2011 College Football Predictions: Where Will Auburn, Oregon Rank Next Season?
With the Auburn Tigers now crowned the 2010 national champions, it is time to look forward to the 2011 season.
We will take a look at where the title game teams will rank next season, but more importantly, where the rest of the country will be as well.
Sustained success in the NCAA is hard to come by. Repeating as national champs is even tougher.
Auburn will defend the title admirably, but they will not start the season on the top of the heap.
Here is a way too early look at the 2011 Top 25.
25. West Virginia Mountaineers
1 of 25
The top returning Big East team earns the last spot in the WTE (Way Too Early) rankings.
The Mountaineers lost a lot of players on defense—eight starters—as well as offensive playmakers Noel Devine and Jock Sanders.
Quarterback Geno Smith will ultimately have to the be the playmaker for this team to succeed next season.
The Big East road schedule is not overly difficult against Cincinnati, Rutgers, USF and Syracuse, while Pittsburgh, UConn, and Louisville visit Morgantown.
A non-conference road game at Maryland is winnable, and they host LSU.
24. Texas Longhorns
2 of 25
The 2010 season cannot be wiped away fast enough for Mack Brown.
The Longhorns crumbled disgustingly to a 5-7 record and simply played bad football.
Next season they are expected to return six offensive starters and eight defensive starters.
Brown had to make big-time changes to his coaching staff, and while they lost a good man in Will Muschamp, the new faces should help make Texas better this season.
23. Mississippi State Bulldogs
3 of 25
The Bulldogs expect to return seven starters on both sides of the ball in 2011.
Head coach Dan Mullen led his team to a great season in 2010 that ended with a thrashing of Michigan.
As always, the SEC schedule is hardly easy; they play Auburn and Georgia on the road.
They do, however, get LSU and Alabama at home.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
22. Virginia Tech Hokies
4 of 25
The Hokie offense will need to rebuild quickly next season with the departures of Tyrod Taylor, Darren Evans and Ryan Williams.
A quarterback of Taylor's caliber and experience will be tough to replace, but the talents of tailback/utility man David Wilson could certainly help.
Seven offensive starters and eight defensive starters will be returning though, and Tech is always a threat to win the ACC.
They also get Miami and UNC at home next season.
21. Arizona State Sun Devils
5 of 25
The young Sun Devils squad will return 10 starters on offense and nine on defense.
In 2010, they lost four games by only nine points, and they should be able to break through a few of those next season.
The new Pac-12 gives them a shot at their division.
The Sun Devils will play Illinois, Utah and Oregon on the road.
20. Missouri Tigers
6 of 25
Losing Blaine Gabbert really hurts the Tigers for next season, but they may return every one of their other offensive starters.
Defensively, they are expected to return seven.
They do have quarterbacks they like a lot, including Gabbert's younger brother, Tyler.
They do, however, play road games against ASU, Oklahoma and Texas A&M.
19. Michigan State Spartans
7 of 25
The co-Big Ten champions of 2010 will be hard pressed to repeat at the top.
Quarterback Kirk Cousins returns, and a pair of young running backs, Edwin Baker and Le'Veon Bell, will be a good combination in the backfield.
Defensively they will need to replace Greg Jones, and those are some big shoes to fill.
The Spartans will have to go to Ohio State and then return home against Michigan and Wisconsin before rounding at the month of October with a trip to Nebraska—a season-making stretch.
18. TCU Horned Frogs
8 of 25
TCU has a tough road to repeat as an undefeated squad, and losing Andy Dalton certainly does not help.
Coach Gary Patterson will have to prove his program is more than a flash in the pan in 2011.
This is TCU's last season in the Mountain West before joining the Big East.
They'll travel to Baylor and host SMU and Texas Tech in big non-conference matchups.
17. Nebraska Cornhuskers
9 of 25
After losing three of the final four in 2010, the Cornhuskers left the Big 12 in an ugly state.
Taylor Martinez will need to play more consistently in 2011 if the Huskers want to succeed.
