[AlphaSigma]

My predictions of who will not be in the top 25 come end of 09 season flagged in red:

The Preseason Coaches' Top 25 Rankings:
1. Florida (48)
2. Utah (16)
3. USC (1)
4. Texas
5. Oklahoma
6. Alabama
7. TCU
8. Penn State
9. Ohio State
10. Oregon
11. Boise State
12. Texas Tech
13. Georgia
14. Mississippi
15. Virginia Tech
16. Oklahoma State
17. Cincinnati
18. Oregon State
19. Missouri
20. Iowa
21. Florida State
22. Georgia Tech
23. West Virginia
24. Michigan State
25. BYU

The problem with preseason rankings is they don't consider strength of schedule. At the end of this season these teams most likely will not be in the top 25.
[/QUOTE]

[Art]

Why wouldn't Utah be in the top 25.

[Iceman-bass14]

Originally Posted by AlphaSigma

My predictions of who will not be in the top 25 come end of 09 season flagged in red:

The Preseason Coaches' Top 25 Rankings:
1. Florida (48)
2. Utah (16)
3. USC (1)
4. Texas
5. Oklahoma
6. Alabama
7. TCU
8. Penn State
9. Ohio State
10. Oregon
11. Boise State
12. Texas Tech
13. Georgia
14. Mississippi
15. Virginia Tech
16. Oklahoma State
17. Cincinnati
18. Oregon State
19. Missouri
20. Iowa
21. Florida State
22. Georgia Tech
23. West Virginia
24. Michigan State
25. BYU

The problem with preseason rankings is they don't consider strength of schedule. At the end of this season these teams most likely will not be in the top 25.

Can you provide your reasoning for why these teams wont be in the top 25 at the end of the season?You realize that you highlighted 11 out of 25 teams.That means that there would be 11 teams replacing those that are falling out,so which 11 teams are going to bump these teams out of there?And strength of schedule...Utah and TCU dont have amazingly strong schedules which should help them,Ole Miss has a lot of offensive fire power and were the only team to beat Florida last year I might add,as for the others I dont know a whole lot about personnel except for GT and I would have to say we're a legitimate top 15 team with the offense we have.I just want to know what reasoning you used to come up with these 11 teams.

Originally Posted by Art

Why wouldn't Utah be in the top 25.

Ditto.

[Gwenny]

Just a note, the official AP Preseason top 25 and Coaches' Polls are not released until August 24th, so the previous polls are the predicted ones. However, the majority of the predicted polls have Utah in the top 25. Some of the teams may be higher or lower depending on strength of schedule, predicted upsets, road vs home games, and things of that nature. But the other polls do give a good indicator of what teams will be in the hunt for the national championship this year, and I do believe that all the teams in the top 25 right now in the polls I posted, do have a legitimate shot at making a run. Will they? I highly doubt it, but, all of the teams listed have the coaching and the skill to make a deep run in the season.
Utah may have only been a cinderella team and a fluke last year, but considering they didn't lose many seniors from their team, there is no way I can see leaving them out of the preseason poll. The same with TCU, BYU, Oklahoma State, and Cincinatti. And for the record Oklahoma State has made 6 bowl game appearances since 2002, after Les Miles turned their program around. Oklahoma State has been a good football program since then, and they are not a fluke cinderella team. Cincinatti ended in the top 25 in 2007 and 2008, and they haven't lost much personnel, so again, there's no real justification in excluding them from the top 25. BYU has finished in the top 25 for the last three years, so why would they predict them to not be this year? TCU finished in the top 25 twice in four years. As for Michigan State, Iowa, Florida State, Virginia Tech, and Oregon State, they are consistent top 25 teams. They end up in the top 25 nearly every year.

So your predictions on who will not make the top 25 seem ludicrous, considering you chose teams that are consistently in the top 25. I would like to know what other 12 teams you think are going to take their place. I highly doubt that all 12 of those teams are going to end up not ranked at all come the end of the season.

And for the record, the AP preseason rankings do take into account strength of schedule.

