College Football's Top 10 Title Contenders

Danny FlynnJun 7, 2018

As we continue to inch closer to the kickoff of the 2011 college football season on September 1, thousands of fans around the nation are currently trying to put their allegiances aside in order to figure out who to pick as this year’s national champion.

Teams like Oklahoma, Alabama and a few others have been getting the majority of the attention this spring and summer, and they’re the schools that will be forced to deal with the most preseason pressure in 2011.

Expectations for some of the biggest schools in the sport will vary widely this year after mediocre campaigns from the likes of Florida, USC and Texas last season.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see this season turn into one that’s similar in nature to what we saw in 2007, the year the chaos button was finally flipped on.

Remember, neither Auburn nor Oregon were ranked in the top ten going into last season, and keep in mind, parity is a word that's starting to creep into more and more college football conversations these days.

It’s getting increasingly difficult to try to forecast which teams are contenders and which teams are pretenders before the action even starts, but every summer, all of us college football fans always give it our best shot.

I still can’t say that I’ve narrowed it down to one specific national title favorite just yet, but there are a few teams that are on my personal shortlist.

Here’s a look at the 10 teams who I feel have the best shot to compete for the national title this season.

1. Florida State Seminoles

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Remember two years ago when the Florida State defense was just a complete and absolute embarrassment?

It seems like so long ago, doesn’t it?

Since the dismal 2009 season, LB Nigel Bradham, DE Brandon Jenkins and cornerbacks Xavier Rhodes and Greg Reid have helped to change the defensive culture in Tallahassee and they’ve managed to transform the unit from laughingstock into a formidable looking collection of talent.

Bradham, Jenkins and Rhodes could possibly be the best players in the country at their respective positions and they’ll be the three centerpieces of a defense that should be one of the most stout in the sport this season.

On offense, it’s all about new QB E.J. Manuel.

We’ve already seen glimpses of greatness from the up-and-coming signal caller, but that was in mop up duty. As we know, there’s a different type of pressure when the success of an entire season weighs on your shoulders.

Because the defense should be so dominant, Manuel won’t have to be spectacular, he’ll just need to be smart with the ball, make a few big third down runs and keep everybody in the huddle focused.

Coach Jimbo Fisher knows what this team is capable of and you could hear it in his voice during spring practices.

Fisher saw Gene Chizik and Chip Kelly, two fellow coaches who were also in their second year, battle for a national championship last season.

He knows that the road to the top isn’t as long as it used to be. Great change can come in a hurry these days.

Fisher has the Seminoles playing with attitude and swagger again and this year’s team resembles one of Bobby Bowden’s 90’s golden era squads.

2. Alabama Crimson Tide

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There were some fairly strong concerns about how the Alabama defense, which had to replace nine starters from the national championship winning group, would fare last season.

Well, it quickly became apparent that experience doesn’t breed defensive success; talent does.

DT Josh Chapman, LB Dont'a Hightower and CB Dre Kirkpatrick all stepped in, made their presence known and helped fans forget about guys like Terrence Cody, Rolando McClain and Javier Arenas.

S Mark Barron, who was expected to be the veteran voice of the inexperienced bunch, quickly became an afterthought with all the new talent surrounding him.

Chapman, Hightower, Kirkpatrick and Barron are just a few of the nine starters which return to a defense that is sure to be bursting at the seems with elite talent this season.

We all know the Alabama defense will be one of the five best in college football this season, but that doesn’t change the fact that the Tide have some major questions to answer on offense.

The Alabama offensive line, led by William Vlachos and Barrett Jones, should again be one of the nation’s best, but the skill positions are loaded with uncertainty.

Powerful RB Trent Richardson, who has ran for over 700 yards in each of his first two seasons, will take over for departed Heisman winner Mark Ingram. Richardson should be a fine replacement but Alabama will have to figure some things out in the passing game this season.

