College Football 2011: Who's Overrated and Underrated in Lindy's Top 25
Lindy's may sound like an Atlanta-based chain of strip clubs, but it's actually a preseason football preview publisher, and it's one of the oldest.
Lindy's was publishing preseason top 25 polls before every joker with an Internet connection and hosting service started doing it. So they usually get it pretty close (as close as preseason polls can be).
Speaking of which, it's important to say that preseason polls are fun and give those of us thirsting in the summer CFB drought something to talk about and abuse each other with.
But the fact that the Coaches and Harris polls release anything before October is downright asinine.
The Auburn Tigers were downright screwed out of a national title shot a few years ago simply because they started too low in a poll that's nothing more than a freaking guess—the good news for Auburn is they were able to buy a title last year to compensate.
But back to the topic. Let's take a look at the teams Lindy's has too high in their rankings, as well as those who they're not giving enough credit to.
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Underrated: Wisconsin (No. 17)
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Is there any team that gets less love in preseason polls than the Badgers?
Maybe it’s the lack of flash from an offense where "three yards and a cloud of dust" is actually in the playbook.
Maybe it’s because the Badgers got blindsided by possibly the best team in the country in last year’s Rose Bowl.
But whatever the reason, the team that was 11-2 last season—and if not for a slip-up in East Lansing in October would have been playing for the National Championship—begins this season all the way down at No. 17, according to Lindy’s.
Underrated: Boise State (No. 6)
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How can a team ranked No. 6 in the poll be underrated?
First of all, Boise State is behind Florida State and LSU teams that haven’t really proven anything yet, aside from the fact that they are monumentally lucky.
But mostly I’m just being preemptive here; despite the high ranking now, here’s what’ll happen to the poor boys from Boise on the blue turf:
They beat a regrouping Georgia team in the Peach State and fall a spot in the polls.
They exact revenge on a rebuilding Nevada team and lose even more ground in the polls.
At 8-0, they face TCU Nov. 12—and they still find themselves outside the top five, instead getting leapfrogged by every flavor of the week from a so-called "BCS conference."
So I’m just getting out ahead of the crowd by calling them underrated now.
Underrated: Florida (No. 20)
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Look, I know Urban Meyer is gone, and the Gators are coming off a lackluster 8-5 2010 season.
But let’s not forget, they played a brutal SEC schedule, and they were facing a vacuum in the departure of Tim Tebow.
And assuming they aren’t all in jail or expelled, the team still has a lot of talent on both sides of the ball. Meyer’s recruiting skills were legendary, and Will Muschamp comes into a situation where the cupboard is far from bare.
At No. 20, the Gators are highly underestimated.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Underrated: Missouri (No. 23)
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Look, we all know Blaine Gabbert is gone.
But Missouri has a proven track record of systematically delivering good QB play and returns more skill players than just about anyone in the Big 12.
But more importantly, this Tiger team was sixth in the nation in points allowed and returns a whole lot of guys with game experience.
Don’t be surprised to see Missouri challenge Oklahoma in the Big-12.
Overrated: Nebraska (No. 9)
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Never underestimate the importance of an experienced offensive line—Nebraska doesn’t have one.
And for a team whose only semblance of offense is in the run game, that’s not good—especially in a conference known for stuffing the middle.
Don't also underestimate the challenge in learning the ins and outs of navigating a new conference, new venues and new cities.
Not to say the Huskers won’t challenge, but at No. 9, Lindy’s is giving the boys from Lincoln a bit too much love.
Overrated: Virginia Tech (No. 12)
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Sure, Tech had a great season last year after losing to Boise State and following that up with a loss to James Madison. (Did we mention James Madison isn’t even a FBS team?)
QB Tyrod Taylor is gone, and the assistant coaching carousel hit Blacksburg this offseason.
Plus, this is a team that lost to Stanford in the Orange Bowl (just four spots in front of the Hokies) by FOUR FREAKING TOUCHDOWNS!
Overrated: Notre Dame (No. 19)
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College Football is entrenched in its perennial, myopic, collective love affair with the Irish this season.
This over a team that beat all of one good team last season (USC) and lost to Navy, Tulsa and Michigan.
Glass-half-full kind of people will argue the Irish have two decent QB options and an improving defense.
Realists will say, "When you have two quarterbacks, you have none." And that defense "improved" against the likes of Army and three teams that were on awful slides at the end of the season (Utah, Miami and USC).
The good news is Notre Dame will be lucky to get bowl eligible this season, and we’ll be free of the insufferable Golden Dome love until next year’s preseason polls.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
