College Football Rankings: Oregon, OU and 25 Teams That Won't Win It All

This is not your ordinary list of preseason top 25 teams.

While most of them, if not all, are included in most top 25 polls, these teams made this list for another reason...they won't win the BCS National Championship.

Some of them will make the BCS, win their conference or even go undefeated, but none of the teams listed will win that crystal ball come January.

So if you are a fan of one of these squads, you may want to think twice before buying those tickets to New Orleans...

25. Pitt Panthers

New head coach Todd Graham was the genius behind Tulsa's explosive offenses in recent years.

While Tino Sunseri is no Dan Marino, he should flourish in Graham's offense.

The transition from the oversimplified offense Pitt has been running to Graham's complicated schemes will mean trouble for the Panthers.

Couple learning a new offensive system with a less than solid defensive unit learning a new system, and Pitt will have all kinds of trouble in the first half of the season.

They may pull it together in Big East play, but not soon enough to avoid at least two losses.

24. Auburn Tigers

No Cam Newton + No Nick Fairley = Big Trouble for Auburn.

It's not that the Tigers have no remaining talent, but the competition will be stiff, and Cam Newton's transcendent quarterback play will be missed.

Road trips to South Carolina, Clemson, Arkansas, LSU and Georgia pave the way for the Tigers, and they will lose at least three of those games.

It was fun while it lasted, right?

23. Michigan Wolverines

Many Wolverine fans are pretty reasonable people, but for the bunch of you that think they are going to take the newly re-aligned Big Ten by storm, think again.

The Wolverines obviously have some very talented guys on both sides of the ball.

However, they will need time to adjust to the new offense especially.

Expect some improvement right away, but any shot at a title game is still a few years down the road...

22. Texas Longhorns

Don't start painting your kids' room burnt orange just yet.

The Longhorns are still a long way from respectable.

A secondary that has no experience, an awful offensive line and a less-than-consistent quarterback make these guys one of the closest things to a lock not to win the championship you can find...

21. Florida Gators

Can you list one good reason the Gators will win their division of the SEC?

It's not likely; they will have a tough time beating out Georgia and South Carolina.

Now, factor in their games against 'Bama, LSU and Florida State, a new system and an offensive line that blocks like a high school line, and their chances drop to precisely nil...

20. Miami Hurricanes

The Hurricanes are undoubtedly one of the most athletic teams in the country.

They have explosive playmakers on both sides of the ball and a coach who can help them form a cohesive unit.

So what's to stop them?

Jacory Harris.

The 'Canes incumbent starter has never quite lived up to expectations, and his accuracy issues are well-documented.

Should the 'Canes find some consistency at QB, there chances raise exponentially, but until then, they are as likely to win a title as Western Kentucky.

19. Ohio State Buckeyes

Contrary to popular belief, just because a writer does not pick the Buckeyes to win it all, does not mean they are insane, incompetent or otherwise impaired.

OSU has talent, sure, but not much experience.

Several starters are gone from the defense, and of course, Terrelle Pryor and Jim Tressel will be noticeably absent.

Expect the Buckeyes to lose a game or two they shouldn't while sneaking out an upset over one of their top-rated foes in Columbus...

18. Georgia Bulldogs

This is nuts.

Anyone who believes the Bulldogs are a great team needs a head examination, STAT.

They will proceed through the season, possibly even winning their division of the SEC.

Should they get to the SEC Championship Game, they will be exposed, but it's doubtful they get that far.

Too many questions, playing against competition that is too difficult...

17. Michigan State Spartans

The Spartans are going to be extremely tough on offense, but won't score enough to keep their defense out of trouble.

The losses of Eric Gordon and Greg Jones are going to be huge, and a suspect secondary will have a tough time against some of the more efficient Big Ten offenses.

Kirk Cousins and Co. will win the Spartans some games, but an undefeated season is nothing but a pipe dream.

16. Oklahoma State Cowboys

If football games were decided solely by the offense's performance, the Cowboys would go undefeated this season.

Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon form a formidable duo in the passing game, and the 'Pokes will put up bunches of points in a hurry.

Unfortunately for them, they have to play defense as well.

The secondary should be solid, but the problem is that the weaknesses in the front seven are going to leave the them exposed in the passing game.

While the Cowboys are definitely a talented, dangerous team, other teams in the Big 12 are just more balanced and will find ways to exploit the 'Pokes' defensive weaknesses.

15. West Virginia Mountaineers

The Big East is lame.

There is no way around it, they are just not on the same level as the rest of the BCS conferences.

That being said, the cream of the Big East crop is West Virginia.

Dana Holgorsen is going to work wonders with an already dangerous offense, and Geno Smith may sneak in as a Heisman candidate if the chips fall the right way.

While the Mountaineers have been very good defensively over the past four seasons, they lost 2-star linemen and three solid guys from the secondary.

With an early season matchup against LSU looming large, the Mountaineers have very little time to plug the holes and become a cohesive defensive unit.

14. Arizona State Sun Devils

This may seem like an obvious point to some, but many are swallowing the hype hook, line and sinker.

While the Devils have a great shot at winning the Pac-12 South, their chances of escaping the conference unscathed are very small.

They must travel to Eugene this season to battle the Ducks, and that will turn out to be their Achilles' heel.

Although an early season matchup with Mizzou looms large and could derail their title shot early, it's more likely they fall at Oregon.

If the offense sputters at times like it did last season, this squad won't even make the conference title game, much less an NCG.

13. TCU Horned Frogs

Gary Patterson has elevated the Frogs' status to perennial powerhouse.

While they should once again enjoy a measure of success in '11, it won't be to the tune of another undefeated season and a trip to the NCG.

They just lost too much.

Casey Pachall may have the tools and talent to replace Andy Dalton, but does he have the leadership skills?

And will he be able to weather the storm of hits he is going to take, with two All-American offensive lineman gone and only one returning starter on the line?

That remains to be seen, but you can be sure even the talented Ed Wesley and a solid group of running backs won't be able to take the Frogs to an undefeated season.

12. BYU Cougars

To some of you this might not be news, but the Cougars are not going to the NCG.

Four returning starters to the offensive line, as well as their leading rusher, receiver and quarterback are all returning.

The defense is also returning Eathyn Manumaleuna and Matt Putnam to a solid defensive line, and should be extremely difficult to move the ball against.

Coach Mendenhall has his newly independent program headed in the right direction, but even if they manage an undefeated season (that's a big "if"), they will not hop over BCS schools with only one loss in the rankings...

11. Any C-USA Team

Also worth noting, C-USA has several has several teams that could be ranked at some point this season.

UCF, East Carolina, SMU, Houston and Southern Miss are all very talented squads, and almost any other season it might be tempting to pick one of them to make it through the season unscathed.

This season, with the depth and quality in the conference, none of those teams has even a slim shot at being a BCS-buster.

10. South Carolina Gamecocks

Forgive me, Gamecock faithful, I have little faith in your squad.

Though the original USC has some explosive talent to throw at opposition on the field, the offensive line still has some huge questions, and the best adjective that can be used to describe quarterback Stephen Garcia is "mercurial."

The defense will be deep, but somewhat inexperienced, and last season they were downright awful some games, getting burnt for over 37 points per game in their losses.

While they might pull out another SEC East division crown, a conference title will be difficult and their inconsistent play will leave them short of a BCS title berth.

On the bright side, we get another season of Steve Spurrier's comments...

9. Penn State Nittany Lions

Linebacker Michael Mauti back from injury leads a very talented group of 'backers, and JoePa appears to be in the best of health after his appearance at the conference's media days.

Too many questions abound, however, for the Lions.

Especially at quarterback.

There have been flashes of talent at the position, but no real leadership.

The secondary is solid, but that may be cancelled out by the play of a line that has more injuries this season than most squads have in a decade.

While the Lions will challenge Wisconsin and Ohio State for their Big Ten division title, they will not make the BCS...

