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.
6. Louisville – Mark my words. This is the best team in the Big (L)East. They return 17 starters from last year. This ranking is obviously contingent on a healthy Brian Brohm. The WR corps will need to mature quickly, but they’ll have a QB who can get them the ball, as well as a RB who will run you over. On defense, they’ll need to replace Dumervil, but they return almost everyone else, including the entire secondary. This team should have beaten WVU last year (3OT loss).
7. USC – Talk about a question mark. I “hear” they have unreal talent coming in, but its hard to judge when none of it has seen real playing time. The WR corps should be the country’s best and the OL will be solid, so that should help the transition for the new QB (whoever that may be). The defense will be anchored by a solid line and good LB corps.
8. Iowa – They underachieved last year for the first time under Ferentz but return their starting RB and QB, to help break in the new WRs. The D-line should be strong, and there’s a lot to replace at LB. People will under rate this team based on their performance from last year, but Ferentz should have them in position for a Big 10 title run.
9. Auburn – They might have the 2nd best RB in the country. However, both their lines need some replacing and there’s a new DC. They are the strongest of a weak crop of SEC teams this year. That’s right I said it. SEC = weak.
10. Clemson - They return 17 starters including an experienced OL and a star-in-the-making RB James Davis. They'll need to break in a new (5th year senior) QB quickly because the schedule is not in their favor. Early road trips to FSU and BC and a late on to Virginia Tech await.
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over 2 years ago
...by leaving SC out of the top 5. Bias much?
over 2 years ago
seems to me that USC lost two heisman winners, and their all-time leader in touchdowns (3 different players...which is amazing). I know they have a lot of talent / depth, but it will be interesting to see how the 4th string running back fairs. Defense also took a pretty hard knock. Troy had its day, but now Achilles is waiting at the gates.
over 2 years ago
Nice ending dfinocch. Second, I\'m not biased with USC. I\'m sure there\'s talent there, but can you really put them PRESEASON top 5 with all they lost? I thought I did them a service including them in my top 10. I hope USC does well and the ND-USC matchup is hyped beyond all hyped. Now this doesn\'t mean I\'ll be rooting for them before 11/25 though...
over 2 years ago
big east title should be a coin flip between louisville and wv. only difference between the two in my mind is scheduling. l\'ville plays miami in september. mountaineers play absolutely no one. for the first time in sports history, i strongly recommend that WV look ahead to 11/2 when they will travel to louisville. that\'s the only thing standing between them and a potential BCS championship bid.
over 2 years ago
1. The USC defense will be vastly improved over last year\'s sorry unit. Carrol knows that he blew it with the D last year, so he brought in a bunch of stud freshmen and the linebackers are going to be ridiculous.
2. The \"4th string RB\" is actually Chauncey Washington, who was pencilled in as the first string RB two years ago but he was academically ineligible for 2 straight years so a couple guys named Reggie and Lendale stepped in. Well guess what? Chauncey got a 3.8 last semester.
Everyone makes such a big deal about everyone the ND is returning, but I think ND peaked during the SC game last year. I bet they lose a game or two early and quickly fall out of contention.
over 2 years ago
I agree with the USC LB corps. And your defense will be improved. But high school rankings don\'t always translate to successful college careers. Even you have to admit the uncertainty there. Also, in less than a year, ND\'s improvement was off the charts. Now Weis can settle in with his coaching staff (especially defensive), and the sky\'s the limit to what this guy can do coaching-wise. No one really knows. And ND can lose a game early in the year and still be in contention, as long as they get their revenge in LA come November.
over 2 years ago
Notre Dame. Hype-city, friends, hype-city. I know it\'s the second year under Weiss but their scheduele this year is tougher than last years, and wiht everyone gunning for them, I can\'t see them making through the regular season without 2 losses. That Ohio State defense STILL has 4 preseason All Big Ten picks and should be just as imposing as last year\'s.
over 2 years ago
One thing that has me worried about the irish this year is that if they DO lose a game early on, we are pretty much screwed unless USC pulls out some magic, and comes into the game with the irish looking hot as sin. Think about the last 4 games the irish play... 3/4 are service teams... while we might not lose ground in any polls, there is no real way to gain anything good, especially over teams around the same ranks as them beating other good teams. While i think it is cool that the Irish are playing all of the service teams, i think they did themselves a dis-service (get it?) by scheduling them all last.
over 2 years ago
but the saying is to lose early. You can then spend the rest of the season moving up in the polls while all of the other top teams struggle through tough conference schedules. It actually works to ND\'s benefit because most teams play easy non-conference schedules. It also helps to be ranked high in the preseason, so that you don\'t fall as far. I\'m pretty sure we\'ll be seeing at least 1 one-loss team in the championship game this year.
ND\'s schedule is certainly not tougher than last year\'s, as you have to compare both pre-season. ND had 3 top 5 teams last year. 3! Now Michigan and Tennessee scuffled but these are the same guys ranking teams this preseason. tOSU might have 4 preseason all big 10 picks on defense, but that doesn\'t mean they\'ve seen much playing time. And to say that they will be as imposing as last year\'s defense is just ignorant.
4 months ago
Sounds like an ND fan
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