Bleacher Report's College Football Top25: Preseason

Trey Bradley

Senior Writer Written on August 29, 2007

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Consider taking USC minus-72 this Saturday.

#2 LSU (11-2)

This Week: Thursday at Mississippi St. +18.5

Key Games: Virginia Tech 9/8, Florida 10/6, Auburn 10/20, at Alabama 11/3, Arkansas 11/23

While the Trojans have a road-heavy slate, many of their top pursuers—including the Bayou Bengals—have much more favorable home set-ups.

LSU will host all four of the teams with preseason rankings on its schedule.

Then there’s that one road game. Saturday, November 3, in Tuscaloosa.

Nick Saban led the Tigers to the national title in 2003, then bolted for the NFL the following 2004 season. Now he’s the highest paid coach in college football, just across the SEC West.

We’ll get an early look at LSU Thursday night, when fifth-year senior Matt Flynn and the Tigers face Mississippi State.

#3 Texas (10-3)

This Week: Arkansas St. +39

Key Games: TCU 9/8, Oklahoma 10/6, Nebraska 10/27, at OSU 11/3, at Texas A&M 11/23

Speaking of wealthy coaches, Mack Brown was given a two year contract extension this week that includes a $100,000 bonus to be paid out over the weekend.

As if the Texas coach needed another reason to look forward to Saturday, right?

You could argue that Brown got even better news on Tuesday, when wideout Limas Sweed declared his injured left wrist game-ready. Opting to return to Texas for his senior season, Sweed rivals OSU’s Adarius Bowman for top receiving honors in the Big XII, and will help quarterback Colt McCoy rack up Heisman numbers.

It’s easy to forget the fact that Texas was 9-1 heading to Manhattan last year, where they lost McCoy, a 45-42 decision against Kansas State, and the South’s Big XII Championship berth. Despite that injury, McCoy registered arguably the most productive freshman season in NCAA history and rallied for a bowl win over Iowa.

If his numbers are anywhere near as good this season, the Longhorns will be tough to keep out of the BCS Championship game.

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written on August 29, 2007 Sports