Will The Vest make magic again in '09?Spring ball may have just ended, but it's never too early to look at who is going to be among college football's best when fall of 2009 rolls around. While some teams, like defending national champion Florida, will be a mainstay, compiling the back half of this list is not as easy as it seems. This upcoming season in college football should be an interesting one and after the heavy favorites, it's anyone's guess as to how things will shake out. Here's a look at my first try:
1. Florida
While the Gators lost Percy Harvin to the NFL Draft, they get to keep college football's golden boy. Tebow alone is scary enough, but Spikes and that defense should be pretty nasty this season. The Gators are a no-brainer here.
2. Oklahoma
Sam Bradford and Jermaine Gresham gave Bob Stoops a pleasant surprise by returning to school to help bolster an offense that could have dropped off had they departed for the NFL. Gerald McCoy is a beast at DT for the Sooners and should give QBs nightmares the entire season.
3. Texas
The Longhorns had a case to play for the MNC last season and Colt McCoy comes back for his senior year to get the job done. McCoy will be a frontrunner to win the Heisman and if he completes over 70% of his passes like he did last season, Mack Brown will find himself competing for the championship at season's end.
4. USC
The Trojans lose QB Mark Sanchez, but bring back their stable of running backs and continue to reload their other parts on both sides of the ball. The biggest plus for this team may be Taylor Mays' return for the '09 campaign, but Corp or Barkley will ultimately decide how far this team goes.
5. Ole Miss
Here's where things start to get tricky, but I feel Houston Nutt's team is on the verge of greatness. Jevan Snead's decision to transfer from Texas seems to have paid off and the Rebels can do some damage with the offense Nutt brought from Arkansas. The defensive output could tell the tale this season, but if the unit comes together strong, the SEC is on red alert.
6. Ohio State
Terrelle Pryor needs to step up his game in order for the offense to take it to the next level. The defense loses some key players, but I think overall they will improve as a unit. If Tressel indeed opens the playbook to his young signal caller, the Buckeyes will have a spot, one way or another, in Pasadena at season's end. An upset against USC could do wonders for this team.
7. Oklahoma State
Zach Robinson to Dez Bryant will be the formula all season long. Mike Gundy is now 42 (or so we think?) so a little maturation there will help this team continue to grow and develop. Unfortunately for the Cowboys, they are the Big Twelve's third best team, and like Texas Tech last year, will be overlooked when the polls come out at season's end.
8. Alabama
I'm not a huge fan of the Tide this season, but with Julio Jones and Mark Ingram coming back on offense they should be pretty explosive again. Greg McElroy takes over for Jon Parker Wilson and fits the offense well. The defense, like all Saban defenses, will put pressure on the quarterback and make big plays when it matters most.
9. LSU
Les Miles always has his teams well prepared and this LSU squad is talented enough to give their the rest of the SEC some trouble. While they are young, Jordan Jefferson is an upgrade at quarterback, the position that held the Tigers back last year after their championship season. The Tiger defense will continue to display the nasty streak they are known for and get this team back into BCS contention.
10. Georgia Tech
It was a tough call of which ACC team to put in here, but the Jackets edge out the Hokies by a slight margin. Paul Johnson's wishbone offense and a weak conference should help Georgia Tech have a great chance at making a BCS game (much like Cincinnati did last year). Jonathan Dwyer is one of the best, if not the number one, running back in the nation, and will turn plenty of heads en route to becoming a first round pick in next year's draft. Watch out Bulldogs, the Yellow Jackets are stealing your thunder in the Peach State.
Just missed the cut: Virginia Tech, Oregon, Penn State, Georgia
Comments
I like your list although I would flip flop Ole Miss and OSU. I'm also on board with not liking Alabama. To be honest, I live in SEC hell and hate all of the SEC members.
On another subject, I usually don't agree with JoePa,but the Big 10(11) needs a 12th member. Any suggestions out there on who would be a quality member to join the Big Ten? I would vote for PITT.
I would vote Louisville or Pitt. From an athletic standpoint L'ville fits the description of a Big Ten program but from an academic standpoint Pitt is also just right. It's a tough call, Jim Delaney was on 97.1 The Fan talking about the topic yesterday.
Right on w/ Pitt. A hard running team that will be competitive in the Big Ten, and re-introduce a major rivalry (Pitt v PSU). I'm all for this as long as the Back Yard Brawl can still take place every year. What would divisions look like w/ a 12th team? Rivalry-wise, I can't see a situation with Michigan and Ohio State in different divisions. But geography-wise, I can't see PSU and OSU in different divisions. Would we want a division with OSU, PSU and UM? It would really be a cake walk to the title game for any team in the other division. That's the biggest problem I see with a 12th team.
Notre Dame?
How awesome will it be when Jevan Snead is a higher draft pick than Colt McCoy? That will make me laugh out loud. Every 8 years or so Old Miss gets a QB that brings them into the spotlight, then they fade away into the crapper.
