2011 College Football Rankings: Oregon Ducks Head the Early Preseason Top 25
With March almost in the rear-view mirror and spring games quickly approaching, I think it's finally safe to reveal early preseason top 25 predictions.
Less than 12 hours after Auburn won the BCS National Championship, head coach Gene Chizik said he was already preparing for the 2011 season.
Everybody has been ready since then, but valid predictions really can't be made that early.
Now it's clear who will be returning and who got top recruiting classes.
With spring games right around the corner, it's time to start getting excited about college football.
Here is an early prediction of the preseason top 25 rankings in 2011.
25. Penn State Nittany Lions
1 of 25
2010 Final Ranking: Unranked
Penn State had an up-and-down season in 2010 due to a lot of youthful mistakes.
This season, they should show more maturity and have no problems improving off of last season's performance.
Silas Redd and Curtis Drake have the potential to be star players over the course of the next few years.
24. Miami Hurricanes
2 of 25
2010 Final Ranking: Unranked
Al Golden is not a great fit for the Hurricanes.
That said, Golden found a way to win with Temple. I wouldn't be too concerned about the fit.
Golden begins his run to get Miami back to the glory days. There is a lot of talent in South Florida, and Golden is one of the better recruiters in the country.
It won't be long before Miami is back on the map.
23. Florida Gators
3 of 25
2010 Final Ranking: Unranked
The Will Muschamp era is about to begin for the Gators. With Muschamp comes offensive coordinator Charlie Weis.
It's weird knowing that Urban Meyer won't be leading this team to victory any longer.
Thanks to Meyer, the team is loaded with talent.
Weis will be able to utilize that talent on offense. Cornerback Janoris Jenkins will be returning to lead the defense.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
22. West Virginia Mountaineers
4 of 25
2010 Final Ranking: 22nd
Oklahoma State is going to have a very different look this season with offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen.
Holgorsen is known for his pass-happy attack that was featured at Oklahoma State.
Quarterback Geno Smith had an impressive year in 2010, throwing for 2,400 yards and 24 touchdowns. It should be interesting to see how those totals improve under Holgorsen.
21. Virginia Tech Hokies
5 of 25
2010 Final Ranking: 13th
Tyrod Taylor, Ryan Williams and Darren Evans will not be returning in 2011.
This is going to be a tough challenge for the Hokies offense to overcome.
Luckily, they have Logan Thomas taking over at quarterback. Thomas has drawn some recent comparisons to Cam Newton.
As always, the Virginia Tech defense should be great. At the least, they will perform well due to great defensive play.
20. Mississippi State Bulldogs
6 of 25
2010 Final Ranking: 21st
It's amazing the way head coach Dan Mullen has been able to turn around the Mississippi State program.
They finished 9-4 last season despite playing in the toughest conference. They ended the season with a dominating performance over Michigan in the Gator Bowl.
The Bulldogs have seven returning offensive starters.
They also have seven players returning on the defense, which ranked 21st in points allowed last season.
19. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
7 of 25
2010 Final Ranking: Unranked
I'm not sold on this ranking, but I know Notre Dame fans will tear me apart if I put the Irish any lower than this.
In fact, they may do it anyway.
The recent suspension of star receiver Michael Floyd makes me even more wary.
Despite this, Brian Kelly has a history of turning teams around.
Notre Dame showed steps towards improvement last year, and it could very well continue in 2011.
18. Auburn Tigers
8 of 25
2010 Final Ranking: First
How do you drop from winning the BCS National Championship to 18th?
Easy. Lose the one player who did all the work.
To be fair, the Tigers are still a good team.
However, they are not championship caliber without Cam Newton.
The offense will turn to Michael Dyer for the majority of production, and the defense will have to make strides forward if the team wants to compete in 2011.
17. Michigan State Spartans
9 of 25
2010 Final Ranking: Ninth
The Spartans do not have an overly talented team. They didn't last year, and they won't again this year.
Despite this, Michigan State wins games.
The Spartans have many pieces of the puzzle returning and hope to repeat as Big Ten champions next season.
16. Nebraska Cornhuskers
10 of 25
2010 Final Ranking: 18th
Nebraska picked a tough time to enter the Big Ten.
Ohio State is a championship contender, Michigan State is looking better than they have in years, Wisconsin finished in the top five in the BCS last season, Michigan is slowly rebuilding and Penn State has a young team full of talent.
Nebraska should fit right in with their hard-nosed defense and grueling running game.
However, the team did lose Roy Helu, Jr. to the NFL, so a replacement will need to be found quickly.
15. Texas A&M Aggies
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2010 Final Ranking: 17th
Texas A&M will be returning 10 players on offense in 2011, including a potential Heisman candidate in Cyrus Gray.
When Mike Sherman took over the program in 2007, I don't think very many people expected him to turn the team into contenders.
He has done just that. Texas A&M is coming off of a 9-4 season and should have no problems improving on it in 2011.
14. Arkansas Razorbacks
12 of 25
2010 Final Ranking: Eighth
I'm having trouble figuring out why everybody is down on Arkansas.
They lost Ryan Mallett and have a tough schedule in 2011. With those two reasons, some are pushing them out of the top 25.
Tyler Wilson is no slouch, and the Razorbacks have one of the top running backs in the nation.
