Who's No. 1?: The First Draft of the Dawg Sports 2010 Preseason SB Nation BlogPoll Ballot
by T Kyle King on Aug 17, 2010 10:03 PM EDT
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PrintIt will not be long before it is time to cast our SB Nation BlogPoll ballots. I already have identified the teams I believe are underrated or correctly rated, the teams I believe are overrated, and the teams I just flat ain’t buying.
That just leaves the compilation of the top 25 itself, and I’m not going to lie to you: my rankings look and feel like I just pulled 25 well-known college football teams out of a hat more or less at random, so I am submitting them to you for your critical evaluation before the time comes to cast my vote. Here, therefore, is the rough draft---emphasis on the rough---of my preseason BlogPoll ballot:
- Boise St. Broncos
- Florida Gators
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- Ohio St. Buckeyes
- Texas Longhorns
- TCU Horned Frogs
- Iowa Hawkeyes
- Oregon Ducks
- North Carolina Tar Heels
- LSU Tigers
- Virginia Tech Hokies
- Pittsburgh Panthers
- Nebraska Cornhuskers
- Penn St. Nittany Lions
- Oklahoma Sooners
- Miami Hurricanes
- Auburn Tigers
- Houston Cougars
- Washington Huskies
- Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
- South Carolina Gamecocks
- Clemson Tigers
- Arizona Wildcats
- Texas A&M Aggies
- Southern Miss. Golden Eagles
Yes, I know I omitted the Arkansas Razorbacks, Florida St. Seminoles, Georgia Bulldogs, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and USC Trojans; there’s no use trying to sell me on any of those teams until one or more of them starts to prove it on the field. For the most part, the placement of the 25 teams represented in the poll is based upon my gut sense of where they go, but this is based upon scant evidence and I’m a guy who owns Football for Dummies, so what the heck do I know?
Here, though, are a few notes on my placement of particular teams:
- While I ordinarily am not inclined to emulate Steve Spurrier, I have made it my practice annually to do with the Golden Eagles what Darth Visor made a habit of doing with his former employer, the Duke Blue Devils; viz., rank them No. 25 on my preseason ballot. While there are legitimate reasons for thinking the Eagles will make some noise in Conference USA this fall, my vote each year is a tip of the cap to Matt "Dr. Saturday" Hinton, a University of Southern Mississippi alumnus.
- I take nothing away from Nick Saban and the defending national champions, but defense still wins championships, and the Tide lost a lot on defense. Meanwhile, I may be pathologically nervous concerning the Sunshine State Saurians, but I have fewer doubts about the Gators than I have about ‘Bama, at least on the side of the ball that matters most.
- I’m sure the most eyebrow-raising part of my draft ballot is the placement of Boise State at No. 1. I understand the arguments against the Broncos and against the chances of a team becoming a first-time national champion, but there are arguments for Boise State, as well, and BSU has been working its way toward the top of the college football pecking order for a while now.
I respect the skepticism of the Bronco faithful, one of whom had this to say: "Does Boise State have anything to prove this season? For anyone who was at the Georgia game in 2005, the answer is an obvious yes." Well, I was at that game, and the world has turned a few times since then. Since coming up short on the grand stage five seasons ago, Boise State has hammered the Oregon St. Beavers at home in 2006, upended Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, won at Oregon in 2008, and bookended an undefeated run in 2009 by beating the Ducks on the blue field and the Horned Frogs in a BCS bowl.
While I’m not sure the Broncos would beat Alabama or Florida on a neutral field, I didn’t think the Broncos would beat the Sooners, either, so the benefit of the doubt isn’t entirely out of line here. Frank Beamer, whose VPI squad opens the season against Boise State on Labor Day night, summed it up nicely: "Every time they’ve had a big stage, they’ve answered the bell. . . . [I]t’s just like us opening the season with Alabama last year. It’s the same caliber of team." While BSU must carry a different mindset into the 2010 season---Chris Petersen says, "Instead of proving everybody wrong, now we want to prove everybody right"---the Broncos are the team I’m most confident will get to the national championship game.
Yes, their relative lack of schedule strength is a part of that calculus, but Boise State is taking on all non-conference comers and throttling (not just skating by) the weak sisters of the WAC. Yes, the flawed nature of the other contenders makes the Broncos the dog with the fewest fleas, but any squad that returns 22 of 24 starters from an undefeated BCS bowl champion is, almost by definition, the country’s most complete team, particularly when that club is led by a head coach with a 49-4 record and two national coach of the year trophies in a four-year career. That gets Boise State the No. 1 ranking until I’ve been given a reason to rank them elsewhere.
Please feel free to provide your feedback and pose your questions in the comments below.
Go ‘Dawgs!
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Is Arkansas this years Ole Miss?
It feels that way. But I get the same feeling about North Carolina. Let’s see something more than potential first.
agreed
I’ve noticed a firm influence on most every preseason prediction from the results of the previous bowl season. A year ago, it was Mississippi’s win over Texas Tech.
Now it’s Nebraska’s shutout of Arizona.
Or since Iowa beat GT, so they must be legit.
Wisconsin beat Miami.
I think the deal with Arkansas is as much for their near-wins against Florida and LSU as their actual wins against Auburn and Scarolina (I doubt it was the East Carolina win, anyway).
OMG!!11! How in the world can you rank (insert team name) at (insert poll position)??
