collegefootballtopten.com

Continued

5.  Georgia–The Bulldogs are number 1 in the AP poll finishing the 2007 season as the nation’s hottest team.  The Dawgs routed Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl to finish the year.  Georgia struggled early before realizing that Knowshon Moreno was the answer at RB, and the defense rose to dominate once again.  Georgia returns QB Matt Stafford of Dallas’ Highland Park and Moreno at RB along with the core of their defense.  While the Bulldogs return some high profile players such as Stafford and Moreno, they have some holes to fill particularly on the offensive line.  To make matters worse, LT Trinton Sturdivant went down in a preseason scrimmage, and he is out for the season.  The Dawgs also need to find players at WR.  Nevertheless, Coach Mark Richt is one of the best, and the Revival of the Dawgs has been hard to ignore.

4.  Florida–The Gators return All World WR Percy Harvin and All-Around-Great-Guy Tim Tebow, and with an improved running game by an actual RB, their offense may be even more explosive.  The defense was very young in 2007, but if they gained valuable experience they might become much improved by the end of the year.

3.  Oklahoma–The Sooners return all of the players needed to make a run at the National Title.  Sam Bradford has proven himself a good QB, and the defense is usually stout.  Oklahoma will have to overcome the disappointment of their Fiesta Bowl loss to West Virginia, but should be rolling by the Red River Rivalry in Dallas.

2.  USC–Same song, second verse.  That’s how you could describe USC’s preview every year.  The Trojans will have a new QB, but the objectives will be the same.  Win the Pac 10, and have a shot at the National Title.  Mark Sanchez suffered an injury in preseason practice, but he plans on being back.  Few have a better group at Linebacker that USC.  And, Joe McKnight is just beginning his big-play era.

1.  Ohio State–Last year the Buckeyes snuck up on everyone, this year the Ohio State University will be watched closely.  They return their starting QB and RB, and their offensive line is experienced.  The linebacker unit is one of the best in the country led by James Laurinaitis.  They have one of the top 2 or 3 secondaries, and everything has come together for the Buckeyes to make their way back to a third BCS National Title Game.  Even though they lost the first two, the third time might be a charm.  Look for Ohio State to give QB Todd Boeckman more responsibilities in the passing game, and he should reward the coaches by cutting down on the mistakes.  And then, there is the Terrelle Pryor factor.  The coaches may use him like Florida did Tim Tebow his freshman year.  Pryor may become the ultimate change up for the Buckeye offense.

Summary: CFTT Preseason Top Ten

1. Ohio State
2. USC
3. Oklahoma
4. Florida
5. Georgia
6. Clemson
7. LSU
8. Oregon
9. Missouri
10. South Florida

I have worked the past few weeks narrowing down the teams that we debut in the CFTT Preseason Poll.  Of course, we narrow it down to the Durty Dozen, and now it is narrowed down to the top ten.  Just like the last couple of years, we will list the teams in descending order, numbers 10 through 6 in the first post, and then numbers 5 through 1 in the final post.

My philosophy is trying to decide who I think is the best team as the season starts based on a number of factors.  So, without any further chatter, here we go.

10.  University of South Florida–These guys burst on the scene in 2008 winning 6 straight to debut number 2 in the BCS Rankings.  That’s right, I said number 2.  They eventually stumbled down the stretch to finish with 9 wins which were the same as the year before.  The Bulls return QB Mike Grothe and CFTT Defensive Player of the Year George Selvie.  A little more experience (62 returning lettermen) just might put USF in a place to win the Big East title.

9.  Missouri–The Tigers return Heisman Trophy candidate Chase Daniel to a team that drilled the Razorbacks in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas on New Year’s Day.  They also have among the most talented receivers in Jeremy Maclin and TE Chase Coffman.  You can learn more about Missouri football here and here.  Follow Inthebleacher’s podcast preview of the Big 12 here.

8.  Oregon–The Ducks were on their way to a national championship game appearance and a Heisman Trophy presentation when QB Dennis Dixon went down.  Oregon struggled to find a QB, but finally, one emerged and the Ducks went on to beat USF in the Sun Bowl.  The Ducks have made the switch completely to the Spread Offense led by Offensive Coordinator Chip Kelly and have been explosive.  Their secondary begins the season as one of the best.

