Led by Heisman hopeful RB Trent Richardson on offense and LB Courtney Upshaw, CB Dre Kirkpatrick and S Mark Barron, Alabama fields the most talented roster in the nation. If I had to bet, I’d take the Tide over the Buffalo Bills in a game by a TD, in Buffalo. Alabama is that talented.
Florida State is on a resurgence in Jimbo Fisher’s second season. EJ Manuel quarterbacks a very talented roster that features impressive speed across the board. The Seminoles should walk through the ACC Atlantic and with Miami and North Carolina facing varying levels of uncertainty around their programs, Florida State could find itself in a January bowl if Virginia Tech falters at all.
1. Alabama: The Tide is simply loaded on both sides of the ball and enters the season as the favourite to get to the championship game. They can hide any growing pains at QB with such a talented crew.
2. Florida State: With Miami caught in a scandal and Florida rebuilding, the Seminoles are The Man in the Sunshine State. Look for a breakout year from Manuel in his first season as a starter. He has some good weapons around him and a mostly veteran o-line protecting him. D is stocked.
3. Nebraska: Nebraska should dominate in their first year in the Big Ten. They return talent at all levels of the defence in NFL prospects Jared Crick (DT), Lavonte David (OLB) and Alfonzo Dennard (CB). Taylor Martinez will improve as a sophomore.
4. Texas A&M: If the Aggies can handle the high expectations and Ryan Tannehill continues his impressive end to the 2010 season, A&M should be one of the nation’s top teams in 2011.
5. Oregon: The Ducks are still dangerous despite having their own scandal to deal with. QB Derron Thomas is not expected to miss any time and having him and LaMichael James will keep Oregon dangerous. Could still go to title game.
6. Boise State: Boise can really turn CFB on its ear if they knock off Georgia in Week 1 in Atlanta. It would put the rest of the nation on notice and vault QB Kellen Moore to the forefront of the Heisman discussion.
7. Virginia Tech: Always tough, always competitive, Tech returns four starters along the o-line, two top receivers and will pair Soph QB Logan Thomas with the very talented David Wilson at RB. Defence could be great if James Gayle breaks out.
8. Georgia: Can Aaron Murray follow in Matt Stafford’s shoes? The Dawg faithful sure hope so and Murray has given no reason to believe otherwise. Another season like 2010 (24 TD – 8 INT) and Murray will be getting Heisman talk.
9. Stanford: With Andrew Luck manning things, the sky is the limit for Stanford. It’s not just Luck that has this team thinking big, RB Stepfon Taylor, WR Chris Owusu, OT Jonathon Martin and LB’s Shayne Skov and Chase Thomas and CB Delano Howell have big things in store.
10. Oklahoma: I’m not as excited about Oklahoma as the rest of the nation as I think Texas A&M will get them this year in the Big 12 before leaving the conference, but by no means will the Sooners drop off the map. Not with QB Landry Jones coming into his own.
11. Notre Dame: A talented roster, the Irish seem cursed when dealing with high expectations. Will have to start strong against South Florida, a top 25 team this year, Michigan and Michigan State. Should get by USC but will need some luck to get by Stanford to end the regular season.
12. Oklahoma State: Always explosive, OSU will give the Big 12 all it can handle this year, part of why I think Oklahoma won’t be as high as expected. The Sooners have a giant target on their back and the Cowboys and Aggies are lining up their sights on them.
13. Michigan State: If they can get a win in South Bend in Week 3, they get Ohio State in the final game of their suspensions and get Michigan and Wisconsin at home before having to manage road games in Nebraska and Iowa.
14. TCU: Major losses mean the Horned Frogs won’t go undefeated again this year but they will still be a major player in the MWC. They start off with their hands full against Heisman sleeper/longshot Robert Griffin and Baylor and will travel to San Diego State and Boise this year.
15. South Carolina: SC could end the year much higher if they can get above average production from the wildly inconsistent and frequently suspended Stephen Garcia at QB. Otherwise, one of the nation’s most talented team. They just need to put it all together finally.
16. Iowa: The Hawkeyes were in every game as they lost by no more than 7 points in any of their losses. No Ricky Stanzi, no problem. Iowa wins with sophomore RB Marcus Coker and a couple talented pieces on defence. MLB James Morris is a star-in-waiting. CB Shaun Prater already is.
17. Florida: The chances South Carolina can get higher in the standings will have a lot to do with the development of Gators QB Jeff Brantley, who had a rocky year as Tebow’s replacement. Defence features many freshman and sophomores in key spots. A lot must go right for Florida.
18. Wisconsin: The Badgers lost a ton of talent including QB Scott Tolzien, the Unitas Award winner. Wisconsin goes back to their Badger ways behind Montee Ball and James White toting the rock. D returns six starters and guys stepping in have experience.
19. West Virginia: The heck ever happened to the Big East? WVU will rock their conference behind QB Geno Smith and offensive guru Dana Holgorsen. Smith has a couple talented receivers to toss to and a vet o-line. Bruce Irvin must repeat his 2010 performance as a starter (14 sacks).
20. Arkansas: No Mallett, no problem. The big guys gone but the weapons that helped Mallett and the Razorbacks win 10 games last year are back. Greg Childs is coming back from knee surgery and will team with Joe Adams and Jarius Wright. Knile Davis no slouch at RB either.
21. Mississippi State: A chic pick as the Bulldogs return 15 starters including QB Chris Relf and a talented receiving corps. Should build on last year’s successful season and be a steady bowl team for a few more years. Dan Mullen has done a great job here.
22. Missouri: 10 wins will be a monumental achievement but James Franklin and Tyler Gabbert have star potential at QB, especially with the quality and quantity of talent around them.
23. Ohio State: Ohio State could find some consistency in the passing game with senior Joe Bauserman taking over at QB. Defence may need to carry things for a while but won’t be truly dominant until next year.
24. Air Force: AF will have an improved aerial attack this year and will run the ball down everyone’s throat as usual. They’ll give Boise State and Notre Dame a tough day and beat TCU, enough to get to 10 wins and reach a much better bowl.
25. Miami (Fla): Not sure what to think with these guys. Would have put them higher because this is the most talented Hurricanes squad in a couple years but all of their best players, including QB Jacory Harris and LB Sean Spence, have other problems on their minds right now.
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