College Football Top 25

The dawn of the college football
season is still a few months away, but with a lockout threatening to
cripple The NFL season, college football has a chance to take center
stage. 2010 ended with The Auburn Tigers reigning supreme and hoisting
up the hardware as national champions. Here is my outlook for the 2011
top 25.

1. Oklahoma
The Sooners start the season with the
bullseye on their backs and heavy hearts as they look to win in the
smaller Big 12 Conference. Sooner linebacker Austin Box died and tat is
never easy for a team to replace a player that meant as much to the
program like Box and what he was to the community. Head coach Bob Stoops
has a quarterback in Landry Jones that amassed over 4,700 passing yards
last season. Jones gets his two top targets back in Ryan Broyles and
Kenny Stills. Along with sophomore linebacker Tony Jefferson who has all
the making of a great one it should be a good season in Norman. Last
season Jefferson had 65 tackles to go along with two sacks and two
interceptions. That was all as a cornerback now Jefferson looks to
transition to linebacker to help the defense.

2. Oregon
To the dismay of Duck fans, all-purpose
receiver Jeff Maehl graduated, but fear not because LaMichael James is
back at tailback. The Ducks were the victim of a last second field goal
and a stingy Auburn defense as they fell short of a national title.
James is one of seven starters returning on offense as The Ducks will be
a favorite to win The Pac-12 Conference. It will not take us long to
see what these Ducks are made of as an early season showdown at Cowboys
Stadium versus LSU will be telling for how 2011 will go.

3. Oklahoma State
We usually don’t see The Cowboys
ranked this high to start a season, but they are ready to jump out of
the shadow of big brother Oklahoma. Quarterback Brandon Weeden returns
to lead a prolific offense that was on the cusp of winning The Big 12
last season. Wide receiver Justin Blackmon is back which bodes
nightmares for opponents. Last season Blackmon tallied 1,782 receiving
yards which is insane and he will only get better in 2011. Foe The
Cowboys to take that next step, they must win The Big 12 Conference. For
them to accomplish this they must defeat Oklahoma who prevented them
from making their first conference title game appearance last season.
Road games versus Texas and Texas A&M along with The Bedlam Game in
Stillwater versus Oklahoma will let the nation know if The Cowboys are
for real.

4. Stanford
Cardinal fans figured they would lose both
quarterback Andrew Luck and head coach Jim Harbaugh to The NFL. While
Harbaugh said adios to Palo Alto, Luck wanted to be the big man on
campus for another year. David Shaw takes over for Harbaugh and the game
plan will remain the same. Despite Luck’s big arm, The Cardinal are a
ball control team that loves to run the football. Junior Stepfan Taylor
averaged over five yards per carry last season and he looks to be the
workhorse in 2011. Four out of the last five games will be tough as The
Cardinal take on USC, California, Oregon and Notre Dame.

5. LSU
The Bayou Bengals came on strong to finish 2010
finishing with 11 wins. Head coach Les Miles is a “riverboat gambler”
and he rolled the dice last season by alternating between quarterback
Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson. The jury is still out on what Miles’
philosophy will be this season. Miles is the king of winning close games
in college football and that will be put to the test this season with a
brutal schedule. The Tigers open at Cowboys Stadium where they finished
last season with a Cotton Bowl victory over Texas A&M. They also
tangle with Alabama in Tuscaloosa and more than likely the winner will
have the inside track towards winning The SEC West.

