Bleacher Report's College Football Top25: Preseason

Here at the Bleacher Report, we generally take a firm stance against preseason college football polls. 

If we don’t know who Notre Dame’s starting quarterback is going to be, how can we accurately place the Irish among college football’s elite?

Paranoid coaches work diligently to keep writers out of summer drills, because they don’t want any information about their team leaked to opposing coaches.  As of today, the only people who are less informed than the Associated Press are the coaches themselves. 

Which must be why so much attention is paid to each of their preseason rankings, right?

Quite frankly, we couldn’t resist either. 

We’ve asked campus writers, popular bloggers, and contributors to the Bleacher Report college football community to cast their ballots without having watched a single snap. Once games are actually played, the BR Top25 will be the most inclusive, transparent, and authoritative ranking system for fans. 

Until then, take these picks with a grain of salt, and feel free to offer your own brash predictions.

Note: 2006 records in parentheses.  Opponents listed with average spread.

#1  USC  (11-2)

This Week:  Idaho  +46

Key Games:  at Nebraska 9/15, at Notre Dame 10/20, at Oregon 10/27, at Cal 11/10, UCLA 12/1

No surprise here.  Since a 32-18 trouncing of Michigan in the Rose Bowl, the Trojans have been the clear pick to play in the national championship game. What's more, John David Booty is in prime position to claim an unprecedented fourth Heisman trophy in the program’s last six seasons.

All the ingredients are there: an experienced quarterback, a stable full of running backs, a lights-out defense, and a head coach who’s led multiple title runs.

But then there's the schedule. 

USC will play four of its five toughest opponents on the road, where the last nine Trojan losses have occurred.  If Troy suffers an Oregon State-type slip up this year, they run the risk of losing a BCS bid to a pair of unbeatens.  

Pete Carroll and company will extend a Pac-10 record 33 game home winning streak in the opener against Idaho, a former foe from the Pacific Coast Conference.   Their most recent meeting was in 1929, a 72-0 Trojan shut out. 

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