The quarterback battle between Phillip Sims and A.J. McCarron still has yet to be settled, and it remains to be seen if receivers Marquis Maze and Darius Hanks will be able to fill the void that Julio Jones leaves behind.

Alabama should shut down almost every opponent that comes along this year, but the only way the Tide can win the SEC West is if they get serviceable play out of the quarterback position.

3. Oklahoma Sooners

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Oklahoma will enter the 2011 season as the early No. 1 team in college football, but the Sooners will have to survive more than a few tough Big 12 battles if they want to go wire to wire this year.

On offense, Oklahoma will be able to rely on one of the most potent passing duos in America, made up of QB Landry Jones and WR Ryan Broyles.

Jones is already being included in the Heisman discussion and Broyles, who led all receivers in catches last year, could enter the conversation if he puts up another big season.

This is undoubtedly Oklahoma’s best team since the 2008 group that made it to the BCS Championship game.

You have to wonder, though, how Big Game Bob and his boys will handle the pressure of being the most scrutinized team in America.

This is a team with a bunch of seasoned veterans like Broyles, Jones, LB Travis Lewis, CB Jamell Fleming and the rest of the 16 returning starters. But Florida State, Missouri, Texas, Texas A&M, Baylor and Oklahoma State will all be looking to make a statement.

It definitely won’t be easy to make it through that kind of gauntlet without a scratch or two.

Oklahoma certainly has the talent to make a run at the whole thing this year, but you have to remember that this is a Bob Stoops coached team and any time there’s major pressure on a Stoops-led squad, results tend to vary dramatically.

4. Nebraska Cornhuskers

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Let me say it now: Nebraska's defense is going to be the best in college football this year.

Sorry, Alabama. Sorry, TCU.

The Cornhuskers have a star player on every level with DT Jared Crick, LB Lavonte David and CB Alfonzo Dennard.

All three seniors will be playing on Sundays in 2012, but first, they’ve got to take care of some business in the Big Ten.

Nebraska’s defense returns seven starters from a unit that ranked 11th in the country in total defense last season.

Crick will lead a defensive line that appears to be the most dominant in the country.

DE Cameron Meredith and DT Baker Steinkuhler will flank Crick and help keep the double teams to a minimum.

On offense, QB Taylor Martinez is obviously the focal point.

Martinez started his freshman season off like gangbusters before everything fell apart in a late season loss to Texas A&M.

The sophomore quarterback has reportedly matured a great deal since last season and he could be poised for a true breakout campaign in 2011.

Martinez will be joined in the backfield by gritty and productive running back Rex Burkhead, who should be in the hunt for the conference rushing title. He’ll also have the benefit of strong receiver play from WR Brandon Kinnie and TE Kyler Reed.

Coach Bo Pelini has brought an attitude adjustment to Nebraska and it might finally be time for the Cornhuskers to get with the program and play up to their enormous potential.

5. LSU Tigers

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The LSU offense has run out of excuses.

It’s now time to either put up or shut up.

This season, a lot is going to be asked of key offensive skill players like QB Jordan Jefferson, WR Rueben Randle and RB Spencer Ware, as the Tigers look to climb out of the offensive hole they dug for themselves in 2010.

Last year, LSU ranked 11th in the SEC in total offense, averaging just 343 yards of output per game.

With the addition of new coordinator Steve Kragthorpe, the boys along the bayou are hoping to regain some of their offensive luster.

The key will be the maturation and development of Jefferson, who has the talent but has yet to produce the results.

Jefferson doesn’t have to be overly spectacular, he just has to do a better job of moving the offense down the field with more consistency.

LSU probably won’t need to score a ton of points if the defense can play up to its potential.

It’s true, the Tigers lose their three best defenders from a year ago, CB Patrick Peterson, LB Kelvin Sheppard and DT Drake Nevis. But they’ve also got plenty of reinforcements who are making their way up the depth chart.