6. Alabama
The Tide  enter this season by finishing last season with a 49-7 blowout
over Michigan State in The Capital One Bowl. They also can lift the
spirits of Tide fans in Tuscaloosa who were ravaged by tornados this
year. Gone are stars such as Mark Ingram, Julio Jones, Greg McElroy, and
Marcel Dareus that helped ‘Bama win a national title and return to
prominence in college football. Last season was a down season for The
Tide and they still won 10 games. Alabama entered last season with a
deserved bullseye on them as they were the defending champs. Three tough
losses to South Carolina, LSU, and Auburn have not been forgotten. Head
coach Nick Saban will look to junior Trent Richardson at tailback to
carry the offense as Richardson no longer has worry about splitting
carries with Ingram. A.J. McCarron saw limited time at quarterback last
season backing up Greg McElroy, but he still completed 62 percent of his
passes. Now he will anchor an offense that brings back wide receiver
Marquis Maze. Maze is not Julio Jones, but he will get the job done as
The Tide look to get back to Atlanta and The SEC Championship Game.
Defensively The Tide only have four senior starters and as the season
goes along this unit will improve as they are led by hard hitting safety
Mark Barron.

7. Nebraska
The Cornhuskers are moving to The Big Ten
Conference and they will bring their tradition of being a blue-collar
team to a blue-collar conference. 2010 did not end they way The Huskers
were hoping as they let a golden opportunity to win The Big 12
Championship slip away. They were then dominated by The Washington
Huskies in The Holiday Bowl. The Cornhuskers defeated The Huskies
earlier in the season 56-17. Quarterback Taylor Martinez had an up and
down freshman campaign and received a chewing out or two from head coach
Bo Pelini. Moving forward Martinez will only get better as he leads The
Huskers into The Big Ten.

8. Mississippi State
Head coach Dan Mullen is building
something special in Starkville. Mullen was the offensive coordinator
of The Florida Gators when they won two national titles in 2006 and
2008. During this time he helped to groom quarterback Tim Tebow. Now
Mullen has a Tebow clone in senior quarterback Chris Relf. Relf does not
have the throwing arm that Tebow had, but he is still very effective.
The Bulldogs turnaround culminated with a dominating performance over
The Michigan Wolverines in The Gator Bowl. The Bulldogs have eight
starters returning on offense and seven on defense as they look to win
The SEC West. The Bulldogs were able to sneak up on opponents last
season and win nine games.They will not have that luxury this season.
The Bulldogs are in the ultra tough SEC West and the games against
Alabama, Auburn, LSU, and Arkansas will show if The Bulldogs are for
real.

9. Auburn
The Tigers had a dream season last that
ended with The Tigers holding up The BCS trophy. Key contributors such
as quarterback Cam Newton, defensive tackle Nick Fairley, and wide
receiver Darvin Adams have moved on and head coach Gene Chizik looks to
keep The Tigers in the title picture. Running back Michael Dyer had good
freshman season as he tallied 1,093 rushing yards and had a key run in
the fourth quarter to help The Tigers defeat The Oregon Ducks in The BCS
title game. Dyer shared the running duties with Newton last season and
now he will see his carries go up. Barrett Trotter steps in at
quarterback. As Trotter tries to replace Newton, he will have the luxury
of being behind an offensive line that has three seniors in tackles
Brandon Mosley and AJ Greene along with guard Jared Cooper. Motivation
will be there as The Tigers want to prove that last season wasn’t a
fluke and they get to prove the early when they host Mississippi State
in September.

10. Michigan State
The Spartans are taking steps
towards being a national title contender by qualifying for two New
Year’s Day bowl games in four season under current head coach Mark
Dantonio. The Spartans have come up short in those contest to Georgia
and Alabama respectively. For The Spartans to take that next step they
have to hang with big boys. Many in East Lansing feel like this could be
the season in which Michigan State makes it back their first Robe Bowl
appearance since 1988. Senior quarterback Kirk Cousins has the potential
to be The Big Ten Player of The Year. Last season Cousins threw for
over 2,800 yards and has 20 touchdown passes. Along with Cousins all of
their starters at the skill positions are back as they look to win The
expanded Big Ten Conference. Sparty gets an early chance in the national
spotlight with a September visit to South Bend, Indiana to take on
Notre Dame.