Nebraska also lost a ton of leadership and experience in Prince Amukamara and Eric Hagg.
The Cornhuskers' first season in the Big Ten will feature some of its toughest opponents: Ohio State, Michigan State and Iowa at home with Wisconsin and Penn State on the road.
16. Auburn Tigers
10 of 25
With Cam Newton likely heading to the draft, along with Nick Fairley, the Tigers' two best players will need to be replaced next season.
Running back Michael Dyer will play a big part of the offense next season, and the defending champs will have to find a way to replace Newton's production.
The Tiger offensive line loses four starters and will be very difficult to replace.
Road games against South Carolina, Arkansas, LSU and Georgia will make their title very difficult to repeat.
15. Ohio State Buckeyes
11 of 25
As days wind down for underclassman declarations, it will be interesting to see if Ohio State's "Tattoo Five," headlined by Terrelle Pryor, decide to hold to their word and return to Columbus.
Even if they stay, the early season five-game suspension will be a lot to overcome.
The Buckeyes lose a lot on defense, including Cameron Heyward, and will have to replace several other starters.
Home games against Wisconsin and Penn State and a road battle with Nebraska highlight the Buckeyes' Big Ten schedule.
14. Florida Gators
12 of 25
The Gators' new coach, Will Muschamp, and his talented squad will have a lot of work ahead of them.
New offensive coordinator Charlie Weis can help though, and once he decides on his quarterback, the Gators should start to roll.
Florida got some positive news when star cornerback Janoris Jenkins decided he would return to school.
Florida plays a difficult conference road schedule with visits to LSU, Auburn and South Carolina.
13. Wisconsin Badgers
13 of 25
Although Wisconsin is losing running back John Clay, the pair of Montee Ball and James White should be enough to cover that up.
Wide receiver Nick Toon is also returning and will be a big part of the offense.
The offensive line will have to be rebuilt, and quarterback Scott Tolzien will have to be replaced. The defense will return six starters.
Wisconsin will retool quickly though and should be a force.
The Badgers only have to travel four times next season, but two of them are against Michigan State and Ohio State.
12. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
14 of 25
The Irish got some welcome news today when Michael Floyd decided to return to school, and his presence will be a huge help.
Coach Brian Kelly's offense will work; it will just take time with healthy starters, and whomever he decides on as the signal caller, Tommy Rees or Dayne Crist, will have to perform immediately to get the Irish on track.
With Floyd back the Irish will have nine returning starters on offense and eight on defense.
The Irish will have a tougher schedule next season, as eight of their opponents played in bowl games in 2010.
11. Oklahoma State Cowboys
15 of 25
The Cowboys just got great news today as well: Biletnikoff Award winner Justin Blackmon and quarterback Brandon Weeden will be returning to Stillwater next season.
Oklahoma State had one of the best offenses in college football but do lose running back Kendall Hunter to graduation.
The Pokes will only be returning five defensive starters next season.
Non-conference games at home against Arizona and on the road against Tulsa pale in comparison to Big 12 road games against Missouri, Texas and Texas A&M.
10. South Carolina Gamecocks
16 of 25
The Gamecocks return some fantastic talent next season, including Alshon Jeffery and Marcus Lattimore, on the offensive side of the ball as well as quarterback Stephen Garcia.
Garcia could be supplanted by Connor Shaw, as coach Steve Spurrier has said they will have an open quarterback competition.
They do lose talent on defense, including a pair of defensive ends and linebackers.
Coach Spurrier will find a way to get the most out of his returning talent and whoever he plays at quarterback.
The SEC has no easy schedules, and the Gamecocks will have to travel to Georgia, Mississippi State and Arkansas with home games against Auburn and Florida.
9. Florida State Seminoles
17 of 25
While Christian Ponder's injuries hurt the Seminoles a bit in 2010, it helped prepare E.J. Manuel for 2011.
Coach Jimbo Fisher is returning nine starters on both sides of the football.
