolific offense with White, Slaton, Schmitt, and Reynuad, WVU will be a force. The question is can the defense improve from last season's debacle. Michigan transfer Mundy who started 3 years will anchor down the defensive back. The D should be highly athletic compared to last year's D. Will it be enough? Louisville comes to town. WVU must travel to Maryland, Rutgers, and USF.

4. Wisconsin- The Badgers flew under the radar last year going 12-1. With almost everyone coming back from last season, expect Wisconsin to beat Michigan for the Big 10 championship.

5. Florida- Look for the Gators to struggle on offense and rely on defense in the early season as Teebow gets accustomed to playing full time. Percy Harvin should have a HUGE year.

6. Louisville- Brian Brohm, Mario Urritiua, and Henry Douglad gives the Cards the best QB-WR combinations in college football. The Louisville-WVU winner in Morgantown could determine the Big East championship as well as one of the teams in the BCS championship game.

7. Texas- The Longhorns passing game should rank among the nation's best with Colt McCoy. Texas's defense which gave up big plays in the 2nd half of losses to KSU, A&M, and OSU should be improved. The winner of the Oklahoma-UT game will represent the Big 12 in a BCS bowl.

8. Michigan- The Wolverines should be very good on offense and pretty good on defense. Hart, Manningham, and Henne will put up outstanding numbers. After what appearedto be a much improved defense last season, Michigan took some bumps when OSU scored 40 and USC's offense had their way in the Rose Bowl. Ohio State is at home this year. Both OSU and Michigan could have good years, but this showdown might be for 2nd place as the Badgers could be the team to beat in the Big 10.

9. Cal- Look for the Bears to pack their same offensive punch that makes them dangerous. The Bears should avenge last season's debacle in Knoxville where they were trounced by UT to set itself up for a run at the Pac-10 Championship.

10. Oklahoma- The Sooners should make a run at the Big 12 championship. The season should come down to the OU-UT clash in Dallas.


Just outside:

Virginia Tech
Rutgers
Auburn
Arkansas
Nebraska
Oregon
Boise State
Ohio State
Clemson
Tennessee
Hawaii
Oregon State
BYU
TCU
USF
Purdue
Texas A&M

I have to sit down and really look but I don't think that USC will finish #1

they may be a pre-season #1 pick but...

W/ their tough on-the-road schedule I have to concur. As it is, w/ the bull's-eye on their back the last few years makes it even tougher. But, I won't complain if they do end up doing better than their schedule dictates.

I'm not putting my hopes up though. I'll just let the season play out & allow destiny to lead the way.

I'm going to the Cal/USC game

my ex has season tickets and he got me a ticket to this game and the Tennessee game

When I wasn't goin to school (again, Oy! ), I had season txts on the 50 yrd line, 1st row, right behind the football team. It was REALLY cool. I was able to meet/talk to the players. I had to give up the xtra xpense 2 yrs ago.

Thank God that I still have the opportunity to renew my season txts (the same seating, thank you very much ) @ the Coliseum when I can afford them again.

I'll be at the USC-Nebraska game in Lincoln.

Top Five OOC games this year

Nebraksa-USC
LSU-Virginia Tech
Cal-Tennessee
Notre Dame-USC
Florida-Florida State

ND has announced that they'll be sporting their green jerseys for the SC game. Ugh!



Hey Husker, where've you been? Glad to see your post.

It'll be an exciting game, that's for sure.

Puh-leeeeeeeze!

Buffalo/Baylor tops all of them!

