The Heavyweights of College Football
No one can accurately peg the top 25 football teams in the country right now. Too many things can break too many ways. But one thing is clear — there is a first-tier of teams head, shoulders, and maybe knees above the rest, and will enter the season more loaded than Courtney Love.
Some teams just stockpile the talent and discard pieces that don't work out without fretting over where to find a replacement; others catch lightning in a bottle. The former are generally a lot easier tot identify.
Just take a look at last year's preseason top 25. No one in either poll started in the top five (seven different teams) and finished lower than 10, except chronically overrated Notre Dame.
Forecasting the rest of the pack? Like nailing Jell-O to a wall. Florida State, Miami, Iowa, and Clemson all were slotted between 10 and 20. None even finished in the also-receiving-votes shuffle. And raise your hands if you saw Arkansas, Rutgers, Wake Forest, and BYU replacing them. I thought not. Now put your top 25 away before you embarrass yourself. Top five? Now maybe you will get lucky.
So in no particular order, here are the five teams that, if not BCS title game bound, should have very strong seasons. Also presented are the biggest stumbling blocks en route to New Orleans.
And if you think you have the five teams pegged, guess again. There is a team you probably didn't think of...
USC Trojans
By "in no particular order," I meant after USC. Show me an expert that considers any team more loaded than USC. Seriously, I need a job, and would gladly take his. Last year's stingy defense loses linebacker Dallas Sartz and ... well, that's it. The offense shouldn't need to score a lot of points for USC. But it will.
Last year, John David Booty put up comparable stats to Matt Leinart's first year as a starter, and should only improve. A stable of running backs will be competing for carries. I can't begin to name them all; four have starting experience, and three others were among the top five recruits in the country the last two years. And the crew waiting to replace departed receivers Steve Smith and Dwayne Jarrett is also deep and talented. Three offensive line starters return, and, you guessed it, many able-bodied individuals are waiting in the wings.
The Trojans, now a veteran squad, experienced two unexpected Pac-10 losses last year: to an underrated Oregon State team that won 10 games, and to UCLA. That should provide plenty of motivation. USC will have a tougher road schedule this year. Lincoln, South Bend, Berkley, and Eugene aren't anyone's favorite destinations. But if the Trojans get their legs under them for the hostile environment in Nebraska and survive new quarterback/ASU transfer Sam Keller, then Notre Dame, Cal, and Oregon should be very beatable teams. At least for the most talented team in the country.
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