College Football: My Preseason Top 25, Part 2

on a Thursday will be watched by every hardened college football fan in the country.  Look for an Auburn spread offense that will confuse this young defense and convincingly win in a high-scoring matchup.

West Virginia, however, will pull themselves together at the end of the season and not only beat Pitt in the Backyard Brawl (revenge from last year) but also knock out USF in Morgantown on December 6 to seal the Big East title.  This will not be a pretty year for the Mountaineers, but they will still win a lot of games.

Prediction: 10-2, Big East Title, BCS at Large Berth

 

8. Missouri (Athlon No. 6, Phil Steele No. 7, SI No. 4, ESPN No. 9)

Overall: Chase Daniel, last year’s 4,000-plus-yards passer with 33 TDs and 11 INTs, becomes the Missouri offense along with WR Jeremy Maclin.  Missouri lost RB Tony Temple and looks to three of last year’s second-stringers, including Derrick Washington, to pick up the slack.  The offense only returns six starters from last year's squad.

While this may seem daunting, “Daniel to Maclin” will become the mantra that Missouri lives and dies by.  Missouri lost two four-year starters on the offensive line, but the three upperclassmen returning should provide an anchor to what should be a stable, strong offense.

Is a predictable offense necessarily a bad one?  Tiger fans do not seem to think so, and neither do I.  Whether this is a championship-caliber squad is another question entirely.

Defensively, the Tigers return nine starters that did a relatively mediocre job last year (ranked 59th in total defense and 96th in passing defense, both in terms of yards allowed).  Unlike Florida, the Missouri defense did improve over the course of the year, but that does not mean that this should become a stalwart unit overnight.

If (and that is a big if) the defense improves, I can see Missouri making a run for a Big 12 championship and a national title.

Opponents: If I were a Missouri fan, I would love this schedule.  Of all the years to have Oklahoma and Texas Tech off their Big 12 slate, this would be the one.  Additionally, their neutral-site games bookend the season and will make for some fantastic television.

Kicking off the season, Missouri takes on the Fighting Illini of Illinois in St. Louis.  While I think Clemson/Alabama is the best game in August, this one has to be a close second, only because of my ACC and SEC allegiances.

While the Illini still have Juice Williams (but no Rashard Mendenhall) and a decent team that took them to the Rose Bowl last year (where they were thrashed), I simply believe that Illinois will be outclassed by a hungry Missouri team.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?