College Football Rankings 2011: Oregon and the Nation's Best Offenses

Last year's college football season flaunted an abundance of offensive scoring, featuring eight teams that scored more than 40 points per game.

It also included 21 teams averaging more than 200 yards on the ground per contest, 16 with over 300 passing yards and 42 schools that put up more than 400 overall offensive yards day in and day out.

It was the Oregon Ducks who owned the NCAA's top offense in 2010. With much opposing competition returning in '11, let's break down who will be this year's scoring champion.

5. Wisconsin Badgers

Wisconsin is 43-4 at home since 2004. This supports the common phrase "Wisconsin doesn't lose in Madison."

And wouldn't you know, it has seven home games in 2011 (not including a neutral site game versus Northern Illinois).

The Badgers lost quarterback Scott Tolzien to graduation, running back John Clay and All-American offensive linemen Gabe Carimi and John Moffitt to the NFL draft. However, it won't slow down an offense that scored 41.5 points per game in 2010.

Former North Carolina State quarterback Russell Wilson will be the starter in place for Tolzien after transferring schools in February. He passed for a career 8,545 yards, 76 touchdowns and 26 interceptions in three years in the Wolfpack, completing nearly 61 percent of his attempts. Wilson is also a threat on the ground, as he's combined for 1,089 yards and 17 scores.

Wisconsin virtually always has a fluent running game. Even though it loses some valuable forces on the offensive line, James White returns, who rushed for 1,052 yards and 14 touchdowns as a freshman last year and split carries with Clay.

The Badgers' upcoming schedule contains 12 teams that combined to allow an average of 27.2 points per game in 2010. This would have qualified for the 65th overall in the NCAA.

Be ready to see Wisconsin putting up points left and right.

4. Tulsa Golden Hurricane

Tulsa practically returns everyone to an offense that scored 41.4 points per game (sixth in the nation) in 2010.

Quarterback G.J. Kinne has passed for 6,382 yards and 53 touchdowns in his two seasons as the Golden Hurricane's signal caller. The 6'2", 215-pound senior has a winning record (15-10) as a starting QB, including a 10-3 record last year in which he led his team to a 62-35 victory against No. 24 Hawaii in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl.

Kinne's leading receiver, Damaris Johnson, returns for his senior season as well and currently holds the NCAA's all-time record for kick return yards.

With approaching matchups such as Tulane, North Texas, UAB and Rice, expect Tulsa to continue blowing up the scoreboard.

3. Oklahoma State Cowboys

The Cowboys owned the nation's third best passing attack (345.8 yards per game) and the No. 36 rushing offense (174.4) for the No. 3-scoring offense in the NCAA (44.3 points per game).

Believe it or not, these numbers might be exceeded in 2011 as Oklahoma State returns 10 starters, including Heisman candidates Brandon Weeden (QB) and Justin Blackmon (WR).

It may lose running back Kendall Hunter, but the entire offensive line is back to aid sophomore tailback Joseph Randle. It also will give Weeden plenty of time to tear opposing defenses apart, as it allowed just 10 sacks all year.

The end zone will be familiar territory for the Cowboys in 2011.

2. Oregon Ducks

LaMichael James is Oregon's offense.

He led all of college football in rushing with 1,731 yards in 2010, finding the end zone 21 times.

The 5'9", 190-pound All-American running back was responsible for 144 of the team's 611 points (23.6 percent). He had 1,937 total yards and 24 touchdowns. James' best game came against Stanford, in which he ran for 257 yards and had three scores.

However, he'll have to bolster these stats if the Ducks want to repeat as the highest-powered scoring team this season. Oregon loses starting offensive linemen Bo Thran and Jordan Holmes, and two big-time receivers in Jeff Maehl and D.J. Davis.

Oregon will have the best offense in the Pac-12, but will have to settle for second overall.

1. Oklahoma Sooners

On paper, Bob Stoops' offense looks unstoppable.

Heisman candidate quarterback Landry Jones threw for 4,718 yards and 38 touchdowns last year—second in the nation—and completed 65.6 percent of his passes.

Wide receivers Ryan Broyles, Kenny Stills and Trey Franks return to the field in '11, stimulating the thought that Jones' numbers can (and should) be surpassed. These three combined for an outstanding 221 receptions for 2,671 yards and 20 touchdowns.

Oklahoma has to cope with the loss of running back DeMarco Murray (NFL). He had a fantastic college career, rushing for 3,685 yards while reaching the end zone 50 times off 759 carries.

However, Roy Finch is a fine, underrated running back that will surprise many. He's still young and doesn't have much experience on the field, but took 85 carries for 398 yards and two scores during his freshman stay.

The Sooners came up with 6,739 total yards of offense last year, which ranked seventh overall. They were second in passing yards per game (357.2) and 14th in scoring (37.2).

And with practically everyone returning, there's no reason why they can't be the best in 2011.