[AlphaSigma]

[QUOTE=AlphaSigma;3444250]My predictions of who will not be in the top 25 come end of 09 season flagged in red:

The Preseason Coaches' Top 25 Rankings:
1. Florida (48)
2. Utah (16) Plays host to Lousiville, And tough road games at TCU and Oregon. I'm predicting all three will be loses.
3. USC (1)
4. Texas
5. Oklahoma
6. Alabama
7. TCU Still stands a chance, but two games will test them: @ Virginia and @ Clemson. As well as matching up against Utah.
8. Penn State
9. Ohio State
10. Oregon
11. Boise State
12. Texas Tech
13. Georgia
14. Mississippi Tough, Tough Schedule. 9/4 last year, but games against Alabama, @ SC, Arkansas, @ Auburn, Tennesee, LSU. They have a real chance at finishing under .500
15. Virginia Tech Tough Schedule. Nebraska, @ Alabama, Miami (FL), Boston College, NCST, @ Virginia.

A lot for me goes into strength of schedule. It's very difficult for a team to play great football, week to week. Historically look at the number between pre-season rankings and final top 25 rankings and you will see what I'm talking about. It's just darn near impossible for college football teams to be consistent. Which is why I love college football. You're always poised for an upset.

[Soap]

Texas Tech isn't even in the top 25 for ESPN...wow.

We lose Crabtree (good riddance, you greedy jerk) and everyone but the coaches assume we're going down the drain. It wasn't the last play of the game that won against Texas last year...it was our defense the entire game.

We probably deserve #12 in preseason rankings. But I know that number will be higher soon into the season.

Does anyone find it odd that they moved the Tech @ Texas game to week 3? I see no logical reason why...

[Iceman-bass14]

Originally Posted by AlphaSigma

My predictions of who will not be in the top 25 come end of 09 season flagged in red:

The Preseason Coaches' Top 25 Rankings:
1. Florida (48)
2. Utah (16) Plays host to Lousiville, And tough road games at TCU and Oregon. I'm predicting all three will be loses.

Louisville is tough?Even if they lose all 3 I doubt that would knock a preseason #2 out of the top 25.

3. USC (1)
4. Texas
5. Oklahoma
6. Alabama
7. TCU Still stands a chance, but two games will test them: @ Virginia and @ Clemson. As well as matching up against Utah.

TCU gave OU a run for their money last year(Did they wind up beating them?I cant remember.).Are Virginia and Clemson good teams?Yeah,but Im still wondering why your picking 2 unranked teams to beat the number 7 team preseason.

8. Penn State
9. Ohio State
10. Oregon
11. Boise State
12. Texas Tech
13. Georgia
14. Mississippi Tough, Tough Schedule. 9/4 last year, but games against Alabama, @ SC, Arkansas, @ Auburn, Tennesee, LSU. They have a real chance at finishing under .500

Tough schedule,but doesnt look any worse than last year's with the same QB and a lot of offensive fire power.

15. Virginia Tech Tough Schedule. Nebraska, @ Alabama, Miami (FL), Boston College, NCST, @ Virginia.

The only real tough ones on that list are Nebraska and 'Bama.Playing Miami,BC,and NCST at home is not frightening,or at least it shouldnt be,and traveling to Virginia isnt devastating either.

A lot for me goes into strength of schedule. It's very difficult for a team to play great football, week to week. Historically look at the number between pre-season rankings and final top 25 rankings and you will see what I'm talking about. It's just darn near impossible for college football teams to be consistent. Which is why I love college football. You're always poised for an upset.

Gwen pointed out that the AP rankings do take strength of schedule into consideration when ranking teams.And yes,there will always be those few who make it into the top 25 who dont start off there,but your predicting the number 2 team to drop out from 3 losses and thats just not realistic.Also,do you have a list of at least some possibilities for which teams would take the places of those who drop out?And if you do,what about those teams schedules and players gives them a better chance at making the top 25?

[Gwenny]

Originally Posted by AlphaSigma

My predictions of who will not be in the top 25 come end of 09 season flagged in red:

The Preseason Coaches' Top 25 Rankings:
1. Florida (48)
2. Utah (16) Plays host to Lousiville, And tough road games at TCU and Oregon. I'm predicting all three will be loses.
3. USC (1)
4. Texas
5. Oklahoma
6. Alabama
7. TCU Still stands a chance, but two games will test them: @ Virginia and @ Clemson. As well as matching up against Utah.
8. Penn State
9. Ohio State
10. Oregon
11. Boise State
12. Texas Tech
13. Georgia
14. Mississippi Tough, Tough Schedule. 9/4 last year, but games against Alabama, @ SC, Arkansas, @ Auburn, Tennesee, LSU. They have a real chance at finishing under .500
15. Virginia Tech Tough Schedule. Nebraska, @ Alabama, Miami (FL), Boston College, NCST, @ Virginia.

