Preseason Coaches Poll Comments
A sure sign that the season is coming closer is today's release of the USATODAY Top 25 Coaches Poll. Brian, over the years, has gone off on these things, but the road to Pasadena really starts with these things and there are a few surprises on the list.
Let's start with the teams that got first place votes. Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, and Southern Cal are the top four respectively. Really nothing shocking here as the defending National Champions return so many starters that anyone not having them at less than a top three is off their medication. Whoever loses the State Fair game in Dallas between Texas and Oklahoma will slide down, of course, but probably that will just be a blip in the big picture. Southern Cal is also no big surprise, restock and reload every year.
Four teams are ranked that were not at the end of last season. LSU, North Carolina, Nebraska, and Notre Dame, in that order, all crack the top 25 with the Tigers cracking the top ten at number nine. Nebraska is the only Big 12 North team ranked and anything less than a trip to the Big 12 Championship would be a huge disappointment. North Carolina's entry gives the ACC some badly needed poll depth as four teams cracked the poll joining #7 Virginia Tech, #15 Georgia Tech, and #19 Florida State, as any type of buzz going in is good as the ACC really has not wowed anybody in a couple seasons. Notre Dame has a relatively easy schedule and if they cannot crack nine wins, then they have some problems.
Here is how it breaks down by conference:
-SEC has five teams in the top thirteen, with four in the top ten. Stacked much?
-Big 12 puts four in. #11 Oklahoma State gives the South a tightrope to get through.
-Pac 10 gets four. Cal, Oregon, and Oregon State join USC and should give the conference winner some BCS oomph.
-The Big Ten get two top ten teams in Ohio State and Penn State and Iowa at #21.
-No Big East teams. None. Cincinnati at #29.
-As mentioned above, the ACC gets four in.
-Mid-Majors? Four. #16 Boise State, #17 TCU, #18 Utah, and #24 BYU. Strong group.
What does this all mean in the end? The coaches seem to think that we are looking at a Big 12 South/SEC game for the National Championship. I would agree with that, although it is only August. The conferences hold nine of the twenty-five spots in the poll. The Pacific Ten and West Coast mid-majors better hope that they do as well as advertised as they will get the chance to prove in the spotlight just how deep they are. It is too bad for the mid-majors that the Rose Bowl deal kicks in next season as certainly at least one team should qualify.
The ACC must be jumping for joy as this looks like the best pre-season slottage since the Big East raid. Florida State and Miami Labor Day night and the Alabama/Virginia Tech battle the opening Saturday of the season in Atlanta should tell us just how strong the conference is. On the other hand, the Big East looks dismal to start. If this poll holds, and we all know it will not to some degree, then how much longer can the conference argue for BCS status. No one wants to see an 8-4 team in a BCS bowl, not casual fans or the organizers. Finally, the Big Ten hopes that they rebound this year as the conference hopes to challenge again as the toughest in the country not in the Southeast.
Until next week.
Let's start with the teams that got first place votes. Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, and Southern Cal are the top four respectively. Really nothing shocking here as the defending National Champions return so many starters that anyone not having them at less than a top three is off their medication. Whoever loses the State Fair game in Dallas between Texas and Oklahoma will slide down, of course, but probably that will just be a blip in the big picture. Southern Cal is also no big surprise, restock and reload every year.Four teams are ranked that were not at the end of last season. LSU, North Carolina, Nebraska, and Notre Dame, in that order, all crack the top 25 with the Tigers cracking the top ten at number nine. Nebraska is the only Big 12 North team ranked and anything less than a trip to the Big 12 Championship would be a huge disappointment. North Carolina's entry gives the ACC some badly needed poll depth as four teams cracked the poll joining #7 Virginia Tech, #15 Georgia Tech, and #19 Florida State, as any type of buzz going in is good as the ACC really has not wowed anybody in a couple seasons. Notre Dame has a relatively easy schedule and if they cannot crack nine wins, then they have some problems.
Here is how it breaks down by conference:
-SEC has five teams in the top thirteen, with four in the top ten. Stacked much?
-Big 12 puts four in. #11 Oklahoma State gives the South a tightrope to get through.
-Pac 10 gets four. Cal, Oregon, and Oregon State join USC and should give the conference winner some BCS oomph.
-The Big Ten get two top ten teams in Ohio State and Penn State and Iowa at #21.
-No Big East teams. None. Cincinnati at #29.
-As mentioned above, the ACC gets four in.
-Mid-Majors? Four. #16 Boise State, #17 TCU, #18 Utah, and #24 BYU. Strong group.
What does this all mean in the end? The coaches seem to think that we are looking at a Big 12 South/SEC game for the National Championship. I would agree with that, although it is only August. The conferences hold nine of the twenty-five spots in the poll. The Pacific Ten and West Coast mid-majors better hope that they do as well as advertised as they will get the chance to prove in the spotlight just how deep they are. It is too bad for the mid-majors that the Rose Bowl deal kicks in next season as certainly at least one team should qualify.
The ACC must be jumping for joy as this looks like the best pre-season slottage since the Big East raid. Florida State and Miami Labor Day night and the Alabama/Virginia Tech battle the opening Saturday of the season in Atlanta should tell us just how strong the conference is. On the other hand, the Big East looks dismal to start. If this poll holds, and we all know it will not to some degree, then how much longer can the conference argue for BCS status. No one wants to see an 8-4 team in a BCS bowl, not casual fans or the organizers. Finally, the Big Ten hopes that they rebound this year as the conference hopes to challenge again as the toughest in the country not in the Southeast.
Until next week.
