The following is a list of my top 10 teams for 2006. This is not indicative of how I think they will finish, but strictly, who I think is strongest heading into the season.
1. Notre Dame – More returning starters than any top team in the country. We all know the offense will be as good as they come. The learning curve for the defense in the 2nd year under the coaching staff is high. Don’t let people fool you. Most of the big plays allowed were due to miscommunication and not speed issues.
2. tOSU – Normally I wouldn’t put a team that lost their 9 top tacklers at this slot. However, their offense will be fantastic. The talent is there on defense, but will they gel quick enough to avoid an early season loss at Iowa or Texas?
3. Michigan – Probably the highest you’ll find them on any ranking list. New coordinators on both sides of the ball, but they’re both in-house. A healthy Mike Hart should take loads of pressure off of Henne and the offense should be just fine. Question marks are an inexperienced OL. An experienced secondary should anchor the defense
4. Cal – Perhaps the most underrated team this year. 15 returning starters and great offensive skill players. They need to replace 3 starters on the OL, but with all the pieces surrounding them, this offense should be explosive. The only holes on defense are at safety, as the DL and LBs should be very good.
5. Texas – No one lost more in one player than Texas did in VY. They still return loads of starters on both sides of the ball. Strengths are at RB and DE. They’ll need to replace some playmakers in the secondary quickly before their meeting with tOSU.
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