The divisions don't have to be divided up by East/West or North/South (Although it makes it a lot easier). The Big Ten could have divisions similar to the ACC. How about the Heartland Division and the Midwest Division?
Heartland - PSU, Pitt, Illinois, Iowa, Purdue, Northwestern
Midwest - OSU, MSU, UM, Wisconsin, Indiana, Minnesota
This is kind of a joke scenario but I thought it would be interesting if the Big Ten dropped Iowa to the Big 12 and picked up Notre Dame and Syracuse and became The Great Lakes Conference. All the states that touch the Great Lakes would be represented. Although I don't like dropping Iowa for Syracuse. However, it would allow for the Iowa/Iowa State rivalry to become more interesting.
Ole Miss? Mark these words. Seriously....get a marker and circle them on your monitor. Ole Miss 2009 = Illinois 2008.
i think if you're going to have OSU and michigan in the same division (which i guess you would have to if you wanted to keep The Game as the last game of the year for each team), you need to make the other division as strong as you can. exchange wisconsin and purdue and i think that works better.
I see no reason why OSU and um can't be in separate divisions. Like the SEC, you would always play 2 teams in the other division and rotate a third. The winner of The Game would always have an impact on who goes to the B10 Championship (either going themselves or knocking the other out), and in the odd year that they meet again in 2 weeks, well, that's TV magic. Could you imagine that in 2006?
Put OSU and PSU together and UM with MSU and Wisconsin. Team No. 12 matters a lot. If it were ND, they should be with Indiana, Purdue, um and MSU, if it were Pitt, they should be with OSU and PSU.
It doesn't matter whether UM and OSU are in separate divisions. The SEC maintains annual rivalries across the East/West boundary--see Georgia v. Auburn as an example.
Mr. Green,
I think your scenario diminishes "The Game" somewhat. What happens if by the last game of the year, both teams have a spot in the championship locked up? The game means nothing and then they go to play on at a neutral site (Indy in the new stadium I'm guessing?)
I think you have to keep OSU/UM in the same division if you go to 12 teams and you make every attempt in the world at getting ND to join.
right, but i think the issue is that the OSU/michigan game is always the last game of the year. i dunno, i'm sure they could work something out, but other fanbases would get pretty pissed off if 6 years out of 10 we ended up watching Ohio State and michigan play twice at the end of the year
The only team I really have a problem with is LSU. They were horrible last year and I see no reason to think they will be any better this year.
Notre Dame had their chance and said no. At this point it is not clear to me that their program is on a sustainable track to be competitive in the Big 10. With the economy being the way it is, it would be too big of a risk to let a private school less than 10 miles away from the Michigan border into the conference. The Big 10 does not need another 1970's-80's Northwestern to weaken the competition in the conference.
I think OSU and UM have to be together. As has been said, you can't risk the chance of a "meaningless" edition of The Game. Keeping them together will make The Game a battle for a spot in the B10 title game most years, and that would be awesome.
The problem isn't that it would be an interdivisional rivalry; it would be that one division is a collection of f--- lions (PSU, OSU, UM eventually) and other's best team - if divided geographically - would be coached by Bret freakin' Bielema.
I think it'd be a little more even if Ohio State, Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin had to balance against a division featuring Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern and Penn State.
And this is assuming the new entrant is post-Kragthorp'd Louisville, which will be going through a rebuilding job.
I would say WVU, usually strong in both sports. But for the media exposure, I'd say Rutgers. It's be nice for the Big 10 to tap into more of an east coast market
Not to mention an East Coast talent base that really only Penn State has tapped into and that southern schools have raided for years (most notably The U).
Good News regarding Dan Potokar!
http://dispatch.com/live/conte...
Notre Dame would be foolish to join the B10, why in the world would they want to share that revenue with anyone. And yes, they are still a top revenue team, if not the top.
Besides, how does joining the B10 make you better in anyone's eyes?
Why leave the Big Least? Cushy sched, automatic BCS bid, east coast exposure, any team wanting to leave the Big Least would be jackasses.
You have to go after a team thats not already in a BCS conference, I would say Memphis if their football program wasnt crap. I think your stadium has to hold at least 45 or 50,000 to be considered for the conference.
that is awesome
What? No one picking Rich Rod to win a National Championship in his second year as coach like all of the other reecent greats? Isn't that the gold standard these days? Anyone?
not to mention ND would take a hit in recruiting and would lose more games since they can't schedule 10 preseason caliber games a year anymore.
i argue with a coworker about this all the time.....
if by national championship you mean 4 games you might have a point.
agreed. The Big Ten needs to stay as is. Besides we already have a championship game, it's always been the last game of the year; at least until two years ago. Once Michigan gets rolling again all will be right in the land of the 100 yd Thunderdome.
