College Football Insider: A Look at the 2011 College Football Top 25

Perhaps you think that it’s too soon to even think about a College Football Top 25 for the 2011 season.  The 2010 season just came to an end and perhaps we need a break from college football?  Well college football doesn’t take any time off and we should start looking ahead at the next college football season.

So without delay, let’s take a look at the predicted Top 25 in college football for the start of the 2011 college football season.

1.  Oklahoma Sooners- The Sooners are going to have some of their better players back next season and are poised to start the year on top.  But can they stay there?

2.  Alabama Crimson Tide- The nice depth that the Crimson Tide had this year will end up being next year’s starters and this will be a tough team to beat.

3.  LSU Tigers-The Tigers aren’t losing much from this season and if the way that they ended this season is any indication (with a convincing bowl victory) they should have a strong 2011 season.

4.  Oregon Ducks- The Ducks will be coming back with key players like LaMichael James and Darron Thomas so things shouldn’t change a lot with the Ducks in 2011.

5.  Auburn Tigers- If Cam Newton decides to stay in school then the Tigers could be back and ready to go for another run.  If he goes then Auburn may not be able to crack the top ten in 2011.

6.  Arkansas Razorbacks- You can bet that head coach Bobby Petrino will have his Razorbacks ready to go, but just how well will they do if quarterback Ryan Mallett heads to the NFL early?

7.  Stanford Cardinal-With Luck coming back for another season the Cardinals could be contenders once again but what about their prospects with a new head coach.  Will they end up tumbling down without Jim Harbaugh at the helm?

8.  Texas A&M Aggies-The Aggies will get back to prominence next season as they get some of their better players back in 2011.  They could easily crack the top ten and sit second in the Big 12.

9.  Oklahoma State Cowboys-The Cowboys had a nice season in 2010 and are poised to do the same in 2011.  With some of their key players coming back and some new ones ready to step up the Cowboys could surprise a lot of people.

10.  Missouri Tigers- The Tigers may or may not get quarterback Blaine Gabbert back (he could declare for the 2011 NFL Draft) but if he does come back, this is going to be a solid team in 2011.

11.  Michigan State Spartans- Can the Spartans have the same kind of success this year as they did in 2010?  That remains to be seen but they are returning a good crew and should see some success in 2011.

12.  Boise State Broncos- The Broncos will be getting Kellen Moore back but will lose some of their best receivers to graduation.  Can the Broncos find that same magic that they have found in the past to climb back up into the polls and raise more questions in the BCS?

13.  Wisconsin Badgers- The good news for the Badgers is that they will get their running backs back in 2011 so their rushing offense should be dominant again.  They will be using a different quarterback next year but if they can coddle him along with the rushing attack working like it did this year, they should win several games.

14.  Nebraska Cornhuskers- Despite the fact that they will lose some key defenders this season, the Cornhuskers have the depth to rise up but perhaps not into the top ten in 2011.  They have their quarterback coming back (Taylor Martinez) and should have the depth to be competitive once again.

15.  Virginia Tech Hokies- Tyrod Taylor isn’t going to be around any longer so the Hokies are going to go with Logan Thomas to replace him.  There might be a drop off there, especially due to his lack experience but this team will be competitive next season even if they don’t crack the top ten.

16.  TCU Horned Frogs- There will be a drop-off for the Horned Frogs as they lose quarterback Andy Dalton, Jake Kirkpatrick and Tejay Johnson and will have to find some players to replace these guys.  You can expect TCU to lose a game or two this year and take a tumble in the rankings after climbing towards the top in 2010.

17.  South Carolina Gamecocks- With a year of experience under their belts this team should be even better next season.  Their quarterback will be better as will running back Marcus Lattimore.  They should be able to get back to where they were in 2010 and possibly be a little better.

18.  Florida State Seminoles- The Seminoles will suffer very little in terms of losses this season (they will lose quarterback Christian Ponder but they have a good backup in E.J. Manuel) so they should be very competitive in 2011.

19.  Notre Dame Fighting Irish-The Golden Domers will be much better in 2011 with a full year in their new system (under head coach Brian Kelly) and they will have a lot of their offensive weapons back again.  Look for some additional improvement in the coming season with a likely stay in the Top 25 a season long venture.

20.  Ohio State Buckeyes- The suspension of five players, including quarterback Terrell Pryor will cause some problems for this team at the start of the season.  They will start the year out ranked low because of this and may not recover (and get a high ranking).  If they can manage to win these five games somehow then they will sit higher in the rankings but without Pryor that will be difficult.

21. Georgia Bulldogs-Georgia should be able to be competitive next season but may not be able to make it much higher than 21st.  They do bring some of their better players back again next season but they may not be able to successfully take on some of their in-conference foes in 2011.  They will be an interesting team to watch though.

22.  Mississippi State Bulldogs- Mississippi State showed us some signs of life this season and that means they are poised to have a decent season in 2011.  They will lose some talent through graduation but will bring some of their good players back and should have a nice season again in 2011.

23.  West Virginia Mountaineers- Sure, the Mountaineers won’t have running Noel Devine next year but they have a history of having someone step up at the position and play well after the star departs (see Steve Slayton).  They appear to have enough to make it interesting and could end up in the bottom of the Top 25 at the end of the 2011 season.

24.  Florida Gators- Granted, the Gators will be undergoing some changes on the coaching staff but that doesn’t mean that they won’t be able to crack the Top 25 next season.  While they may not be the team that they were a couple years ago, they are talented and should win some games in 2011.

25.  Arizona State Sun Devils- Can the Sun Devils crack the Top 25 in 2011?  They return a lot of last year’s starters and they look good heading into next season. Will this be the year that Arizona State starts to make a run at the top of the PAC-10?