Combination Rankings of 18 preseason polls:


1. USC---Average 1.2 (#1 in 17 of the 18 polls.)
2. LSU---Ave 3.2
3. Michigan--—Ave 5.28
4. West Virginia---Ave 5.5
5. Florida---Ave 5.8 (#1 in one poll.)
6. Texas---Ave 6.0
7. Wisconsin---Ave 8.2
8. Oklahoma---Ave 9.0
9. Virginia Tech---Ave 9.8
10. Ohio State---Ave 10.7
11. Louisville---Ave 11.8
12. Arkansas---Ave16.1
13. California---Ave 16.3
14. Rutgers---Ave 16.6
15. Georgia---Ave 16.7
16. Auburn---Ave 17.3
17. Tennessee---Ave 17.4
18. UCLA---Ave 17.5
19. Nebraska---Ave 18.4
20. Penn State---Ave 19.2
21. Florida State---Ave 21.1
22. Texas A&M---Ave 21.2
23. TCU---Ave 22.2
24. Boise State---Ave 22.6
25. Boston College---Ave 23.3
26. Wake Forest---Ave 23.4
27. South Carolina---Ave 23.4
28. Hawaii---Ave 23.7
29. Notre Dame---Ave 24.5
30. Georgia Tech---Ave 24.8

Looks pretty good too much. All this off-season chatter has me excited and thrilled for the upcoming season.

Same!

How are the Cougs gonna do this season?

Matt Flynn is better than many people give him credit. Coming out of high school he was just as highly ranked as Jamarcus Russell. A couple years ago some of my relatives who are LSU alums were talking about Flynn possibly being a better option at QB. I say LSU/USC for the title, but thats not an original thought now is it?

Buffalo/Baylor???

what scheduling genius came up with that one

[b] I will be at the Tennessee - Cal game also!

cool!

I wish it was earlier because I'm going to Yosemite the next day

We have a lot of work LOL but we'll see. QB, OL, and WR are the only positions on offense with much experience. DL has some capable performers as well. The secondary and special teams are where the most concerns are and could cost us some games. Just gotta score and keep the defense off the field and we will be fine.

We have a tough schedule playing Wisconsin and USC on the road w/in the first 4 weeks of the season.

LSU for the national title. Just so stacked and I think they will be more battle tested than USC (just in my opinion).

Wisconsin is my dark horse.

University of Houston (the city i live in), always has teams with ridiculous athleticism and almost beat South Carolina in liberty bowl, so they are a real below the radar team. They have a shot to prove somethin against BCS conference foes like Oregon and 'Bama.

What's Houston's QB situation like this year? Losing Kolb hurt. He's been the best player the last 4 years.

Nebraska certainly has the home advantage but no experienced QB. Could be a tough season for them. That's Okay though...I won't miss a game

Gators no. 5? I'm not buying it. Lost too much on defense, lost Leak, have to visit LSU, Kentucky and South Carolina (fortunate to have Tennessee, Auburn and FSU at home). My money's on LSU. Although the VT game may be tricky so early in the season.

On a side note, I'm surprised there's not more talk about Alabama. Wouldn't be surprised to see a couple of big wins from them - they'll have lots of shots for an upset with their brutal schedule.

this thread is great. can't wait for the season to start! as an lsu fan, it's exciting to see such high preseason expectations for the purple and gold, but i'm sorta feeling like the prgnosticators are smoking serious pot.
first off, if miles (whose lack of eloquence, by the way, is just keepin' with lsu tradition: see nick saban) couldn't win a national championship with russell at the helm, then i'm not sure he'll ever do it. anyone who watched all lsu games last year would have to admit that russell was more than "integral" to an ultimate #3 finish; he was the lead and then some. seriously, his performance against nd in the sugar was just par for his course. the guy is phenomenal (and also seems to have the character to match), and i hope it shows in oakland.
equally concerning, i have no clue how lsu has escaped a loss to arkansas over the past few years, but we're due. we literally can't stop mcfadden; never have been able to. the late date of the matchup is worrisome; even though it's a home field for lsu, i predict an arkansas win.
so while i think lsu has a good shot at a decent year, i am truly puzzled by these lofty preseason expectations.
geaux tigers.

Having the Trojans announced as pre-season #1 in some group's poll every 3 days just stokes the fires of those who hate all things USC. While I think we'll be sick on defense, I think we have some questions to answer on offense and I definitely think we'll miss Mario Danelo (RIP) in the kicking game.

Nebraska will be an early test and our game at Cal late in the season may well determine the conference championship, as well as have NC implications if all goes well up to that point. As for the ND game, I am officially passing on the Charlie Weis Kool-aid until his team steps up and wins some big ones.