Right: Sophomore quarterback Sam Bradford leads my No. 1 team in the nation. Sports Illustrated Photo
As the sweltering heat settles in throughout central Ohio, it seems that the arrival of football season and its’ cool autumn air is far off in the distance. Yet, Ohio State’s season-opener is now less than six weeks away, and fall camp begins in just two weeks on August 4. The 2008 Big Ten Football Media Days at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago is slated to start next Thursday, July 24, so this year’s gridiron edition is actually just around the corner.
So for the next 12 days, sit back with a cold beverage as I give you my college football previews. Today I start with my preseason Top 25 college football teams in the nation. Starting on Monday, I will countdown the best teams in the Big Ten.
1. Oklahoma Sooners
I’m not necessarily saying that Oklahoma has the most talented team in the country, but with their schedule and if OU’s defense plays as well as their offense should, head coach Bob Stoops and his Sooners will have a date with Ohio State in the BCS National Championship game in Miami come January.
Sophomore quarterback Sam Bradford is the real deal after throwing for 3,121 yards and 36 touchdowns during his freshman campaign. He also was the nation’s top-rated passer last season (176.5). His top returning receiver is senior wideout Juaquin Iglesias, who hauled in 68 of Bradford’s passes last year for 907 yards and five scores. In the backfield, the duo of sophomore DeMarco Murray and junior Chris Brown combined to rush for 1,375 yards while reaching paydirt 22 times in 2007.
2. Ohio State Buckeyes
Ohio State was supposedly a year away from contending for a national title last year, but wound up in the championship game anyway. This year’s team has two legitimate Heisman Trophy contenders and several preseason All-Americans, so the Buckeyes should be back for a third-straight year.
Senior quarterback Todd Boeckman, who threw for 2,379 yards and 25 touchdowns last season, needs to manage the game better and avoid the mistakes and turnovers that plagued him during latter stages of the 2007 season. He will get some help as freshman signal-caller Terrelle Pryor will see action as a change-of-pace to Boeckman with his mobility. Junior running back Chris Wells will get plenty of chances toting the rock, too, after rushing for 1,609 yards and 15 scores last year.
The defense will be one of the best in the country led by senior linebackers James Laurinaitis and Marcus Freeman, along with senior cornerback Malcolm Jenkins.
3. Georgia Bulldogs
Talent-wise, Georgia may be the best team in the country, but their schedule is brutal. The Bulldogs play at Arizona State, at LSU, and at Auburn, plus they will take on the Florida Gators in Jacksonville, Fla., dubbed “The World’s Largest Cocktail Redneck Party.”
The Bulldogs return 17 starters on both sides of the ball including the best quarterback in the SEC not named Tebow, junior Matthew Stafford, who threw for 2,523 yards with 19 touchdowns, and one of the best running backs in the nation, sophomore Knowshon Moreno, who gained 1,334 yards on the ground with 14 scores as a freshman.
The defense is led by senior linebacker Dannell Ellerbe, who had 93 total tackles in 2007, but the Bulldogs’ strength lies in the defensive line. Junior defensive tackle Geno Atkins had 7.5 sacks last season.
4. Southern California Trojans
USC enters the 2008 campaign without a proven quarterback. Head coach Pete Carroll named junior Mark Sanchez the starter after beating out Arkansas transfer Mitch Mustain following spring practice. Last season, Sanchez filled in for an injured John David Booty, starting three games while playing in three others and threw for 695 yards while tossing seven touchdown passes and five interceptions.
Sanchez, part of the 2005 recruiting class, was the top-rated, pro-style quarterback prospect that year ahead of other notables such as former Ohio State QB Rob Schoenhoft (No. 6) and Texas’ Colt McCoy (No. 15).
Mustain was the second-best, pro-style quarterback prospect from the class of 2006, one slot below Georgia’s Matthew Stafford. He split time with Casey Dick as a true freshman for the Razorbacks and threw for 894 yards with 10 touchdown passes and nine interceptions.
Carroll has a stable of swift running backs that include the top returning rusher, junior Stafon Johnson (98 carries, 673 yards, five TDs), along with sophomores Joe McKnight and C.J. Gable.
The Trojans’ defensive unit may be the best in college football. Leading the way is senior defensive tackle Fili Moala, senior linebackers Brian Cushing and Rey Maualuga, and junior free safety Taylor Mays.
If USC can get by Ohio State, they could easily find themselves in the BCS title game, and like the Buckeyes, their schedule is pretty much downhill after September 13, though the Men of Troy will have to end the season at crosstown rival UCLA, who should be better this season.
5. Florida Gators
Florida has been picked by Athlon Sports as their preseason No. 1, but I don’t understand why.
Sure, the Gators return Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Tim Tebow and running back/wide receiver/hot dog vendor Percy Harvin, but while the defense returns eight starters, it’s largely the same unit that gave up 41 points to Michigan in the Capital One Bowl last January, and they will have to vastly improve as the season wears on to compete for any titles.
…and the rest of my preseason top 25…
6. Clemson
7. Missouri
8. West Virginia
9. LSU
10. Texas
11. Kansas
12. Auburn
13. Arizona State
14. Wisconsin
15. Oregon
16. BYU
17. Texas Tech
18. Illinois
19. South Florida
20. Tennessee
21. Virginia Tech
22. Wake Forest
23. Fresno State
24. Alabama
25. Michigan State
Tags: Football by Matt Barker, Publisher & Editor of BuckeyeBanter.com
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