Even though they lose Peterson, the Tigers will still have one of the best cornerback combos in college football with Morris Claiborne and Tyrann Matheiu.

They’ll also have plenty of pass-rushers on the edge with ends like Barkevious Mingo, Sam Montgomery and Kendrick Adams.

This is a team that can survive the grueling battles of the SEC West; all they’re going to need is consistency out of Jordan Jefferson.

If they can get that, a run to the big game is definitely a possibility.

6. South Carolina Gamecocks

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Every team in America would love to have an offensive trio like the one South Carolina will be putting out on the field on Saturdays this fall.

QB Stephen Garcia, RB Marcus Lattimore and WR Alshon Jeffery combined forces to carry the Gamecocks to the SEC Championship game last season and they’ll be hoping to do the same thing once again in 2011.

Lattimore and Jeffery, who are both preseason All-Americans, are two of the premier offensive weapons in college football and both will have a major influence on South Carolina’s success this year.

Lattimore, a star sophomore, lived up to his 5-star recruit billing, rushing for nearly 1,200 yards and scoring 19 TDs in his first year in Columbia.

Jeffery established himself as one of the top receivers in college football by hauling in a conference best 88 catches for over 1,500 yards.

Up front, South Carolina returns three All-SEC caliber offensive linemen with Rokevious Watkins, T.J. Johnson and Kyle Nunn.

The defense has two future first round draft picks, DE Devin Taylor and CB Stephon Gilmore, along with solid foundation players such as hybrid safety DeVonte Holloman, DT Travian Robertson and CB Akeem Auguste.

Oh, and adding the top rated recruit of the 2011 class, DE Jadeveon Clowney, probably won’t hurt either.

We’ll find out a lot from South Carolina’s trip to Athens for a crucial conference showdown with Georgia on September 10, and that could be the game that either puts the Gamecocks in the driver’s seat or the one that knocks them off course.

Now we’ll get the opportunity to see if last year was actually a true breakthrough season or not.

7. Texas A&M Aggies

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If coach Mike Sherman hadn't made a much needed quarterback switch at the midpoint of last season, there’s a good chance Sherman wouldn’t be coaching at Texas A&M right now.

There the Aggies were at 3-3 with a quarterback, Jerrrod Johnson, who was slowly sinking into the abyss.

Sherman knew his job was on the line and he had to do something, so the coach chose to move receiver Ryan Tannehill into the starting quarterback role, and it’s a decision that ended up saving Texas A&M’s season as well as Sherman’s job.

Tannehill proceeded to peel off six straight wins, including victories over Oklahoma, Nebraska and archrival Texas.

The former receiver will return for his senior season as the leader of a team that has the talent to climb all the way to the top of the Big 12 ladder.

WR Jeff Fuller has displayed game-changing ability and the backfield duo of Cyrus Gray and Christine Michael should be one of the most productive in all of college football.

The defense loses key impact player Von Miller, the No. 2 overall pick of the 2011 NFL Draft, but emerging sophomore pass-rusher Damontre Moore has what it takes to eventually fill his shoes and become a terrorizing threat on the edge.

The defense will miss Miller but players like CB Coryell Judie and LB Garrick Williams should rally the troops.

A whopping 18 starters return for Texas A&M, making them one of the most experienced and talented threats in the country.

If Sherman can keep his team focused, Oklahoma and the rest of the Big 12 had better watch out because the Aggies have the pieces in place to do some real damage this season.

8. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

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Brian Kelly’s brand of football is certainly not something that any team can just easily adapt to without a few setbacks or slip ups.

Notre Dame fans found that out last year during Kelly’s first season as head man in South Bend.

Sure, there were times when Kelly’s spread offense was moving the ball all over the field, resembling the well-oiled offensive machine we saw at Cincinnati in 2009. However, there were also times when the Irish just looked unforgivably outclassed.

