OCSPN

On Campus Sports Programming Network

It is officially time to talk some College Football with the very first poll of the summer up available for the entire nation to bicker and debate of who belongs and who doesn’t. First things first, let gives a round of applause to Lindy’s Magazine who had the Top 5 correct team by team. My apologies if I did not mention your blog or publication who had the top five predicted correctly, however it is just the top 5.

The Boomer Sooners as expected take the top spot with their high-powered offense that features not one, not two, but three studs in QB Landry Jones and WR’s Ryan Broyles and Kenny Stills. The defense returns six starters as they are getting over the tragic loss of MLB Austin Box.

Still, they are loaded at every position as it seems as if they are nearly invincible. The trip to Tallahassee on September 17th (coming off a bye week after they play Tulsa) may be the one game all season where they will be challenged up front on both sides of the ball.

Alabama comes in at number two and with another top notch Nick Saban recruiting class there is no doubting how great the defense could be. Nine starters return as they have arguably the best LB and DB cores in the nation. The duo at safety between Robert Lester and Mark Barron is flat out intimidating.

Oregon is next at number three and LSU is fourth. The two will tango in Jerry’s Land in Arlington, Tx on September 3rd. A top five game of the season will give the winner of this game an upper hand in the BCS Title race and the loser a chance to only jump back in if they run the table.

Florida State looks to officially be back at fifth where Jimbo Fisher is coming off a 10-4 season and with fourteen starters back there is hope that this could be the year that Florida State football returns to national title relevancy.

How they fare against Oklahoma and Clemson (Death Valley) the following week will tell us if they are just ACC contenders or possibly BCS Title contenders. The development of QB EJ Manuel and a fast and furious defense could make this the most dangerous team in the nation.

Stanford has a new coaching staff, but with the return of QB Andrew Luck the Cardinal stand pat somewhere close to where they are currently ranked at number six. The schedule along with number seven Boise State’s schedule looks really favorable. Kellen Moore is my choice for the best QB in America though Luck is not a bad choice either.

Big 12 teams Oklahoma State and Texas A&M are eighth and ninth whereas Big Ten’s Wisconsin and Nebraska are tenth and eleventh. All four return their stud RB’s and they all have very talented QB’s to lead them to a possible BCS bid/conference title.

So, the question that everybody loves to talk about is who exactly is overrated and underrated? Putting Auburn at nineteen is an absolute joke. Did Cam Newton come back or something? Did I miss something? They have nearly zero starters back and outside of RB Michael Dyer this team will struggle to move the ball even in OC guru Gus Malzahn’s offense.

Plus, their schedule is the toughest I have seen in years for a defending BCS Champion. I would be shocked and will gladly eat crow if they win more than six games! I see them losing seven games as there are just too many top 25 teams on the slate.

Ohio State at sixteen is awfully generous for a team that is starting from scratch. A brand new defense along with an entire new offense for the first five games could cost the Buckeyes two games right out of the gates against Michigan State and Miami Fla. Four months from now I could see the Buckeyes with four, possibly five losses!

South Carolina, Virginia Tech, and Arkansas may be the three scariest teams in the entire nation outside of the top five and I find it funny how they are twelve, thirteen, and fourteen in the poll. Let it be known that if Pig Suey were in any other conference I would pick them to win ten, eleven games. However, road games at LSU and Alabama will make it tough for the Razorbacks to stay in the top ten much if at all this year.

Virginia Tech has my softest ranked schedule among any top 25 team and I could see them running the table before a date with the Seminoles for an ACC crown. Cocky should be feeling just that as QB Stephen Garcia returns (again) with RB Marcus Lattimore and WR Alshon Jeffrey (best duo in America).

Also, the front four will be filthy good and CB Stephon Gilmore is my early pick to win the Thorpe Award. Their schedule is very favorable and playing in the SEC East is no daunting task.

TCU is fifteenth and has three tough games that will determine how much they have dropped with the loss of their greatest player program history in QB Andy Dalton: @Baylor, @ Boise State, and vs. BYU.

Michigan State at seventeenth is a bit questionable. Will the Spartans defense be good enough in the back seven to challenge for a division crown, let alone a Big Ten title appearance?

The Golden Domers at eighteen makes you think that they are going to fall on their faces again, but with a cupcake schedule (how many times have we heard that!) the Irish could win nine, possibly ten games and play in their first BCS Bowl since the ’07 Sugar Bowl. Reinstatement and no suspension for WR Michael Floyd ensure the Irish to have superstar playmaking ability no matter who is threading the needle at QB.

Mississippi State at twenty is intriguing since Dan Mullen fooled us in his second year in Starksville and usually year three only gets better. They are very physical up front on both sides of the ball and QB Chris Relf /RB Vick Ballard could get this team to a New Year’s Day Bowl and ten wins if they find a way to knock off LSU or Alabama.

Missouri, Georgia, Florida, Texas, and Penn State round out the top 25 and those final four teams are the ones that are eye popping. Georgia is coming off its first losing season in the Mark Richt era and the Gators look for success in year one of the post Meyer/ pre Will Muschamp era. UGA has a favorable schedule after Boise State and South Carolina whereas the Gators may have an extremely bumpy October and November.

Penn State at twenty-five is a bit tricky. They are not an overpowering team loaded with superstars; however they are a disciplined, defensively sound squad. Also, their schedule is fairly soft if you forget they have the Crimson Tide and the Cornhuskers at home along with road tilts at Camp Randall Stadium and the Horseshoe.

My only beef for a few teams that should be ranked that aren’t would have to be the Miami Hurricanes and the Michigan Wolverines. I could see both winning ten and nine games respectively not including their bowl game.

The ‘Canes OL is rock solid even with the possible loss of Henderson as they have a loaded backfield with stud wideouts. Also, assuming QB Jacory Harris has a bounce back season, nobody on their schedule outside of FSU and VT has the goods to put away Al Golden in his first season.

Brady Hoke who is also in his first season should have a much improved defense (you can only hope) along with a developing offense that is starting to turn into the most exciting in the Big Ten. There are a bevy of producers on offense that will help QB Denard Robinson put on clinic after clinic.

Both of these teams have been abysmal for the past few seasons which are reasons why they are not ranked in this poll, but their upside alone is arguably higher than any team outside the top 18.

Lastly, do not forget next Monday I will be starting my annual OCSPN College Football Preview breaking down all 120 teams. Towards the final week of August I will reveal all my bowl games including who will win the fourteenth BCS National Championship.