College Football can't get here soon enough!

[boisesuns]

Anyone else itching for the season to start, or is it still too early? Fall practices are only a few weeks away. I'm looking forward to this season, and seeing how things play out.

What is the outlook for your team this year? Who do you think will win it all? Will there be any surprise teams this year?

Here's an early top 25 from espn:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=schlabach_mark&id=3893994

Notre Dame 22? Nebraska 19?
There's at least 6 teams that won't be on that top 25 list after two weeks of the season.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Notre Dame returns a lot of starters and has an easy schedule so they should be able to win 8-9 games. Nebraska I don't know too much about other than that they were playing good football the last half of 2009.

 

[Gaddabout]

I think there's four really good teams -- Florida, USC, Texas, and Oklahoma. After that I think there's a mix of about 40 teams that could legitimately vie for a BCS bowl.

My guesses at the other BCS participants:
Alabama (at large)
Rutgers (Big East)
Va Tech (ACC)
Ohio State (Big Ten)
Penn State (at large)

I can't decide on the last team. I doubt the SEC will get three teams (even though they maybe should), so no love for Ole Miss. The Pac-10 probably has a contender in Oregon, but if TCU beats BYU and goes undefeated, I can see them making a better pitch as the underdog at large selection.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]http://www.nationalchamps.net/2009/earlybird/teams/alabama.htm[/FONT]

 

[DWKB]

Nebraska and Kansas are the two front runners in the Big 12 North. Why wouldn't that lead to a top 25 ranking?

 

[boisesuns]

Nebraska and Kansas are the two front runners in the Big 12 North. Why wouldn't that lead to a top 25 ranking?

I think they have been improving, but they haven't been the Nebraska of old for a while now. It's hard to assume they are front runners before the season starts even with an improved year last year. That said, they probably will win a lot of games with their schedule:

Home Florida Atlantic (W)
Home Arkansas State (W)
Away Virginia Tech (L)
Home Louisiana-Lafayette (W)
Away Missouri (L) Could go either way
Home Texas Tech (W)
Home Iowa State (W)
Away Baylor (W)
Home Oklahoma (L) Oklahoma is tough even at home
Away Kansas (L) Might Be close
Home Kansas State (W)
Away Colorado (W)


Does 8-4 or 9-3 sound reasonable? I think that's' about right, i'm not sure they win more than 9, but can't see them losing more than 4 with their schedule.

 

[DWKB]

I think they have been improving, but they haven't been the Nebraska of old for a while now.

Who said they were the Nebraska of old? Ranked 19th is far from top 5.

It's hard to assume they are front runners before the season starts even with an improved year last year. That said, they probably will win a lot of games with their schedule:

Home Florida Atlantic (W)
Home Arkansas State (W)
Away Virginia Tech (L)
Home Louisiana-Lafayette (W)
Away Missouri (L) Could go either way
Home Texas Tech (W)
Home Iowa State (W)
Away Baylor (W)
Home Oklahoma (L) Oklahoma is tough even at home
Away Kansas (L) Might Be close
Home Kansas State (W)
Away Colorado (W)


Does 8-4 or 9-3 sound reasonable? I think that's' about right, i'm not sure they win more than 9, but can't see them losing more than 4 with their schedule.

Missouri lost a ton of people, I'd take NU over them. Anyways, even 8-4 in a BCS conference gets you ranked in the top 25. The rest of your post seems to contradict the first sentence that it's hard to assume they are front runners.

 

[boisesuns]

Who said they were the Nebraska of old? Ranked 19th is far from top 5.

The Nebraska of old was consistently in the top 25. It does seem like they could be getting back into their former status, but it still may take some time.

Missouri lost a ton of people, I'd take NU over them. Anyways, even 8-4 in a BCS conference gets you ranked in the top 25. The rest of your post seems to contradict the first sentence that it's hard to assume they are front runners.

I agree that game will be a toss-up, and you're right if they win 8 or 9 they will get a decent ranking. I don't know if you can just assume they will be front runners, but after looking at their schedule, it does seem possible they might be. All of that is based on their schedule and the assumption they won't be like the team a few years ago that won 5 games. I think once they play VT, then we can really decide how the team will look this year.

BTW, how's Kansas looking for this year?

 

[DWKB]

BTW, how's Kansas looking for this year?

It all depends on the defense, primarily our LBs. If we get a good performance out of our LB we are looking at a top 20 ranking and possible bid to the Big 12 Conference Championship. The offense will be very fun to watch, but should the defense fail the pressure to outscore the opponent will be huge.

We have the toughest schedule of the Big 12 North Teams.

 

[MigratingOsprey]

i absolutely despise preseason rankings

 

[boisesuns]

i absolutely despise preseason rankings

It sort of kills the chances of a team outside the top 25 if other teams are higher in the preseason. The only thing people really have to gauge an upcoming season are returning starters. Experience means a lot, but it's hard to tell what teams did in the off season to get better.

It seems like if you end the previous year with some momentum, and return a lot of guys, the preseason "Experts" will favor you a lot.

Just look at Ole Miss. I think they can be good this year, but they can easily lose a few SEC games too.

 

[Southpaw]

I need you Skorrp. He and I always agree that preseason rankings just sucked. All they do is feed the BCS matchups at years end.

 

[Mulli]

I need you Skorrp. He and I always agree that preseason rankings just sucked. All they do is feed the BCS matchups at years end.

I agree.

(I am a poor substitute)