BCS Championship 2011: Prime Candidates To Take Auburn's Place Next Season
The Auburn Tigers just won the 2011 BCS Championship over the Oregon Ducks in a dramatic game winning drive that included one of the strangest 37-yard runs you will ever see.
Michael Dyer seemed to be down with a medium gain after being tackled by Eddie Pleasant, but Dyer never touched the ground, and as he stood up, with the urging of his coaches on the sideline, he took off, all the way down to the Oregon 27-yard line.
The rest is history.
Now that 2011's National Championship game is in the books, that still leaves a question on everybody's mind, what about next year?
This was a very exciting season, and the general thought at the beginning of the year was that the game played last night would feature Ohio State and Alabama. We all know how that worked out.
So, in another attempt to rile up some predictions for next season that are sure to be just as wrong, here I have the top ten teams that could replace Auburn as the best team in college football a year from now.
10. Ohio State Buckeyes
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Ohio State goes into this offseason with a secondary full of more holes than swiss cheese, but somehow, they always seem to be in talks for a national championship.
They have a few players on their bench that can replace the departing safeties and cornerbacks, along with the number one defensive back recruit in the country, Doran Grant coming in to fill the secondary.
With Braxton Miller filling in for the suspended Terrelle Pryor for the first five games of the season, or all season long, depending on whether or not the multi-faceted quarterback stays good to his word to return for his senior season, not many Buckeyes are worried about the offense.
The Buckeyes also have two top fifty offensive line recruits coming in to fill holes on their offensive line.
Many people have seen Ohio State's incoming class as one of the tops in the country, and if it lives up to that billing, they will be a threat to get their way into another BCS game, and possibly a championship.
9. Boise State Broncos
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Boise State will be returning 15 starters from a team that was two missed field goals away from making its case for inclusion in the national championship game.
They will have a bit of a tougher schedule this season, as they are going to be moving from the WAC to the Mountain West, but it still shouldn't hamper them from making another run at a 12-0 season.
Voters are slowly gravitating toward showing some of the teams in weaker conference respect, especially since TCU beat Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl this season, so it isn't impossible to think that Boise could get some love next season, especially if they preform well in games against Georgia and TCU next season.
The biggest position that needs replacing next season is at wide receiver, as Austin Pettis and Titus Young are both on the way out the door, but that never seems to be a problem for Boise.
8. Nebraska Cornhuskers
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If Nebraska can transition to the Big Ten easily, then they could have a shot at a BCS game next season.
With Taylor Martinez returning next season with a year of playing college football under his belt, he should be able to lead the team even better than he did this season.
They will have holes to fill on both sides of the ball, but they also have a very good recruiting class coming in and a wealth of good players who have yet to crack the starting-22 in their college career.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
7. Penn State Nittany Lions
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Penn State is going to have some big holes to fill on offense, but it's defense should be able to hold them over long enough to get things rolling.
The Nittany Lions return all but two starters on defense, with the two departing players being linebackers, a position that Penn State is always great at replacing.
They do have the issue of replacing Evan Royster who is their departing runningback, and two offensive linemen.
6. Stanford Cardinal
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The Cardinal are going to have some big holes to fill on their offensive line, but as long as they have Andrew Luck coming back, they should fight for the Pac-10 Championship.
Andrew Phillips, Chase Beeler and Derek Hall are all graduating, leaving three holes in the line, but they do return what were arguably their two best linemen, Jonathan Martin and David DeCastro.
On defense, they return seven players, including All Pac-10 safety Delano Howell.
Stanford also has one of its strongest recruiting classes ever, which includes nine four-star recruits joining the team for next season.
5. Florida State Seminoles
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Oregon's Chip Kelly and Auburn's Gene Chizik were both in their second year with their respective teams this season, Florida State's Jimbo Fisher will be entering his second year with his team this year.
Is that meaningless? Probably, but what isn't meaningless is the fact that Florida State will likely return 17 starters next season, and have a top three recruiting class this season.
They'll be losing quarterback Christian Ponder and a few offensive linemen, otherwise they will be nearly the same team they were last season.
If E.J Manuel can step into his role at quarterback next season and do it with as little turbulence as possible, this could be a very good team.
4. LSU Tigers
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LSU is going to lose Patrick Paterson in all likelihood, along with an offensive lineman and a few defensive linemen.
Otherwise, they are going to be nearly the same team next season.
Pair that with a good season last year and an extremely good recruiting class, and you have yourself a promising team.
The biggest monkey wrench that could be thrown into next season is if Les Miles decides to leave for Michigan, which is possible. If he leaves, it could hurt the team quite a bit.
3. Alabama Crimson Tide
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Depending on who declares for the draft in the coming days will greatly hurt or help Alabama's shot at grabbing another championship.
If Julio Jones, Mark Ingram and Marcell Dareus all return, then they may very well be the favorites, even with Greg McIlroy leaving.
It seems that all three will be departing, however, and that could drop them farther down this list, even though they have many people to replace the departing underclassmen.
It's best to just wait and see with Alabama.
2. Oregon Ducks
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If running back LaMichael James returns with the offense to give a national championship run another shot, then they will once again be the best offensive team in the country.
They will be losing a few receivers and offensive linemen on the offensive side of the ball, but have many replacements in line that should fill in quite nicely.
The biggest question is their front seven on defense.
If they can fill those holes with fast, athletic players like they had this season, then there is no reason to believe that Oregon won't at least be threatening to break into the title game again.
1. Oklahoma Sooners
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The only player that is leaving on offense for sure is running back DeMarco Murray. The only players leaving on defense for sure are Jeremy Beal and Quinton Carter.
You may end up seeing Ryan Broyles and Travis Lewis being added to this list, but even if they do, Oklahoma has to be the favorite to dethrone Auburn.
They are returning nearly everyone on their team, including quarterback Landry Jones and their whole offensive line.
Oklahoma is going to be better on both sides of the ball next season, and will be playing in a depleted Big 12, so all signs point to them being the pre-season National Championship favorites.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