The defense has some young talent that will continue to get better, including Greg Reid.
The Seminoles have a big non-conference matchup at home with Oklahoma but will not have to face conference rivals Georgia Tech, North Carolina or Virginia Tech this season.
8. Arkansas Razorbacks
18 of 25
Losing Ryan Mallett seems like a big loss, and it is, but Tyler Wilson may be poised to take over as a big-time NFL prospect as well.
Running back Knile Davis proved to a be a force in 2010, and while Greg Childs went down with a bad knee injury, he will be back in force in 2011.
The Arkansas defense proved that it can be good as well and should only get better next season.
The Hogs play only four road games next season, but unfortunately they will have to travel to Alabama and LSU, as well as face Texas A&M in Arlington.
7. Texas A&M Aggies
19 of 25
Ryan Tannehill proved to be the answer at quarterback for the Aggies, closing the season 5-1.
Cyrus Gray, a newfound running back talent after the Aggies' starter went down, will be returning next season as well. If wide receiver Jeff Fuller does not go pro, they will have 10 returning starters.
Von Miller, one of the best the Aggies have had, is gone, but they will still return nine on defense.
The 3-4 defense will get better with time, and they look to be growing the right way.
Texas A&M will get Oklahoma State and Texas at home this season.
6. Boise State Broncos
20 of 25
With Kellen Moore and Doug Martin returning, the Broncos will be back in force in 2011.
A lot of losses on offense and defense will hurt some, but Moore will find ways to win football games on the blue turf.
They do move to the Mountain West this season and will have a new cast of enemies, but they should be able to handle their conference schedule rather easily.
The Broncos open the season against Georgia in the Georgia Dome.
5. Stanford Cardinal
21 of 25
The nation's top prospect is returning to the Farm and will be bringing heavy expectations along with him.
Andrew Luck will have to navigate without his coach next season, but he should be able to handle whatever is put in front of him.
The Cardinal will only have four returning starters on offense with seven on defense, but Luck is the most important.
They have to travel to USC and Oregon State but get Notre Dame, Cal and Oregon at home.
4. Oregon Ducks
22 of 25
The Ducks have figured out how to win and just came up short in the biggest game of the year.
They do lose a lot of talent this year but return a great amount as well.
If LaMichael James comes back, he could very well win the Heisman.
Quarterback Darron Thomas will continue to get better.
Cornerback Cliff Harris could very well develop into a big-time cornerback.
They will retool pretty quickly.
With only four road games next season and a neutral-site battle with LSU, Oregon could still be very much in the hunt for the national title next season.
3. LSU Tigers
23 of 25
Despite losing possibly the best player in the nation, cornerback Patrick Peterson, the Tigers still return eight very good defensive starters on defense next season and 10 starters on offense.
Les Miles did not go to Michigan; LSU could be very, very good.
The quarterback situation will have to be figured out, but even with inconsistent quarterback play in 2010, the Tigers were very good.
LSU battles Oregon in Arlington and also has to travel to Alabama and Mississippi State.
2. Alabama Crimson Tide
24 of 25
The defending champion Tide were very, very young this season and showed the potential to be very, very good.
Mark Ingram, Marcell Dareus and Julio Jones all left early, and there will be a battle for the quarterback position, but coach Nick Saban will certainly bring out the best in a team that will be better than last season.
Linebacker Dont'a Hightower and safety Mark Barron will be back on defense and will be the leaders of that unit.
A non-conference game at Penn State will be fun, and the SEC schedule will not be easy, but Alabama will be good this season.
1. Oklahoma Sooners
25 of 25
Short and simple, Oklahoma is loaded.
Landry Jones is back, Ryan Broyles made a big decision to come back and the Sooners got linebacker Travis Lewis back as well.
The Big 12 schedule gives Oklahoma home games against Missouri and Texas A&M.
A conference road game against Oklahoma State will be huge, and the Sooners will also play Florida State in a non-conference clash.
Oklahoma will start the season at the top. It will be interesting to see if they can stay there.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