7.  LSU–The Tigers are the reigning National Champions, and they return a lot that could help them be a top ten team.  Most notably, the offensive (Ciron Black) and defensive lines are among the best, not just in the SEC, but the entire country.  That should be helpful in easing in a new QB.  The defense just might be nasty.  While they lose Glen Dorsey, they return DE’s Tyson Jackson and Kirston Pittman along with DT Ricky Jean-Francoise who was a monster in the BCS Title Game.  They are deep in the backfield, and LSU will find an adequate QB when they name either Jarrett Lee or Andrew Hatch the starter.  You can keep up with the Tigers here, here and here.

6.  Clemson–Tommy Bowden’s Tigers are the favorites to win the ACC, and with good reason.  Everyone thinks that Clemson’s skill positions are as loaded as any in the country.  They return a very good duo at RB and QB Cullen Harper came on to be one of the most dependable in the country.

To Be Continued

I have done this before.  It is becoming a tradition at Collegefootballtopten.com.  Since I rank a top ten, and I do a preseason top ten, then I narrow the teams down to twelve before diving into the specifics that seperate the final slots.  First, I did the durty dozen in 2006 as a part of my Toddler Top 10 blog.  You can also see it here.  Last year, I did a second Durty Dozen with a banner.

Finally, the moment we have all been waiting for.  These teams are not in any specific order.

2008 Durty Dozen Banner

• Oregon
• Clemson
• Missouri
• South Florida
• Georgia
• Florida
• Auburn
• Ohio State
• USC
• Oklahoma
• Texas Tech
• LSU

Honorable Mention Durty Dozen members for 2008 are Utah, Fresno State, Texas, Wisconsin and Penn State.

Now that all of the preseason college football magazines are out, here is your chance to tell us who your favorite is.  Just click on the link below to vote.

Vote for your favorite college football preseason magazine here.

Week Five brought new faces to the top of Collgefootballtopten.com. With five upsets in the top ten, the challenge was finding teams to fill those slots. West Virginia, Oklahoma, Florida, Texas and Rutgers all lost last weekend, and only West Virginia lost to a team ranked in the Top 25 (South Florida).

Of the others, only Texas lost to a team who was ranked in the new AP poll. Which makes me ask, “Why did the Longhorns drop all the way to 19th?” Texas lost to Kansas State who debuted in the Top 25 at 24. Not that bad of a loss, especially if they are good enough to be ranked this week. Where’s the love for the Longhorns? I guess the close calls earlier in the season weren’t forgotten.

Florida lost at home to Auburn who is not ranked this week. Florida only fell to 9th in the AP. Of course, Auburn beat Kansas State earlier in the year. Shouldn’t that put Auburn ahead of Kansas State?

Oklahoma lost to Colorado close and on the road, but the Buffs aren’t in the Top 25 this week either. The Sooners only dropped to 10th (AP).

Rutgers lost to Maryland who is also not ranked this week. The Scarlet Knights dropped further than Texas, all the way down to 21st (AP).

Those who didn’t lose, including Wisconsin, moved up giving Cal a number 3 ranking and LSU finally at number 2. Wisconsin has been flirting with disaster, but outlasted an undefeated Michigan State team. Ohio State seems to be getting better. Then, Kentucky, S. Florida, Boston College, S. Carolina, and Oregon entered into the mix.

I had to consider many one loss teams. I decided not to include Oklahoma and Florida because they lost to unranked teams. I believe that Oklahoma’s loss was a focus loss, meaning they weren’t focused. The Colorado game was the first game the Sooners played outside of the state of Oklahoma (OU played at Tulsa the week before, which is, of course, in Oklahoma).

Kentucky, and S. Florida have beaten top 10 teams and are undefeated. BC, who is undefeated, beat Georgia Tech who was ranked 15th on the road a few weeks ago. So, they are in.

As for S. Carolina, their only loss is at LSU, and they beat Georgia earlier this year. Oregon has kept on winning, and they matched Cal Saturday before losing at the very end, a lost to a top 5 team. So, I included them in my top ten in front of Florida and Oklahoma. However, five weeks is just not enough time to know who is really good. Some of the teams who are undefeated haven’t played significant competition. The coming weeks will be helpful as teams enter into conference play.

See my poll here.