11. Florida State
It did not take Seminole head coach
Jimbo Fisher too long to put Florida State back on the national scene.
In his first season as the head ball coach, Fisher’s Seminoles won The
Atlantic Division of The ACC, defeated rivals Miami and Florida and
triumphed over South Carolina in The Chick-Fil-A-Bowl. Now The ‘Noles
seemed poised regain their place atop the conference. Dual threat
quarterback EJ Manuel looks to lead the offense to showcase his talents.
The Seminoles conference schedule favors them as they have Miami at
home and they don’t have to play Virginia Tech in the regular season. I
would be very surprised if The Seminoles do not win The ACC this season.

12. Florida
The Gators come into this season with
plenty of question marks, but the depth of talent in Gainesville cannot
be questioned. Gator players will be the first to say that they
underachieved in 2010. Quarterback John Brantley had the tough task of
replacing legendary Tim Tebow. Brantley is better in a pro style offense
and he failed to navigate his way in the spread offense. Urban Meyer
retired as head coach and now Will Muschamp takes over. Muschamp brought
in Charlie Weis as his offensive coordinator. Weis groomed New England
Patriot quarterback Tom Brady and he took The Notre Dame offense to new
heights when he was the head coach from 2005-2009. If speed demons Chris
Rainey and Jeffrey Demps can stay on the field it will give a huge
boost to the offense. The SEC East is up for grabs again and maybe The
Gators can claim it.

13. Texas A&M
Ryan Tannehill took over the
quarterbacking duties midway through 2010 and led The Aggies to a nine
win season. Now in the new look Big 12 Conference, The Aggies are ready
to show their stuff. Running back Christine Michael is looking to bounce
back from last season when a cracked tibia cut his season short. This
2009 Big 12 Offensive Freshman of The Year has averaged five yards per
carry during his time in College Station and he will help The Aggies as
they contend with The Oklahoma Sooners and Oklahoma State Cowboys for
conference surpremacy. The Aggies also take a trip down memory lane as
they clash with former Southwest Conference foes Arkansas and Southern
Methodist.

14. South Carolina
Quarterback’s Stephen Garica’s
looming suspension is the only thing that is preventing The Gamecocks
from having a higher ranking on this list. The Gamecocks have two of the
most explosive players in college football at the skill positions in
junior wide receiver Alshon Jeffrey and sophmore tailback Marcus
Lattimore. Spurrier has a veteran defense as every starter on this unit
is either a junior or senior and they have seen The SEC wars and they
are ready to take the next step. In 2010 South Carolina proved that they
could finally defeat Florida and make it to Atlanta for The SEC
Championship Game. Now they have a great chance to get there and win it.
Those plans hinge on Garica’s eligibility. Garcia was suspended by
Gamecock head coach Steve Spurrier prior to The Gamecocks spring game
for drinking. There is a chance that Garcia can return to The Gamecocks,
if not it will be up to sophmore Connor Shaw who only saw limited
action to quarterback this team.

15. USC
The Trojans enter this season with the
possibility of making a bowl this season if The NCAA lifts the ban.
Talent hasn’t been questioned for The Men of Troy. NCAA sanctions
limited The Trojans scholarships but head coach Lane Kiffin is still
bringing in great recruits led by defensive end Greg Townsend. Jr.
Townsend Jr. is the son of former Los Angeles Raider Greg Townsend Sr.
who played at The Los Angeles Coliseum for most of his career. Freshman
running back D.J. Morgan looks to be the next great Trojan back and 6’0″
175 lbs. this kid is explosive. Quarterback Matt Barkley has come into
his own as he threw 26 touchdown passes last season and looks to improve
in his junior campaign. If the ban is lifted, expect The Trojans to
play in the inaugural Pac-12 Title Game.

