Preseason BlogPoll: First and Last Draft

by CW on Aug 15, 2006 10:16 AM EDT in News Comment 8 comments

Sorry for stepping out on you folks for the last few days, but we ventured up to Casino Niagara for a couple days for a end of summer catharsis of sorts. While I did my usual "slightly ahead" at blackjack and made my first foray into craps, I also enjoyed playing a great game some of my friends whom the tables treated badly simply called "Bar". The concept of the game is that you makes repeated five dollar bets that enough of said wagers will get you feeling good about both winning and losing. I highly suggest it for anyone's whose football team gets out to a rocky start this year.

This is the preseason poll, so you're more than welcome to vote Duke at 25 or Georiga Tech at 7 (I think Jeff maybe thought he was filling in the Jackets for "Number of Wins This Season"), but after letting down myself last year, I'm shooting for perfection. Brian said to ignore schedule, so I put my blinders on and just asked myself "Who would win if A played B on a neutral field?". Sometimes I paid attention to bowl game results (LSU over Miami, OSU over ND) and sometimes I ignored them (Iowa over Florida, Auburn at number one). It is not a perfect poll, and I urge you to offer any commentary you can that can fix it by tomorrow morning.

Also, Rob left today to begin his return to South Bend, taking a winding route from Connecticut that takes him through Indianapolis and West LaFayette before he arrives back at the Golden Dome. Since he'll be jamming out to Springsteen tracks on the open highway, I'll try to handle things in the midst of packing and hanging out before my departue on Friday.

Without further ado, with many thanks to Pete at BON for helping me with this table, the initial top 25:

Rakes of MallowPreseason Top 25

Team	Comment

1. Auburn	Their biggest deficiency is simply the need for the emergence of a big play wide receiver. Kenny Irons is straight nasty and Brandon Cox showed some cajones at the end of the UGA game last season.
2. Southern Cal	Trying not to contract the BCS Title loss hangover that Miami has had for three seasons now. Too much talent to be bad.
3. Louisville	I feel we?re going to get Petrino Offense Version 2004 and opposed to the faulty, flawed 2005 version. Maybe someone should teach Brian Brohm sign language.
4. Texas	I could play quarterback and they?d still probably make a bowl game. If Colt McCoy doesn?t blow off the barrel and then holster imaginary pistols after every touchdown pass, I hope the refs throw a flag for lack of celebration.
5. Ohio State	I still question how willing Tressel will be to unleash the offense against a top-tier defense in a close game. That is a lot of talent to replace on the defensive side, and don?t forget that number one receiver Santonio Holmes has moved on to breaking laws in the NFL.
6. West Virginia	Originally had them a little higher, but I feel like there will be a letdown game, possibly as early as the September 14th game against Maryland.
7. Notre Dame	Despite how swimmingly things are going for the defense in fall practice, they still have to do it in a real game while a third wide receiver needs to be sifted out. If by the grace of the football gods they start 4-0, I reserve the right to bump them immediately to number one.
8. Iowa	I remember Brian over at MGo breaking down how near-perfect Drew Tate was after the Michigan game. They?ve had the injury bug the last few years, and if they can survive the loss of Greenway and Hodge, they should be right back in the thick of BCS things.
9. Florida	Outback Bowl results not withstanding, the defense should be nasty while I question how the ?Spread + Leak + Sievey O-Line =? equation ends.
10. LSU	Would be higher, but it?s the Les Miles and inexperienced lines factor that brings them down.
11. Miami (FL)	I suppose sheer talent and potential must fall onto this list somewhere. They?re suitably behind the team that beat them 40-3 last December.
12. Michigan	Maybe it?s the unhealthy respect I pay Mike Hart for as good as he was on NCAA 2006, but I feel like all the bad breaks of last year (and the Oregon game in 2003) should be repaid in some way. Also, Steve Breaston can?t be a disappointment forever, can he?.
13. California	Every time I watched Cal last year, I wondered what they would look like with a competent quarterback. Longshore and Tedford may equal just that.
14. Rocky Top	I?m wary with doing this considering they tanked as my number two last year, but they were awful close to 8 or 9 wins last year, and Cutcliffe is back in the fold. I don?t feel good about this.
15. Clemson	Confusing ACC, lots of sophomoric talent, no Charlie Whitehurst, coached by a Bowden. If I was worried about my Rocky Top ranking, I?m just perplexed by this one.
16. Florida State	I feel like every time I watched this team play last year, they set the game of football back a few decades. I hate them for that, although Weatherford shouldn?t need to be anything special to lead the Seminoles to a decent amount of wins. Again, I really don?t like this team.
17. Nebraska	Seemingly still-weak Big XII, coming off a bowl win with the Callahan System in year three. This seems like the right place for them.
18. Michigan State	Probably a lot higher than anyone else has them ranked, but I?m terrified of Drew Stanton. I really, truly am, and for that fact, they will be in my top twenty despite the fact you, I and Sparty all know they?re going to immolate in their own mistakes around mid-October.
19. Virginia Tech	I don?t understand how people have them ranked near or in the top ten. Beamer always has good teams, but unless this one far exceeds what it should be on paper like in 2004, it?ll simply be a good team.
20. Oklahoma	Didn?t understand the hype Before Bomar, definitely don?t understand it now.
21. TCU	If a team is a near-lock to have one or zero losses, they should probably be in your Top 25.
22. Georgia	It?s not that I?m disrespecting Georgia, it?s just that I know very little about this year?s team other than the fact they?re starting Joe Tereshinski, who didn?t inspire too much confidence at the Cocktail Party. I am tailgating there before the Western Kentucky game on the 2nd, so I wish them the best on a glorious season.
23. Arizona State	Fantastic offense, questionable defense, must deal with Southern Cal and Cal, who seemingly have both.
24. Oregon	Please refer to position number 23, only the defense isn?t as bad and they have sweet-ass uniforms
25. Penn State	I flirted with South Carolina, Fresno State, Utah, Arkansas and Texas Tech in this position, but I think this will do more damage to the PSU Fan Irrational Inferiority Complex than not ranking them at all.