As much as i would love a confrence cahmpionship, i just don't see anyone joining the big ten. I mean, The B10 gets bashed every year by SEC/B12 fans and all of the media, so what makes us think that teams would want to join a confrence in which it is "overrated"?
because they play in the big east which is a level or two below in all reality(esp with WVU slipping back in to the abyss of mediocrity) or they are an independent that gets bashed because they create their own schedule and play 8 of their 12 games against nobodies.
we'll see what happens. the big ten was traditionally the "big 2 and little 8" now it's something else.
i would love to see ND bee sub .500 every year but if i were there AD or president (whoever makes the call) i wouldn't join the b10 because i would stand to lose even more than their football program has in the past few years to this point.
besides, they should play in the big east like their bball team does. it's their only shot at a conference affiliation and a winning season(7-5)
Thank you for not ranking Va Tech in the top 10.
They are the most consistently overrated team. I am so tired of hearing about how much talent they have, then watch them get thumped at home by Coastal Carolina or somebody. After their "dominating" performance against the Cincinnati juggernaut, I know most polls will have them top 10. That was seriously the worst BCS bowl game of all time.
Okay, the Va Tech hatefest is over now.
ummm but they have a lunch box!
every damn time they are on espn they talk about that stupid lunch box. stfu about the lunchbox already !!!
I don't think schools really care what the media/fans have to say about a conference, the Big Ten has put the most teams in BCS games which brings in a ton of money, add larger stadiums, it's own TV network, larger TV audience because it's playing schools with a larger fan base.
Im not knocking the 12 team idea, i think it would be the single move to turn the B10 around. i dont think ND would be a good fit, but we cant continue to sit three weeks longer than othe confernces, then expect to play at our top level once bowl games roll around.
I am completely baffled why the B10 doesnt make this happen??
They remind me an awful lot of the Bengals front office. Really dumb.
If Delaney picked up the phone and called either Pitt, Rutgers, WVU or Syracuse, I think they would join the Big Ten in a heartbeat. A lot more money for the school and more national publicity.
However, Notre Dame is the most logical choice to join the Big Ten because of their location and because of the number of Big Ten teams they play every year.
I would like the Big Ten to stay as is. But for sake of argument, yes I agree ND makes most sense here. Long tradition, loyal fans, big market, location, and rivalries in place already with 2 schools from up north. Also ND being who they are and in a BCS confrence would actually improve, maybe first couple years struggle but recruiting wise(long run) would be a smart decision for them. To bad money is the ultimate winner...especially in colligiate athletics.
We dont need more games to play later in the season. Im too lazy to look so I may be wrong on this, but I think B10 play started at least a week earlier then some other conferences. All we would need to do is push back the start of the season to accomplish what JoePa is talking about. Im all for adding a 12th team thus a conference championship game. I dont think it would take away from any rivalries. Each time you step onto the field against a rival, you want nothing more than to beat their arse's off.
Big market? Have you ever been to South Bend?
it's not so much as a big local market as much as it is a nation TV deal with NBC to broadcast most of their games.
it's a big deal for them esp with toolbox "fans" all over the country.
Big market = Chicago, which is littered with Domers
I hope you don't mind that I cribbed one of your ideas for part of a recent post. If so, let me know and I'll edit it and try to be creative for once.
Personally, I know WV couldn't cut it academically in the BigTen, the school has produced such fine products so far and Noel Devine couldn't get in anywhere else that's why he ended up there. Actually one of the reasons I think RR wont cut it is that UM has academic standards. Pitt would be a great fit, as well as ND but they'll never leave the independents as long as NBC hangs with them.
By big market I mean, you can pretty much find a ND fan anywhere in the US
iball,
I live in Memphis and the Tigers NEED to be in a BCS Conference. The Liberty Bowl holds 62,000,but that stadium needs to be demolished. It has seen its better days.
Here is a good and long article about the analysis and strategy of the Flroida Gator offense and why its so confusing and hard to defend. I with OSU played this type of offense with Pryor, I think we would easily win games if we did.
http://smartfootball.blogspot....
i met his dad a few times last summer and he couldn't be a nicer guy, even with what he was gonig through. this is great news.
Hey Alex, this top ten list is fantastic. You have some good arguments ad I think your top 5 are pretty solid. Florida has to be #1 on everyone's list, Tebow, and the entire defense returning is going to be like an NFL Rookie All-Star team. I'm and SC fan and even I don't think they have a change against the Gators, I hope I'm wrong though. You can post this to our site http://www.toptentopten.com/ and link back to your site. We are trying to create a directory for top ten lists where people can find your site. The coolest feature is you can let other people vote on the rankings of your list.
Would it really be an upset if Ohio State beats USC in the Shoe'? They are bringing in Corp a first year starter. We should be able to put pressure on him that he hasn't seen. Plus the shoe' will be Nuckin Futs with so much time to drink b4 the game. Vegas will have Ohio State a 1 point favorite.
I think due to our past short comings with recent big games, this will indeed be an upset. Its USC, a very successful football program in the last decade. Its also Ohio State, regardless of our struggles to win big games lately, the face of Ohio State say's a lot. Go Bucks!!!!