A lot for me goes into strength of schedule. It's very difficult for a team to play great football, week to week. Historically look at the number between pre-season rankings and final top 25 rankings and you will see what I'm talking about. It's just darn near impossible for college football teams to be consistent. Which is why I love college football. You're always poised for an upset.

I would like to point out once again, that the AP polls are not out yet, and will not be for another few weeks. ESPN's polls were done after spring practices and games, so a lot may have changed between then and now. However, the majority of ESPN's predictions are in line with other sport's publications magazines and well respected college football analysts predictions. That being said, of course there are going to be upsets. There are upsets every year, but I have a hard time believing that Utah, Mississippi, TCU, and Viriginia Tech are going to get upset by all the teams that you are predicting they will. That is nearly statistically impossible.

And I have looked at preseason rankings and post season rankings, and the majority of the teams going in ranked come out ranked. There is a flaw in the system of the bcs, because teams that are ranked and lose early drop out, but if they win the rest of their games they climb back up. The problem with the teams that win all but say their last two games are ranked up in the top 5-10 and drop to the low 20's. They don't drop out, but the ranking system is flawed. However, you very rarely see a team going in ranked tank so badly that they drop out of the top 25. The only teams that really do that are the cinderella teams that do extremely well on year, and they get a courtesy ranking for the next year but are clearly not in contention for a bowl game let alone a bcs one. None of the teams in the top 25 are cinderella teams. I'm talking about the USF's out there, and even they did well two years in a row. And I think that past seasons have proven time and time again that even if you do get upset you have a chance of making a bcs game, and even the NC, like say LSU who lost in overtime to Arkansas and Ohio State who lost to Illinois in 2007, yet both teams made the NC game. And I am no SEC fan at all, in fact I do not like the SEC at all, but they have shown that even with their tough conference schedule the ranked SEC teams usually make the top 25 at the end of the season. And that is the conference that beats each other up the most. The same with the PAC 10, the BIG XII, and the BIG 10. I really do not buy your argument that "based on history", teams with tough schedules end up not being ranked, because history has proved otherwise. Yes Utah, Ole Miss, Virginia Tech, and TCU (the only forseeable team losing more than two games) may lose some games, but I don't see them not being in the top 25, unless some other uknown team takes magic football juice and becomes the next Tim Tebow and Florida. I'm not counting out a cinderella team by any means, but I think it's really preposterous to say that four ranked teams are going to all choke and not end up ranked. Really? Well I'd like to know, as well as Iceman, who you think will take their place.

[Iceman-bass14]

VT RB Darren Evans blows out knee,gone for season.

I wish him the best,I hope the injury isnt too serious,and I hope he recovers fully.But that does help GT's chances a lot.

[Role Modlin]

How bad is Syracuse? They are actually going to start Greg Paulus at QB. That just seems...insane.

[penguinofwar]

Originally Posted by Leboman

How bad is Syracuse? They are actually going to start Greg Paulus at QB. That just seems...insane.

Wait, are you serious? I know he was really good in high school, but to start playing years later..thats just crazy. I liked him when he played bball at Duke, even though he barely played his final two years, but I'm really interested to see how this will turn out.

[Role Modlin]

Originally Posted by penguinofwar

Wait, are you serious? I know he was really good in high school, but to start playing years later..thats just crazy. I liked him when he played bball at Duke, even though he barely played his final two years, but I'm really interested to see how this will turn out.

It was announced this week. The guy has NEVER taken a snap in college and hasn't played football in four years. Their other QBs must really suck.

[Art]

This is Syracuse. This is the only thing we are going to hear about them all year, outside of weekly reports on their losses.

[Gwenny]

COLLEGE FOOTBALL STARTS TONIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GO FALCONS and GO BUCKS!!!!!

AP Preseason Poll

1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Oklahoma
4. USC
5. Alabama
6. Ohio State
7. Virginia Tech
8. Mississippi
9. Oklahoma State
9. Penn State
11. LSU
12. California
13. Georgia
14. Boise State
15. Georgia Tech
16. Oregon
17. TCU
18. Florida State
19. Utah
20. BYU
21. North Carolina
22. Iowa
23. Notre Dame
24. Nebraska
25. Kansas

[Fandrew]

I'm going to two college football games this weekend! Jackson State at Mississippi State University on Saturday, then Ole Miss at Memphis on Sunday!