8.Texas A&M Aggies

Mike Sherman has put together an intriguing squad with a real shot at the Big 12 title.

Cyrus Gray and Christine Michael headline an explosive running game, with Ryan Tannenhill leading from the QB position.

Expect this squad to put up points.

However, with the absolute parity within the Big 12, there is no way the Aggies escape conference play unscathed, and they have a very scary matchup with Arkansas early in the season that could trip them up.

7. Stanford Cardinal

The Cardinal are going to be a solid team with a great shot at a BCS berth, no doubt about it.

The offensive line, while not quite as dominating as last season, should be able to keep Andrew Luck upright long enough to do serious damage in the passing game.

Luck also has a serious deep threat in receiver Chris Owusu that was not available last season.

The Cardinal are going to find that they miss coach Harbaugh, however, along with defensive co-ordinator Vic Fangio, and replacing nosetackle Sione Fua will be a chore.

While it's plausible that Stanford could make it to the Rose Bowl, an undefeated season will be too much to ask.

6. Virginia Tech Hokies

The Hokies have been the model of consistency for the past decade.

Since 2000, they have done one thing consistently...miss the NCG.

They will once again have a solid defense and special teams, and Logan Thomas and David Wilson lead a retooled offense, but the ACC is as wide open a conference as there is.

The conference schedule is paved with talented squads that could trip up Beamer's boys.

The road to the BCS lies through Florida State for the Hokies, and that talent will be too much for them...

5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

The hype for Notre Dame has once again reached ridiculous levels in the 2011 preseason rankings.

Most of it is deserved, with a deep and talented defense and several weapons on offense.

The Irish, however, have some tough road trips in their schedule that will prove to be the end of their national championship dreams.

Trips to Pitt, Stanford and Michigan will all be difficult tests, and hosting Michigan State and USC will be no walk in the park.

A BCS bowl is a solid bet, just not the BCS Championship game.

4. Oregon Ducks

This one is all about the attrition.

Two top flight wide receivers and three offensive linemen are going to be tough for Chip Kelly to replace.

On top of that, the Ducks must deal with swirling rumors and a road trip to visit Stanford, as well as a Week 1 date with LSU.

The biggest concern is definitely the offensive line, where the rotation is going to be somewhat inexperienced due to the aforementioned graduations and two guys retiring due to injury.

A Pac-12 title and Rose Bowl game is the best the Ducks should be hoping for at this point.

3. Alabama Crimson TIde

Yes, Alabama fans, the Tide have done this before with pleasant results.

They threw an unproven QB on the field and won the NCG.

However, in your assumption that the Tide are the greatest thing to happen to college football every year, you forget that this is the exception rather than the rule, especially in a brutally competitive SEC.

Replacing a championship-winning quarterback, a Heisman-winning running back and a top flight receiver may seem like peanuts to you, but trust me, it's not.

The Tide may not lose three games, but two is a very distinct possibility, and that will be enough to keep them out of the BCS Championship game.

2. Boise State Broncos

Chris Petersen is undoubtedly one of the best coaches in the country.

He has developed the Broncos into a BCS contender and force to be reckoned with.

However, with their recent move to the MWC, their level of competition has gone up.

Air Force and San Diego State are far more talented than Utah State and La. Tech.

The Broncos will find that the competition gives them at least two losses, leaving them out of the BCS party once more.

1. Oklahoma Sooners

Yeah, yeah, preseason No. 1 and all that.

But the Sooners have seemed to struggle under pressure the last few seasons.

There was that painful loss to Texas Tech courtesy of Michael Crabtree and also that one-point loss to BYU.

While the Sooners have an incredibly talented team, they have a penchant for losing big games.

Last season they succumbed to the pressure of one week atop the polls at Missouri, and I can assure you that a trip to Tallahassee is at least as scary as that road trip.

The questions at defensive tackle will bite the Sooners, especially against squads like Missouri, Florida State and Texas A&M.

OU is in for at least one loss this season, keeping them out of the title game.