College Football 2011: Strengths of Every Top 25 Team, Post National Signing Day
As we've just passed National Signing Day and are approaching the NFL Draft, it's out with the old and in with the new.
Some of college football's best players are headed to the pros, while some of high school football's top players are packing their bags and heading for their dorm rooms.
So now that we can officially put 2010 in the rear-view mirror, what can we expect in 2011?
Well, let's take a look at the biggest strength of each team in the top 25, which are my preseason rankings, not any official poll.
25. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
1 of 25
The Strength: Wide receiver corps
Notre Dame already has one of the nation's best wide receivers in Michael Floyd and an up-and-coming player in Theo Reddick.
But the Fighting Irish added two stellar recruits, George Atkinson and Davaris Daniels, who should be ready to contribute right away.
24. Auburn Tigers
2 of 25
The Strength: Running backs
Is losing Cam Newton a big blow to Auburn's running game? Of course.
But the Tigers will bring back both Onterio McCalebb and Michael Dyer, who was the team's best player in the BCS title game.
Auburn's offensive line will be in rebuilding mode, but McCalebb and Dyer are as talented of a running back duo as there is in the SEC.
23. Virginia Tech Hokies
3 of 25
The Strength: Wide receivers
Virginia Tech will have to replace arguably its three best offensive players—Tyrod Taylor, Darren Evans and Ryan Williams in 2011.
But the Hokies do bring back their top three receivers from last year's team, all three of which will be seniors next season.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
22. Arkansas Razorbacks
4 of 25
The Strength: Running back
Ryan Mallett is gone from Arkansas, and he'll be replaced by Tyler Wilson.
How good can Wilson be? No one knows yet.
But if he struggles, running back Knile Davis becomes even more important to the success of the Razorbacks.
21. Michigan Wolverines
5 of 25
The Strength: Running game
Michigan's biggest strength in 2010 will be its defense. Just kidding.
However, the Wolverines do return their top three rushers from 2010, including one of the nation's best dual threat quarterbacks in Denard Robinson.
It'll be interesting to see, though, how Robinson and the running backs perform under Brady Hoke.
20. Florida Gators
6 of 25
The Strength: Versatility
Florida may be transitioning to a new offense under Will Muschamp, but the Gators have the players to have a good offense regardless of the scheme.
With guys like Chris Rainey, Trey Burton, Will Demps and Mike Gillislee on offense, Florida has a boatload of offensive studs who can contribute in multiple areas.
19. West Virginia Mountaineers
7 of 25
The Strength: Coaching
I know what you're thinking—coaching? Really?
Well, West Virginia's biggest strength in 2010 was its defense, but the Mountaineers lost a big chunk of that unit to graduation.
They did, however, pry offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen away from Oklahoma State. He helped develop an insane passing attack for the Cowboys.
Maybe he can do the same at WVU.
18. Georgia Bulldogs
8 of 25
The Strength: Quarterback
A.J. Green is gone, but Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray is the real deal.
He threw for more than 3,000 yards and accounted for 28 touchdowns last season...as a freshman.
Watch out for him in 2011—he could be the SEC's best quarterback with Ryan Mallett and Cam Newton gone.
17. TCU Horned Frogs
9 of 25
The Strength: Linebacker corps
TCU had the nation's No. 1 defense in 2010, but the Horned Frogs only return ten total starters for 2011.
They will, however, still have linebackers Tank Carder and Tanner Brock. Both players were All-Mountain West selections last season.
16. Mississippi State Bulldogs
10 of 25
The Strength: Experience
Has anyone done a better job of turning a program around than Dan Mullen?
Mississippi State ran for 215 yards per game last season, and returns one of the SEC's best defenses for 2011.
The Bulldogs have eight offensive starters coming back, including dual-threat quarterback Chris Relf.
15. Michigan State Spartans
11 of 25
The Strength: Experience
On the surface it's hard to be optimistic about Michigan State after the team's awful showing against Alabama in the team's bowl game.
But the Spartans return 13 total starters. They don't lose much on defense outside of Greg Jones, and they return an underrated quarterback in Kirk Cousins.
14. Nebraska Huskers
12 of 25
The Strength: Defensive Line
There was a bit of a revolving door between Taylor Martinez and Cody Green for Nebraska at quarterback last season, and the Huskers have two promising incoming freshman—Bubba Starling and Jamal Turner—at that position.
So the QB could either be a huge plus or a huge weakness, depending on how you look at it.
But Nebraska does return the majority of its key contributors on the defensive line, including one of the nation's best d-tackles in Jared Crick.
13. Wisconsin Badgers
13 of 25
The Strength: Running back
Wisconsin lost quarterback Scott Tolzien as well as both John Moffitt and Gabe Carimi on the offensive line, so it'll be up to the running backs to get the job done in 2011.