16. Boise State
The offensive line lost two starters
and quarterback Kellen Moore lost two dynamic playmakers at wide
receiver in Austin Pettis and Titus Young, but these Broncos are here to
stay. The Broncos have said goodbye to The Western Athletic Conference
in favor of The Mountain West Conference. The Broncos were looking for a
competition upgrade and they will get it. Last season they opened up in
Washington D.C. versus Virginia Tech in The Hokies backyard. This
season they travel to The Georgia Dome in Atlanta to take on The
Bulldogs in a “sea of red”.  The Broncos also travel to Fresno State and
host BCS buster TCU. If The Broncos survive this schedule without a
blemish on their record then they absolutely deserve a crack at The
National Title.

17. Ohio State
The Buckeyes have the talent to be much
higher on this list, but when that talent will not be on the field for
the first five games of the season this is where they land. The Buckeyes
will be without their head coach Jim Tressel, quarterback Terrelle
Pryor, wide receiver Devier Posey, running back Dan Herron, offensive
lineman Mike Adams, and defensive lineman Solomon Thomas due to their
part in “tattoo gate”.  Senior defensive end Nathan Williams looks to
anchor a unit that will have to be stout without their big playmakers.
Two of the first five contest are at Miami and home for Michigan State.
In game six which could be the first game back for Tressel and his
players it is a trip to Lincoln to face Big Ten newcomers Nebraska.

18. Texas
Everything is big in the state of Texas and
so was the disappointment from last year’s 5-7 record. The Longhorns
couldn’t run the football and quarterback Garrett Gilbert was running
for his life as their was never a threat for The Longhorns to run the
football. This year Longhorn head coach Mack Brown is looking to go back
to basics by instilling toughness in this team that departed in 2010.
The schedule is not easy for The Longhorns. They travel to Pasadena to
take on UCLA, they host Oklahoma State who trounced them last season and
the yearly showdown in Dallas versus Oklahoma, so that new found
toughness will be put to the test.

19. Notre Dame
Some skeptics around the country are
not ready to drink the kool-aid for The Fighting Irish. I am not
drinking the full cup but I will take a sip. The Irish finished last
season strong on a four game winning streak and ending their futility
versus Southern Cal and handling Miami in The Sun Bowl. Nobody expected
much from head coach Brian Kelly in year one but this team improved
every step of the way. Kelly can rely on two proven signal callers in
Tommy Rees and Dayne Crist.  Wide receiver Michael Floyd should return
from his suspension by the start of the season to provide depth to the
receiving. At 6’3″ Floyd is one of the most talented receivers in the
country and when he wants to he has the ability to play like a man that
is 6’7″. Junior linebacker Manti Te’o is a tackling machine as he
tallied 133 tackles last season while playing with a broken nose. Senior
safety Harrison Smith is a ball hawking safety looks to pick up where
he left off from a season ago. Smith had seven interceptions last season
including the game winner against USC and three in The Sun Bowl victory
over Miami. The schedule favors The Irish this season. They face USC
and Michigan State at home and travel to Stanford while rest of the
schedule is very favorable. This team has the ability to not only make a
BCS bowl game, but they can also win one this season.

20. Arkansas
2010 was a banner year for The Razorbacks
as they made their first BCS bowl game. Now head coach Bobby Petrino
wants to add to what he is establishing in Fayetteville. Quarterback
Ryan Mallett is now in The NFL but that doesn’t mean all the talent left
The Razorbacks offense. Junior running back Knile Davis averaged over
six yards a carry last season and he runs like hit feet are on fire.
Tyler Wilson takes over the reigns at quarterback as this team will have
it’s hands full in contending in The SEC West. Two bookend road trips
for the conference season to Alabama and LSU will be telling as to how
the season ends for The Hogs.

21. Baylor
Yes The Baylor Bears are top 25 worthy. The
Bears went to a bowl game for the first time since 1994 and are poised
to not let the bowl drought start again. Junior quarterback Robert
Griffin III is back to light The Big 12 Conference on fire again. Last
season Griffin passed for over 3,500 yards passing and chipped in with
over 600 yards on the ground. For The Bears to take the next step
forward the defense has to improve. In the six losses last season, The
Bears averaged giving up 46 points in those contests. The Bears lost
seven players defensively which means the offense will be putting in
overtime in 2011. Griffin and his top target at wide receiver Kendall
Wright are more than ready to accept the challenge.