Losing to Navy and Tulsa in consecutive weeks was a huge hit to the program’s already weakened ego, but it had to feel good beating both USC and Miami to finish out an 8-5 campaign.

Kelly’s team has a good deal of momentum going into the 2011 season and it doesn’t hurt that they welcome back an All-American on both offense and defense.

WR Michael Floyd, a top NFL prospect who was suspended for a DUI during the spring, should be back and better than ever after putting up his first 1,000 yard receiving season of his career in 2010.

Floyd’s counterpart on defense is the equally as talented and equally as feared LB Manti Te’o.

Te’o, who is just a junior, already has nearly 200 tackles in his career and he’ll definitely be looking to rack up quite a few more takedowns in 2011.

The Irish will go into the fall with an ongoing quarterback battle, pitting Dayne Crist and Tommy Rees against each other.

Both have proven to be reliable starters but neither has separated themselves in the race just yet.

Whoever ends up starting will be surrounded by quality talent at the skill positions, starting with Floyd, then fellow receiver Theo Riddick and emerging rushing threat Cierre Wood.

9. Missouri Tigers

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With QB Blaine Gabbert now in the NFL, it’s unlikely that this Missouri team is going to get a ton of national love this summer.

The Tigers will probably be picked to finish in the middle of the pack in the Big 12, after the likes of Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State.

But as we’ve seen before, if there’s one team and one coach who you should never underestimate and count out, it’s Missouri and Gary Pinkel.

The Tigers have averaged 10 wins over the last four years under Pinkel’s watch and he’s the type of coach who has learned a thing or two in the past about losing a talented quarterback.

Gabbert might be gone, but his replacement James Franklin is no slouch.

Franklin is a former 4-star recruit out of Dallas and there’s no doubt that he’s got the versatile skill set to add a new dimension to Missouri’s spread based attack.

At his disposal, Franklin will have one of the best receiving corps in the country, led by the likes of Michael Egnew, T.J. Moe, and Jerrell Jackson .

On defense, the Tigers lose top 10 pick DE Aldon Smith, but somehow, their defensive end depth will still be as deep as any other team's in the country.

Ends Brad Madison and Jacquies Smith are a devastating pass-rushing duo which combined for 13 sacks in 2010.

They aren’t the only premier duo on defense, however, as Missouri also has one of the best linebacker combinations in the nation with Zaviar Gooden and Will Ebner.

In all, Missouri returns 15 starters from the 2010 squad, and the only major question mark is how well Franklin will perform right out of the gate.

If the sophomore signal caller plays well, Missouri could be set up for a monster season.

10. Virginia Tech Hokies

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If I had to rank the most underappreciated coaches in college football, you better believe that Virginia Tech’s Frank Beamer would be mighty high up on the list.

Beamer may not be flashy or loud but he's managed to guide the Hokies to seven straight double digit win seasons, compiling 73 victories during that time.

This year, Beamer is going to have to do one of his best coaching jobs yet after losing veteran quarterback Tyrod Taylor, running backs Ryan Williams and Darren Evans and cornerback Rashad Carmichael.

The Hokies will have holes in some key areas but they’ll also have enough rising talent to help plug them.

QB Logan Thomas and RB David Wilson are the new stars of the offense, while receivers like Jarrett Boykin, Danny Coale and Dyrell Roberts assume leadership roles.

The offensive line will have two All-ACC hogs up front with guard Jaymes Brooks and tackle Blake DeChristopher.

On defense, star cornerback Jayron Hosley, playmaking safety Eddie Whitley and steady linebacker Bruce Taylor all return to lead a unit that loses seven starters from a year ago.

You can bet that both Beamer and highly opinionated defensive coordinator Bud Foster have let the players know how embarrassing it was to lose to Boise State and James Madison to start off the 2010 season.

It’s something that was probably brought up at every spring practice.

Beamer still has some coaching to do with this group, but he’s got a sneaky good team that could really catch some solid momentum if it manages to stay motivated.