[NU Sports] FORTY DAYS OF FOOTBALL: College bonus

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

Another weekend closer, another bonus post ...

This time it's the preseason SjTop 25 rankings - guaranteed to somehow mysteriously disappear from my files by season's end in shame!:)

 1) ALABAMA
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No surprise there - champs are loaded and on top until they lose ... which may not be for awhile with Penn State, Florida and Auburn all visiting Tuscaloosa this year and the SEC overall being a bit down. Road games at LSU and South Carolina could be dangerous, but Tide fans can probably book their tickets for Atlanta now.

 2) OHIO STATE
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In contrast to the Tide, the Buckeyes will have to be road warriors to earn their spot in the title game. The Hurricanes and Nittany Lions visit the Shoe, but OSU must go to Iowa City and Madison to run the table. Fortunately for them, Terrelle Pryor seems to be ready to lead this team to greatness.

 3) BOISE STATE
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I'd love to see the Broncos in the title game, but I'm not confident they will run the table, and unlike the SEC teams, one loss will be deadly to their title hopes. They should be pumped up enough to beat VaTech, but Oregon State, Fresno State and Nevada all loom as possible pitfalls as the pressure mounts.

 4) IOWA
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Coming off a surprise season and big bowl win, the table is set for the Hawkeyes to make it to Arizona for the title game. Penn State, Wisconsin and Ohio State all visit Kinnick Stadium and most of the team - especially the defensive standouts - are back. An early game at Arizona could be a trap, as could later games at Michigan and Iowa-nemesis Northwestern, but they should be 10-0 when the Buckeyes visit Iowa City in November.

 5) NEBRASKA
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The Huskers will be looking to cement their return to big-time status and give a final, not-so-fond farewell to the Big XII by winning the league in their swan song before bolting for the Big Ten. It will help that Oklahoma is off the schedule and Texas visits Lincoln. Otherwise, if Nebraska survives an early test at Washington and a late one at A&M, they could be unbeaten heading to Jerryworld for the last Big XII championship game.

 6) FLORIDA
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Tim Tebow (and 50 bazillion flashbulb bursts per game, plus one weeping Verne Lundquist) may be gone, but St. Urban still has the Gators loaded with talent. That should be enough to roll to the SEC East title with UGa and Tennessee still in a down cycle and South Carolina never quite able to step it up. But it probably won't be good enough to win at Alabama, and they might drop another game without Tebow's leadership as the egos of all those high school blue chippers clash.

 7) TEXAS
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The unfortunate injury to Colt McCoy probably cost the Horns a national title, but the one positive out of it was that big orange fans could breathe a lot easier about the new kid taking snaps this year - kid can play. Garrett Gilbert will be fine and there's talent galore in Texas. The Horns probably won't be able to overcome the Red Sea in Lincoln in October, but if they can get by Oklahoma, they could get another crack at the Huskers - this time on their turf - in the Dallas title game, because other than those two games, it's a cakewalk schedule.

 8) TCU
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Aside from the opener against Oregon State (kudos to the Beavers for scheduling Boise State and TCU when most BCS-league schools duck 'em!), the Froggies should roll into November and a showdown at Utah. Win that, and another B(C)S bowl is likely - though no real title shot. Lose that and it's a far drop.

 9) WISCONSIN
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The Badgers will be big and plow over most teams on their schedule this year using John Clay. The season comes down to a two-game stretch in October when the Buckeyes visit Madison and then the Badgers visit Iowa. There are a couple of tricky road mines to navigate (at Purdue, at MSU, at Michigan), but win those two games and it's likely the Badgers are headed to Pasadena.

10) MIAMI
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I'm not buying into all of the Hurricane hype, but I do think they'll be back in contention this year ... plus there's a pretty big drop off between the top 9 teams and the rest of the pack. The biggest problem for Miami is the schedule - at Ohio State, at Pittsburgh, at Clemson and at Georgia Tech. The good news is that North Carolina, Virginia Tech and Florida State all visit them (but the bad news is they don't play in the Orange Bowl anymore). If they do manage to run the table, I'll stand corrected and proclaim that the Canes are back.

11) LSU - Les feels the heat (unfairly) and better beat the Gators or Bama this year to cool down the seat

12) OREGON STATE - If they can finally beat Ducks at home, could be Pasadena bound ... but their schedule is a tough one

13) VIRGINIA TECH - After the Boise opener, Hokies should be able to roll up momentum against cupcakes heading into November tests at Miami, UNC

14) OREGON - Ducks have had to deal with issue after issue off field, but they still have a solid team on it and will be in contention for Roses

15) OKLAHOMA - No Nebraska on schedule (rivaly? what rivalry?), so it all comes down to one game against Texas (get used to that in new league)

16) PENN STATE - Might be a Big Ten spoiler if they didn't have the toughest schedule in nation (at Bama, at Iowa, at Ohio State - ouch!)

17) AUBURN - A popular SEC sleeper after thrilling Outback Bowl win, but Tigers are probably still a year away from being up there with Bama

18) FLORIDA STATE - WIth Bobby drama over, Noles should coast to their division title and face the survivor of Miami/VaTech/UNC for ACC title

19 PITTSBURGH - The only hope of the Big East to maintain any sort of relevance in the college football world this year - no pressure, Wanny

20) WASHINGTON - Pac 10 balance has shifted back to the northwest and Locker will make Huskies a contender in a wild and fun race for Roses

21) NORTH CAROLINA - Off-field distractions could hurt their best chance ever to get to the ACC title game with a solid defense

22) SOUTH CAROLINA - With the SEC in a down year after the Big Two, this is Spurrier's best chance to have a breakthrough year in Columbia

23) UTAH - With TCU visiting, Utes are a BCS darkhorse for the WAC and could crash the party en route to joining the Pac 10 next year

24) ARIZONA - Wildcats could be poised for a breakthrough year, especially if they defend home turf vs. Iowa, Oregon St., USC and Washington 

25) NORTHWESTERN - Coach Fitz has earned the benefit of the doubt to start the year here, but a tough schedule and new quarterback will test the Cats

OTHERS TO WATCH
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* Arkansas - Piggies will score plenty, but can they defend?
* Georgia - Richt may be on an even hotter seat than Miles at LSY
* Michigan - Speaking of hot seats, RichRod is a cornered Wolverine
* Notre Dame - Soft schedule sets up for another first-year coach miracle
* Purdue - Dangerous Big Ten sleeper who came on strong at end of 2009

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STEPHEN J. TRUOG
sjtruog at yahoo.com
GO CATS!!! GEAUX SAINTS!!!
Super Bowl XLIV Champions!
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