22. TCU
Last season was a dream season for The Horned
Frogs. TCU finished off an undefeated season by defeating The Wisconsin
Badgers in The Rose Bowl 21-19. In doing so they made alumni such as
LaDanian Tomlinson proud. This is the last season that TCU will have to
worry about being a non-automatic qualifier to The BCS. Starting in 2012
The Horned Frogs will be members of The Big East Conference.  For their
swan song in The Mountain West Conference, TCU wants to win a third
straight conference title. This time they won’t have to go through BYU
and Utah as both have left the conference, but they will travel to “the
smurf turf” of Boise, Idaho to take on The Broncos which more than
likely be the defunct conference title game. TCU will have to replace
the leadership of quarterback Andy Dalton who was arguably the most
prolific quarterback in school history since Sammy Baugh. The reigns
will be turned over to Casey Pachall at quarterback, but The Horned
Frogs are a team that loves to mix it up on the ground. Junior running
back Ed Wesley tallied 1,078 rushing yards last season and he will to
add to those numbers in 2011. Senior linebacker Tank Carder is back of
the heels of one of the biggest plays in school history when he
deflected a pass on the potential game-tying two point conversion in The
Rose Bowl. Carder leads a defense that has always been stout under head
coach Gary Patterson. In 2010, eight TCU opponents scored ten points or
fewer. Expect that trend to carry over to 2011.

23. Penn State
Last season was a rebuilding year in
Happy Valley, but The Nittany Lions still managed seven wins. Questions
about the quarterback situation were around last season and they will
persist going into 2011. Robert Bolden and Matthew McGloin split time
last season and heading into this season Bolden has the slight edge.
McGloin is the better passer, but Bolden is the better athlete and Lion
coaches would love to have the athletic Bolden on the field. The
schedule gets tough at the end of the season. For the last three games
Penn State will tangle with Nebraska, Ohio State, and Wisconsin.

24. Wisconsin
The names change for Wisconsin, but head
coach Bret Bielema’s philosophy hasn’t. The Badgers always have a
strong running game, a powerful offensive line, and a stingy defense.
That recipe has given Wisconsin 49 wins in five seasons under Bielema
and he will use that winning formula once more. Power back John Clay and
left tackle Gabe Carimi are gone but the running game will remain
ferocious. Montee Ball is back at running back and after sharing time
last season with Clay he will accept a bigeer role in the running game.
Ricky Wagner switches over from right tackle to left tackle as he looks
not only to anchor an offensive line the blocked for two 1,000 yard
backs last season in Clay and James White, but Wagner will also look to
be the next great Badger left tackle. If The Badgers win The Big Ten
they will earn it as they clash with Nebraska, Michigan State, Ohio
State, and Penn State during conference play.

25. Miami
The Hurricanes greatly underachieved last
season and it coast head coach Randy Shannon his job. In steps Al Golden
as he tries to get The ‘Canes back to prominence. Golden already pulled
off the impossible before he even arrived in South Florida. Prior to
taking over in Miami, Golden was the head coach of The Temple Owls and
he lead The Owls to two consecutive winning seasons and a bowl berth.
For Miami it starts with quarterback Jacory Harris. Harris has been
inconsistent in his first three season for Miami and they need him to be
accurate as they look to make their first ACC Championship Game. The
Hurricanes return seven starters defensively lead by linebacker Sean
Spence who posted double-digit tackles in six contests last season. It
won’t take long to see what these ‘Canes are made of. In the first three
weeks of the season they tangle with Maryland, Ohio State, and Kansas
State.

Teams That Missed The Cut
Utah, Arizona, Virginia Tech, Missouri