The defense is also returning eight starters from last year.
The schedule is tough, and the team may struggle in some games, but I don't see Arkansas taking a big step back.
13. TCU Horned Frogs
13 of 25
2010 Final Ranking: Third
After finishing the season with a 13-0 record, the Horned Frogs went home without a national championship.
It is going to be rough for TCU to make another run like that. They will return only 10 total players on offense and defense.
The young players will need to step up if the Horned Frogs are going to have any chance at a repeat performance.
12. Wisconsin Badgers
14 of 25
2010 Final Ranking: Fifth
Wisconsin will feature a dangerous one-two punch with running backs Montee Ball and James White this upcoming season.
Unfortunately, Scott Tolzien, John Moffitt, Gabe Carimi, John Clay and J.J. Watt will not be returning.
Despite this, Wisconsin should still have one of the top defenses in the nation and a solid running attack to go along with it.
11. Florida State Seminoles
15 of 25
2010 Final Ranking: 23rd
Watching Bobby Bowden forced out of Florida State was disheartening.
However, it was obviously the right move.
The Seminoles look like they are on their way back, finishing with a 9-4 record last season.
Losing Christian Ponder may seem like a big task to overcome, but the Seminoles are still returning 18 starters from a year ago.
Not to mention the top-ranked recruiting class.
A season with double-digit wins is very possible.
10. Missouri Tigers
16 of 25
2010 Final Ranking: 12th
Everybody is expecting the Tigers to drop off with the loss of quarterback Blaine Gabbert.
Although it might be a slight setback, Missouri is returning all the other 10 starters on the team from last season.
It's a similar story on defense.
Defensive end Aldon Smith will not be returning next season, but seven defensive starters will.
9. South Carolina Gamecocks
17 of 25
2010 Final Ranking: 20th
The combination of running back Marcus Lattimore and wide receiver Alshon Jeffery gives South Carolina one of the most explosive offenses in the SEC.
A year after winning the SEC East, the Gamecocks are once again favorites to overtake Florida and Georgia in the conference.
The team was wildly inconsistent at times last year.
If they can become more consistent, they could have a shot at winning the SEC Championship.
8. Oklahoma State Cowboys
18 of 25
2010 Final Ranking: 14th
Kendall Hunter is gone, and Dana Holgorsen is no longer offensive coordinator.
Brandon Weedon and Justin Blackmon.
That's really the only combination you need to guarantee a lot of wins.
The departure of Nebraska also makes the Big 12 a little easier in 2011. The only big competition remaining is Oklahoma.
7. Ohio State Buckeyes
19 of 25
2010 Final Ranking: Sixth
Thanks to the Tattoo Five, the Buckeyes could face some problems early in the season from Michigan State.
The other games shouldn't be much of a challenge.
If they make it through those games without Terrelle Pryor and the others, Ohio State could make a very strong run for the national championship at the end of the season.
This team is not short on talent; they just can't afford stupid mistakes.
6. LSU Tigers
20 of 25
2010 Final Ranking: 11th
The Tigers have lost star players Patrick Peterson, Kelvin Sheppard and Drake Nevin from last year's team.
Other than those three, most of the LSU team will be returning in 2011.
Due to some close games, LSU didn't get as much recognition last year that they probably should have. The team finished 11-2.
With Alabama and Auburn facing some key loses, this could be the year LSU takes control of the SEC West.
5. Stanford Cardinal
21 of 25
2010 Final Ranking: Fourth
Not a lot has gone right for Stanford this offseason. There is some good news.
The best player in the nation is Andrew Luck.
He shocked the world when he announced he would be returning to Stanford for his senior season.
That means that the Cardinal should be able to compete for the Pac-12 at least one more season.
4. Alabama Crimson Tide
22 of 25
2010 Final Ranking: 16th
The Crimson Tide have lost some huge players to both graduation and the NFL.
The good news is that Alabama's head coach is named Nick Saban.
That means that this team has tremendous depth.
It's not a matter of if a player will be able to be replaced; it's simply a matter of who is going to replace him.
In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Alabama has a better year than they did in 2010.
3. Boise State Broncos
23 of 25
2010 Final Ranking: 10th
This is one of the nation's most consistent and best programs. It's time to start giving them props.
Whether or not you think they deserve the ranking is opinion, but the fact is that this team is 37-2 with Kellen Moore at starting quarterback.
Moore will be back in 2011, which means more wins for Boise State.
Head coach Chris Peterson declined a position at Stanford. That should say something.
2. Oklahoma Sooners
24 of 25
2010 Final Ranking: Seventh
Most preseason predictions have the Sooners at the top place in the rankings.
This could very well be; I just can't go against the team on the next slide.
That said, Oklahoma has a very talented team and will be returning 18 starters from 2011. There will be 29 players who have started a game for the Sooners.
Landry Jones, Ryan Broyles and Travis Lewis look to lead the Sooners to a national championship in 2011.
1. Oregon Ducks
25 of 25
2010 Final Ranking: Second
The Oregon Ducks just played in the national championship game.
Almost all the stars of the team will be returning.
LaMichael James and Darron Thomas will lead an offense that was unstoppable last season. It should be no different this upcoming year.
The only question will come on defense where the Ducks will be losing seven starters.
However, you don't need much of a defense when you can score 50 or more points a game.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
