College Football 2011: Power Ranking Oklahoma and the Preseason Top 10

It's getting closer and closer to the start of the 2011 College Football season and with the possibility of the NFL lockout, this season could be huge for the NCAA.

NFL fans may have no where to turn if their teams aren't playing and will be forced to watch football on Saturdays, instead of Sundays.

This season also has a lot of interesting teams and story lines that everyone will enjoy watching.

We don't know how good each team will be until they start playing games but we can try.

Here is my preseason top 10 ranking for college football. 

10. Michigan State Spartans

The Michigan State Spartans return after a surprisingly good season last year with 13 returning starter.

Seven of those starters are returning to the defense and should continue to play solid defense with a very good front seven.

Any team that loses their two top tacklers will take a step back but they will also take a few steps forward as the other returning starters fill their holes.

MSU's strengths are on the offensive side of the ball where they are a great running team and have a very good offensive line, two of the necessities of playing in the Big 10 conference.

A top-10 finish isn't going to be easy for MSU but it is definitely possible.  

9. Florida State Seminoles

Florida State University is coming off a good turn around season last year and should be even better this year.

The Seminoles lost starting quarterback Christian Ponder to the NFL, which will set their offense back, but are also returning eight other starters on offense.

The offense's strength is the run game, led by Jermaine Thomas, and should be the reason Florida State's offense is top-10 worthy. They have a chance to dominate the ACC with it and control the tempos of games.

The defense is also returning eight starters and while there are some holes to fill at linebacker, the overall unit should be solid to pair with the potent offense.

8. Texas A&M Aggies

The Texas A&M Aggies have 10 returning starters on offense and one of them is Jeff Fuller.

Fuller is going to be huge for the Aggies offense this year and is their "go to" guy in the passing game.

The Defense is returning eight starters and while losing Von Miller will leave a giant hole at linebacker, the Aggies team defense can help fill it.

The Aggies should have a good season this year and could very easily finish as a top-10 team.

7. Oklahoma State Cowboys

The Oklahoma State Cowboy's high powered offense is returning 10 starters and should only continue to dominate teams going into next season.

The Cowboys had the second overall passing attack in the country last year, led by quarterback Brandon Weeden who is returning, and only got better giving each player more experience playing in the offense.

The defense, however, is the weakness of this team and what is holding them back.

Oklahoma State's defense is returning six starters from last year but still need to take major steps forward in all areas.

If the front seven can improve it can make up for the weak secondary unit and turn the defense into an "okay" unit.

6. Boise State Broncos

The Boise State Broncos are returning 14 total starters, including quarterback Kellen Moore.

Moore is the best player on the Broncos and is what makes them "go".

This years offense will be lacking receiver talent which won't make Moore's job any easier.

That said, Moore will be able to spread the ball around and help make his teammates better, like all great quarterbacks do.

Another strength of Boise will be their defensive front.

The front seven will be able to control the line of scrimmage, stop the run, and get to the quarterback, all part of the recipe for success on defense.

This should be a great year for Boise if some new position players can step on offensively, who knows how good the Broncos could be.  

5. LSU Tigers

The LSU Tigers are returning nine offensive starters and seven defensive starters and do not have many question marks on the field.

One of this few question marks, however, is the quarterback position.

Last year the team ranked 107th in passing in the nation and while that number should get better, it still won't be very good.

LSU has great playmakers on the outside and if quarterback Jordan Jefferson can play half decent, they should have a very good offense.

The defense is a classic SEC defense and while they have two very large holes to fill at defensive tackle, the rest of the unit returns very strong and improved. 

4. Stanford Cardinal

Stanford returns arguably the best player in the country, quarterback Andrew Luck, to their offense which should instantly make them contenders.

Luck is the best quarterback in the nation and will be the top draft choice in the NFL draft when he decides to come out.

Any team with as good of a quarterback as Andrew Luck will win a lot of games but is Stanford in title contention?

Yes.

While the team is weak on the offensive line and and some receiver spots, the secondary is one of the best in the nation and the defense overall should be very good.

3. Oregon Ducks

The Oregon Ducks high powered offense is returning seven starters this year, including running back LaMichael James.

James is going to be the strength of the team this year and most of the Ducks offense will be built around his running and pass catching ability.

The Ducks offense should pick up right where it left off as one of the nations best and will be what makes this team contend.

The Ducks' weakness, the front seven on defense. There are a few holes to fill and a lot of positions of question marks but it won't matter how many points you give up when your offense is scoring 50 a game, 

2. Alabama Crimson Tide

Alabama is stacked with talent at every position this year, except at quarterback.

Losing Greg McElroy will be a huge for the offense and entire team but if they can plug that hole with a solid alternative, the team should be very good.

Every position is a position of strength of this team and their offensive line and run game should dominate the ball, while their defense is getting turnovers and three and outs.

Alabama will be playing some hard nosed, tough, football this fall and it should be very fun to watch.

Oklahoma Sooners

The Oklahoma Sooners return quarback Landry Jones this year, who should only improve on his game, and wide receiver Ryan Broyles, who should be great for the Sooners offense again.

Oklahoma has a hole to fill at running back since Demarco Murray left but with defenses so focused on stopping Jones and the pass game, it should be an easy time for whoever fills in.

The defense should also be very good this year and slow teams down while the offense punishes them.

Choosing a number one at this point of the season is a difficult task to do and while I guarantee most of these projections will be off, some may be close.