James White and Montee Ball combined for more than 2,000 rushing yards and 32 rushing touchdowns last season.
Can they do that with a new offensive line and a new quarterback? I guess we'll find out.
12. South Carolina Gamecocks
14 of 25
The Strength: Offense
Whether it's Connor Shaw or Stephen Garcia behind center, it shouldn't really matter all that much.
Alshon Jeffery and Tori Gurley give South Carolina one of the nation's better receiving corps, and Marcus Lattimore is also one of college football's top running backs.
It'll be incredibly difficult for teams to gameplan for the Gamecocks in 2011.
11. Missouri Tigers
15 of 25
The Strength: Returning Offensive Starters
A Blaine Gabbert return would push Missouri into the top ten, but he's headed for the NFL and it'll be tough to replace his production right away.
The good thing about the Tigers, though, is that they return 9 other starters on offense, so the team's next quarterback—whether that is James Franklin or Tyler Gabbert (Blaine's brother)—will have plenty of experience around him.
10. Boise State Broncos
16 of 25
The Strength: Quarterback
Titus Young and Austin Pettis are gone from Boise State, which puts even more pressure on Kellen Moore to play well week in and week out.
But just look up Moore's stats.
That dude's consistently been one of the nation's top 3 quarterbacks for 3 years running.
9. Florida State Seminoles
17 of 25
The Strength: Talent
By my own admission, talent is a pretty vague term. But that's simply what Florida State has.
Not only do the Seminoles have sixteen starters (eight on each side of the ball) coming back in 2011, but they had the nation's top recruiting class for 2011 (according to ESPN), which is filled with guys who can step in and contribute immediately.
8. Oklahoma State Cowboys
18 of 25
The Strength: Passing Attack
Sure, offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen is no longer at the school.
But all you need to do is look at the numbers for quarterback Brandon Weeden and wide receiver Justin Blackmon, who combined to form the nation's No. 2 passing offense and No. 3 scoring offense in 2010.
That production will almost certainly fall in 2011. But it can't fall all that much, can it?
7. Stanford Cardinal
19 of 25
The Strength: Quarterback
I know, it's getting kind of redundant with the quarterback being the strength of a bunch of these teams.
But it's the truth.
Andrew Luck is the most pro-ready QB in the country and would have been the No. 1 pick had he entered this year's NFL Draft.
Even with the loss of Jim Harbaugh, Luck will continue to be the nation's top quarterback.
6. Ohio State Buckeyes
20 of 25
The Strength: Defense
It's hard to judge what will become of this Ohio State team considering that five key Buckeyes—including Terrelle Pryor—will miss the first five games of next season due to suspension.
But when all the players are actually on the field, Ohio State's offense will have 8 returning starters from the 2010 squad.
However, it's the defense that should be revamped (like always) after landing the No. 7 recruiting class according to ESPN, which included some much needed immediate help at defensive end and at linebacker.
Pairing those guys with 4 returning defensive starters should minimize the losses on that side of the ball.
5. Texas A&M Aggies
21 of 25
The Strength: Experience
Cyrus Gray is coming back to Texas A&M, Ryan Tannehill has almost a full season at quarterback under his belt and the Aggies will return a whopping eighteen starters.
A popular preseason pick, Texas A&M is built to live up to those lofty preseason expectations.
4. LSU Tigers
22 of 25
The Strength: Defense
Year in and year out, LSU seems to put together one of the nation's top defenses.
Well, it'll be the same story in 2011.
Aside from Patrick Peterson and Drake Nevis—who are definitely two huge losses—LSU will be returning most of its key starters on defense.
And the Tigers signed five-star defensive tackle recruit Anthony Johnson, who could be Nevis' immediate replacement.
3. Oregon Ducks
23 of 25
The Strength: Running Game
LaMichael James was the 2010 Doak Walker Award winner and was the nation's No.1 rusher.
As a team, Oregon ranked fourth in the nation in rushing yards and has a quality backup running back in Kenjon Barner as well as quarterback Darron Thomas, who's a very good rusher himself.
If the Ducks can get anything out of Lache Seastrunk in 2011, that rushing attack could be even better next season.
2. Alabama Crimson Tide
24 of 25
The Strength: Talent
Like Florida State, Alabama will be just fine next season despite some key losses.
The Crimson Tide will lose Marcell Dareus, Mark Ingram, Julio Jones and Greg McElroy but is still stockpiled with talent.
It's not really a question of if players will step up in their absence—rather, it's a question of who will fill their shoes.
1. Oklahoma Sooners
25 of 25
The Strength: Talent/Experience
The Oklahoma Sooners return eighteen starters in 2011, including Landry Jones and Ryan Broyles on offense and Travis Lewis on defense.
If sophomore running back Roy Finch can even begin to mimic the success of DeMarco Murray in the running game, the Sooners will be scary good
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