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I dunno brohan...

Here's what I'm feeling, gents (at least a top 5 because I've not got the time to research 25):

Texas- I'm from the school of "As long as they are the unbeaten returning national champs from a strong conference with a moderate to difficult non-conference schedule they should stay number 1". It's a small charter school outside of Cleveland.
OSU- They've got that freak-nasty offense with, to quote Chuck Wizzle, "Woosh" speed at almost every position. Ever remember a Tressel squad without defense? Me either. Plus, it's OSU, their only bona fide STUDENT-athlete in 100 years has been Craig Krenzel, so it's not like they're gonna be pre-occupied.
WVU- Seems a little high? Toughest games, Louisville, Pitt (maybe), and South Florida. The only reason I have them above the #4 team is their speed on offense which has posed a problem for...
Notre Dame- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (+) if we get past our first five games unblemished. GaTech, Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State, AND Purdue. Like the team with the 10 million dollar coach isn't gonna be ready with the defense...C'mon! Still, our D doesn't just have to be ready, they have to be every game nationally televised/every opponent's (save Michigan) biggest game/most scrutinized part of the most scutinized team in the nation READY. Still, the offense is enough to get by GaTech and Penn State. Michigan is at home, and I expect the student section to carry this one like we did freshman year. Michigan State is the scariest to me (mostly because of Sparty) and all I hear is that Purdue is better, Purdue is better. All this being said, The Peace of the Lord be with our D-backs.
USC- Pom-Pom and his Jailhouse Crew have Nebraska early, but it's at home as are Cal, Oregon, and ND. Only tough road game: UCLA. I don't think they'll win every game, I just can't see them losing (and that includes against ND).

one

by mhb on Aug 15, 2006 12:32 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

LOL

at #25. You'll probably get some nasty comments on that one.

Louisville #3? Wow. I think they're good, but not that good.

I like the Clemson pick. They're going to do some damage this year.

by Mike on Aug 15, 2006 2:20 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I originally had...

...Ohio State as my number one, but then I remembered that Santonio was gone and Teddy Ginn isn't exactly the picture of consistency. Right now I'm leaning towards them over Texas, but it's soft lean. WVU would have been higher if I'd taken their schedule into account, and I realize I may be overrating Louisville, but I just feel they'll be back to Petrinoing all comers like '04.

Again, it's the preseason, but you've got to get something out there to start with.

by CW on Aug 15, 2006 2:34 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

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