2008 Pre-Season Coaches’ Poll
[Guest post by DRJ]
I can’t wait for college football season to start, which means we need to talk about the 2008 USA Today Top 25 Coaches’ Poll:
(First place votes are in parentheses)
1. Georgia (22)
2. USC (14)
3. Ohio State (14)
4. Oklahoma (3)
5. Florida (5)
6. LSU (3)
7. Missouri
8. West Virginia
9. Clemson
10. Texas
11. Auburn
12. Wisconsin
13. Kansas
14. Texas Tech
15. Virginia Tech
16. Arizona State
17. Brigham Young
18. Tennessee
19. Illinois
20. Oregon
21. South Florida
22. Penn State
23. Wake Forest
24. Michigan
25. Fresno State
There are lots of familiar names in the top 25 but I think it will be tough for any team to emerge unscathed from the SEC, Big 10, and Big 12.
The AP Top 25 comes out August 16.
— DRJ
Hey, Texas Tech is pretty well ranked. Only four behind Texas! Whenever Tech is ranked well, they seem to play more poorly for some reason… let’s hope that isn’t the case this year.
And Michigan… I’m guessing they will be improving their standing… but I’ve guessed that before and been wrong.
Juan (4cdfb7) — 8/2/2008 @ 11:43 amJuan,
I grew up in Lubbock so I’m almost always pulling for the Red Raiders. Plus, I like Mike Leach and his innovative offenses.
And you’re right about Michigan. It’s so hard to tell what they will be like.
DRJ (9d1be2) — 8/2/2008 @ 12:00 pmMy sports trivia question for today will be:
TomHynes (c43c0a) — 8/2/2008 @ 12:02 pm“What are the top two California college football teams?
#19 with an arrow up. GO ILLINI !!!!!!!!!!!!!
JD (712926) — 8/2/2008 @ 12:45 pmI would put in a good word for my University, but it would be a vain hope.
Joe M. (15553d) — 8/2/2008 @ 12:50 pmI read the Sporting News in the barbershop yesterday and they say Georgia. They also say that BYU could surprise some people. I’m happy to see SC not #1 because they need incentive. Pete Carroll has been good at keeping them from getting overconfident, except for Stanford last year, and we still don’t know which quarterback will come out on top. Mustain is an unknown quantity and Sanchez did not impress me that much last year when he got to play. I’ll be there in the Coliseum next month to watch them play Ohio State and we should know then.
MIke K (2cf494) — 8/2/2008 @ 1:06 pmUSC and Ohio State could be a great game, though it is a shame it is happening so early in the season.
JD (712926) — 8/2/2008 @ 1:19 pmGo, Kentucky!
Dana R Pico (556f76) — 8/2/2008 @ 1:55 pmI agree that it will be tough to make it out of the SEC or Big 12 without a loss or two. The Big 10 and the Pac 10 not so much. They aren’t that deep, so there are only a couple of tough conference games.
Look at Georgia, which has to play 5 top 25 teams (three top 11 teams, and two of them on the road). They might be the best team, but will likely have a couple of losses at the end of the day.
So you have to think the winner of the Ohio State USC game will be getting an invite to the big dance.
Roscoe (a058ca) — 8/2/2008 @ 2:02 pmRoscoe – There were 10 bowl eligible teams in the Big 10 last year.
JD (712926) — 8/2/2008 @ 2:09 pmI can’t stand to watch the University of Spoiled Children.
SPQR (26be8b) — 8/2/2008 @ 2:10 pmIf anyone other than USC had the incidents and overt violations like they had with Reggie Bush, they would have had the giant hand of the NCAA smack them upside the head.
JD (712926) — 8/2/2008 @ 2:17 pmNCAA Division I football (or whatever they’re calling it this year) is sports’ biggest fraud.
L.N. Smithee (5acf50) — 8/2/2008 @ 2:17 pmJD:
Bowl eligible just means you went 6 and 6, which is easy enough when your conference schedule includes stiffs like Indiana and Northwestern.
Last year there was exactly 1 Big Ten team in the final top 15, compared to 5 SEC teams and 4 Big 12 teams.
Roscoe (a058ca) — 8/2/2008 @ 2:28 pmRoscoe – I am well aware of what bowl eligible means.
JD (5f0e11) — 8/2/2008 @ 3:03 pmAnd note I did not argue that the Big 10 was better than either of the conferences you reference. I was just pointing out that they were not the patsies you would portray them as. I doubt many teams would be excited to have Michigan, Ohio State, Illinois and Penn State to their schedule.
