Preseason Top 25

1Georgia – The Bulldogs aren’t going to finish here unless we have another season like last year, but they look like the best team to start everything this year. This week: Georgia Southern
2Missouri – May have been the best team last season except for matching up badly with Oklahoma. Most players of note return this year. This week: 16Illinois (in St. Louis)
3USC – Most teams with only 11 starters returning don’t get to start this high, but most teams haven’t recruited as well as USC. This week: at Virginia
4Ohio St. – While supremely talented, this team doesn’t seem to be able to play its best in pressure situations (unless it’s against Michigan). This week: Youngstown St.
5Florida – All the injuries could cause all sorts of problems. They seem a little overrated right now. This week: Hawaii
6Oklahoma – Would be ranked higher if they had proven they had any ability to play on the road last year. This week: Chattanooga
7West Virginia – I can’t shake the feeling that something dumb is going to cause an unexpected loss this season, maybe at Louisville. This week: Villanova
8Clemson – Ranked here on talent alone, the Tigers are probably going to finish 9-3 and 10 spots lower than this, just like usual. This week: Alabama (in Atlanta)
9Arizona St. – The offensive line will be better in year two of Dennis Erickson and everything else looks solid. This week: Northern Arizona
10Kansas – A tougher schedule will signal a worse record this year, even though the team is better than last year. This week: Florida International
11Auburn – Its not a good sign that there is still no quarterback or wide receivers for the new offense this close to the first game. Get the defense ready again. This week: UL Monroe
12LSU – A terrible non-conference schedule means LSU will have another gaudy record despite being in a small rebuilding mode. This week: Appalachian St.
13Texas – Colt McCoy hasn’t looked great since being knocked out of the Kansas St. game in 2006 and the defense is still going to be vulnerable to pass. That’s not a national contender combo. This week: Florida Atlantic
14BYU – The best of the non-BCS teams is inexplicably being downplayed in favor of its cross state rival. Big mistake. This week: Northern Iowa
15Texas Tech – Another team with an embarrassing non-conference schedule. No BCS conference foes and two 1-AA’s is terrible. This week: Eastern Washington
16Illinois – Last time I checked, running back is one of the easier positions in football to play. With that said, why is the loss of one star running back a reason for Illinois to be overlooked. This week: 2Missouri (in St. Louis)
17Cincinnati – Dustin Grutza may not have as much talent as Ben Mauk, but he did win eight games as the starter with a less talented Cincinnati team two years ago. The Bearcats will be just fine. This week: Eastern Kentucky
18Wisconsin – Seemingly loaded once again, Wisconsin always seems to lose at least one game it shouldn’t. This year, that could easily be at Fresno St. This week: Akron
19Penn St. – If only Rich Rodriguez could coach this group of players. They may be undisciplined, but they certainly fit a spread offense system, the reason Joe Paterno is running a version of it this year. This week: Coastal Carolina
20Tennessee – They will be better than last year, but the breaks in close games won’t happen like last year for this team. Looks like the same record without an SEC East title this year. This week: at UCLA
21Oregon – At least Oregon has time to prepare for the quarterback injury this year (kind of) and they have a backup with some experience this year. This week: Washington
22Virginia Tech – With Sean Glennon starting and Tyrod Taylor likely red shirting, the offensive line better be much improved from last season, particularly with no receivers or running backs to speak of. This week: East Carolina (in Charlotte)
23Cal – The Bears are much worse than their start and much better than their finish to last season would indicate, placing them about here in the pecking order. This week: 24Michigan St.
24Michigan St. – All Michigan St. needs not is a talent upgrade. It looks like the mental issues are finally starting to fade away. This week: at 23Cal
25South Florida – Defense is better than this, but Matt Grothe is the nation’s most indispensable player. Without him, this team goes 6-6. This week: UT-Martin
Others considered: Fresno St., Colorado, Maryland, Utah, Boston College, TCU, Rutgers, Texas A&M, Alabama, Oregon St.