I want to explain the philosophy of my poll in 2008.  I decide on this in the offseason after I saw so many upsets last year.  The top ten was like a yo yo, teams descending and ascending at rapid paces.  To start with, my preseason poll is where I think teams are now.  Some polls are merely a prediction of how the season will unfold.  And, I will admit that in the past, my preseason poll looked better at the end of the season than it did at the first of the season with regard to some of the teams.  Nevertheless, when it comes to my preseason poll, my intention is to rank who I think are the ten best teams as the season starts.  That being said, I am kind of the opinion of some who think there should not even be a preseason poll, but not completely.

So, with my poll, I am going to do something that I think is unique (it may not be, but I think it is).  I am going to update my poll every three weeks.  That’s right, I am not going to labor every single week on my poll.  This week’s upset might look like a good loss (if there is such a thing) in a couple of weeks.  For example, take Alabama.  They “upset” Clemson Saturday night in the Chick-fil-a Classic complete with commercial cows.  Alabama isn’t supposed to be a top ten teams the experts say.  Maybe they aren’t.  I surmise this, either Clemson isn’t as good as everyone thought they would be, or Alabama is going to make a significant improvement this year.  As I watched that game, my gut reaction was that they would win 10 games.  That was not me breaking down their schedule or anything, just a gut reaction, a hunch.  Take it for what it’s worth.  They had plenty of Freshmen on the field, but it was Clemson who was making all the rookie mistakes.  Alabama looked mature and seasoned.  Clemson may thump everyone else on their schedule making Alabama’s win look great.  Therefore, for my poll, I want a body of work to look at.  Each team in my poll gets three weeks.

This is my site and my poll, so I can do that.  Other sites, other polls, etc., they can do it every week.  This is my experiement.  At the least, I can be known as the guy who updates his poll every three weeks.  So, Clemson is safe in my poll. . . . . . for now.

College football officially kicks off on Thursday, but if you go to your local Chick-fil-a on Labor Day, September 1, wearing apparel with your favorite team’s logo on it, you can get a free three count of their new Chicken Strips.  Every Saturday morning, I spend my breakfast at my Chick-fil-a (Heights Corner, Fort Worth, TX) eating a Breakfast Burrito chatting it up with good folks at Chick-fil-a like Carl, Sherry, and Karen.  I wanted to give props to Chick-fil-a.  They are one of the companies that have made prizes possible in my DFW Pickem.  You can learn more about the free Chicken Strips give away here.

Chick-fil-a will help kick off the season with its Chick-fil-a College Kickoff Classic Satuday night on ABC with Alabama squaring off against Clemson in Atlanta, GA.

Here is my Top Ten Heisman Trophy Contenders.  Most of these guys are already on the radar.  This list is in no particular order.

1. Tim Tebow, Florida–He’s the defending Heisman Trophy winner, and the fist Heisman Trophy winner as a Sophomore.  And, he may have more websites dedicated to him than any other college football player.
2. Chase Daniel, Missouri–He is important to the Missouri offense, so if he stays healthy, he is a part of the, um, chase.
3. Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech–The Air Raid offense at Texas Tech has never had this much talent.  He is big, strong, and fast.
4. Pat White, West Virginia–WVU will depend even more on White to lead its offense with the departure of Steve Slaton.  The Mountaineers already have a website for White.
5. James Laurinaitis, Ohio State–There is always one defensive player everyone wants in the conversation, well this him.  Destined for stardom in the NFL, not the WWE.
6. Chris Wells, Ohio State–Wells opened the BCS National Title Game against LSU with a 65 yard TD run ending the game with 146 yards rushing.
7. Knowshon Moreno, Georgia–Moreno had a stellar Freshman season, and he only started half the games.  He really is a superstar.
8. Graham Harrell, Texas Tech–Last year’s CFTT Offensive Player of the year.  His stats were astounding, but his efficiency may be even more so.
9. Percy Harvin, Florida–Electrifying.  Fast.  If Harvin can stay healthy, his stats will be big.
10. James Davis, Clemson–O.K.  I am listening to everybody else here.  I don’t know much about Clemson, but everyone seems to think that Davis will have a big year.

Possible Surprises

Mike Goodson, Texas A & M
Todd Boeckman, Ohio State
Joe McKnight, USC
LeSean McCoy, Pitt
Ian Johnson, Boise State
C. J. Spiller, Clemson

Here it is. The top 4 magazines’ preseason top ten. You can buy each magazine at your local Borders.

Sporting News has its magazine out now, and in case you haven’t heard, Street & Smith’s has partnered with them.  So, Street & Smith’s annual magazine has been merged into Sporting News’ and the magazine is issued with the Sporting News name.  You can pick one up at your local Borders.  Now for the top ten.

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