JD (5f0e11) — 8/2/2008 @ 3:06 pmJD – I am not a Big 10 hater, it is just that the Big 10 really only has two elite teams right now. Sure, Illinois went to the Rose Bowl last year (although they shouldn’t have), but how many games did they win the year before, 2 or 3? And Penn State is a class program, but they have been down for the past few years (although I hope they are coming back, as I am a big fan of Joe Paterno).
The only point I was making (and I think there isn’t really much question about it) is that it is a lot harder for a team to go undefeated (or even to have only one loss) when it is playing a SEC or Big 12 schedule.
Roscoe (a058ca) — 8/2/2008 @ 3:25 pmThat I do not dispute. Zuk has turned Illinois around, quickly. Rodriguez will put the fuckin’ Wolverines back on top. Ohio State is a load every year. Wisconsin is always tough, but boring. Penn State is always talented. Clearly the SEC is the power conference. I thought the Big 12 with Mizzou and KU was overrated last year. Traditionally strong though.
JD (5f0e11) — 8/2/2008 @ 3:33 pmI note that Michigan is 24 and Notre Dame it tied for 42.
That spread’s about right. ND is gonna crush the Skunkweasels by at least 18.
Ed (59b337) — 8/2/2008 @ 3:42 pmLast year, I thought the Big 12 had more parity than some pundits realized because most of the big-name teams were rebuilding or had personnel problems. I don’t think that’s true this year but we’ll see.
I don’t watch the Big 10 as much as the SEC and Big 12 because Big 10 teams aren’t shown as much in my area. However, I think the reverse is true of the Big Ten. That is, I think the Big Ten was underrated for much of last year and may be slightly overrated this year. We’ll see about that, too.
Overall, though, I think the SEC is and has been the cream of college football for the past 2-3 years. It’s hard to predict which team will prevail since they get so beat up playing each other week-in and week-out. Maybe it’s the Dawgs’ year. Everyone will be gunning for them but they have the talent.
DRJ (9d1be2) — 8/2/2008 @ 3:46 pmDRJ and I even agree on football. Spooky. Illinois and Mizzou will be another outstanding early season game.
JD (5f0e11) — 8/2/2008 @ 3:50 pmThat should be a good game and you know what they say about great minds.
DRJ (9d1be2) — 8/2/2008 @ 3:54 pmLast year Kansas had to have been the most over-rated team in the country. Fun to watch, but over-rated. Plus, that coach is a riot.
JD (5f0e11) — 8/2/2008 @ 4:10 pmI don’t like to see Mangino games because it always makes me worry about his health. I know that’s lame of me, but it’s true.
DRJ (9d1be2) — 8/2/2008 @ 4:13 pmI think the Mizzou/Illinois game should be particularly interesting. Mizzou has to be thinking that it got screwed out of a BCS game, given that it beat Illinois and Kansas last year, and they both got bids. It ought to be going into that game with a real chip on its shoulder.
And I agree with everyone else that Kansas was way overrated last year, with a cake schedule. This time they have to play the big boys in the Big 12, so we shall see.
Roscoe (a058ca) — 8/2/2008 @ 4:30 pmGeorgia being rated number one is a bit of a joke. They ALWAYS overrate Georgia. Every year.
RDM (31ca59) — 8/2/2008 @ 5:15 pmI do not think it is possible to over-rate Georgia right now. They return Stafford, Massasomething, and Moreno, have a blazing fast experienced defense, and were arguably playing the best football in the country at the end of the year last year.
JD (712926) — 8/2/2008 @ 6:24 pmOhio State returns 20 starters (when you include kickers)plus the #1 incoming recruit in Terrelle Pryor. They have 40 of their 44 in the two deep returning. I am a bit concerned with the DL. Other than that, strong everywhere. The U$C game is HUGE. The Trojans have an impressive OOC record under PC. Should be a great game…
FLBuckeye (2bee1f) — 8/3/2008 @ 4:29 amWe come from a Notre Dame family, so this is tres sad.
One of the “hymns” we learned as kids was the Notre Dame fight song!
Patricia (f56a97) — 8/3/2008 @ 8:30 amIf Ohio State’s 40 of 44 get a lot faster, they’ll be able to compete with the LSU, Florida, Georgia or USC team speed…
If not, they’ll just be another bad Big 10 team…
In a bad Big 10….
But, you can’t teach speed….so….
reff (b68a4f) — 8/3/2008 @ 9:54 pm