Just thought I’d post the template. Seriously, though, preseason polls are barely even educated guesses, so your guess is as good as mine.
I see no compelling reason to rank anyone other than the Broncos #1, other than, “Hey, Alabama won it all last year, let’s rank them #1 again this year.”
I think there’s far less separation this year between #1 and #15 than there has been in many years. Should be a fun year to watch the upsets roll.
Despite the usual slate of crap Week 1 games
It seems like there will be an unusually high number of Top 25 teams starting the season 0-1 what with the LSU/UNC, Boise/VaTech, and TCU/OState tilts. Should be fun.
By my count, there are 26 televised games over 5 days. I can’t wait!
"I want anything wearing red and black to tear the head off anything that isn't."
- Lewis Grizzard
by RedCrake on Aug 17, 2010 11:43 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Holly, now you
People, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE stop saying nice things about South Carolina preseason. That never works out well for us.
Team Speed Kills. All SEC, all the time.
You know, now that I think about it...
… the Gamecocks really are poised to make their first SEC title run this season. I’d say they’re the favorite in my book.
/can’t type that with a straight face.
by vineyarddawg on Aug 18, 2010 4:22 AM EDT up reply actions
The Visor Strikes back this year
Sorry bro, we are way too depressive about our own team to even think about favoring an early opponent. The Chickens always scare early in the year every year, so we have no reason but to speak well of SC. We only wish we had such an experienced QB like Garcia manning our offensive accessories.
Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.
I Corinthians 9:24
by Southern Dawg on Aug 18, 2010 3:53 PM EDT up reply actions
not following your logic here...
you dock the tide for losses on defense but then argue the gators, who suffered grievous losses on that side of the ball and their defensive coordinator, are in a better spot? it seems you might be thinking losses in terms of starters gone but thats something of a canard since both teams have non-starters ready to play (case in point, marcell dareus)
i’m not saying your overall logic is faulty but you seem to need a better explanation of why florida would be ranked higher. it seems the defense argument is much more of a push here and, if that’s the case, then you’d be forced to admit alabama’s offensive situation is much better than florida’s. ergo, a slightly higher ranking.
Roll 'Bama Roll: The Champagne of 'Bama Blogs.
I agree
Charlie Strong is a big deal.
The good news, RBR, is that the debate over whether your team should be ranked 2nd or 3rd is a tiny matter, one that will be settled on the field, and one about which reasonable minds could disagree.
Being ranked 2nd or 3rd only matters on BCS selection day.
by first and thom on Aug 18, 2010 3:54 PM EDT up reply actions
the poll matters not a whit in my mind
but quite a few of the voters, including your own estimable mr. king, have a much better appreciation for the nuances of the game than myself. as such, this is an opportunity for me to learn.
Roll 'Bama Roll: The Champagne of 'Bama Blogs.
I though the same
and on top of that, Saban/He Who Shall Not Be Named brings consistency of scheming/coaching; while down in G’ville the coaching/scheme is in transition.
I’d have to put Bama ahead of UF at this point.
not drunk, just overserved
by Gen. Stoopnagle on Aug 23, 2010 12:46 PM EDT up reply actions
I gotta go with Kleph...
The more I think about it, the more I feel like Florida’s season could look like Georgia’s 2009 season. Their star-power QB is gone along with their leading rusher, (ok, those are the same person in Florida’s case, roll with my analogy) they have a senior first-year starting QB, and their defense…wow. Their defense got eviscerated by the pros AND has a new guy in charge. I mean, is there anyone here who doesn’t appreciate what Brandon Spikes meant to that D? Does anyone remember when he burst through the line and leveled Knowshon in 2008? Yeah, he don’t live here no more.
History notwithstanding, I feel like Brantley will be pretty good but make enough Coxian decisions to cost Florida the East, with the winner of Georgia/Carolina going to ATL instead. (I feel like that’s gonna be Carolina, considering Murray gets to play his first real game in Columbia on the second game of the season. But hope springs eternal.)
Brantley isn't a senior
He’s a junior (RS). And while nobody really belived that Cox was going to burst out of the gate last season, Brantley certainly possesses all the skills to be a great QB. Time will tell if he lives up to the hype, but he certainly isn’t a one year stop gap like Cox was.
I agree with Kelph though that the Tide should be ranked above the Gators to start the season.
lemme clarify
i’m not saying he’s wrong putting alabama under florida (lord knows it’s the chic thing to do this week) my question has to do with the logic at work here.
if the underlying belief is florida’s losses are less than alabama’s then i’d like to understand the reasoning which, since this is t. kyle, i assume is there. after that i’d like to know why that disparity is seen as a greater hindrance than replacing a defensive coordinator whose seven-year tenure marked one of the most dominant eras of gator performance on that side of the ball.
and if the logic follows some other course, i beg for enlightenment.
Roll 'Bama Roll: The Champagne of 'Bama Blogs.
Boise State
I like the whole Boise State story line too but let’s get real. You support this lofty ranking by citing their 5 quality outings in the last five years? What would result from Boise State trading 2010 schedules with Alabama, Florida, Georgia, or any other SEC school? Some fun and entertaining games for sure but a top ranked team still? No chance.
Southern Miss????
that just makes me laugh. I can agree with most of the other spots though.
Boise St is NOT eligible__
because a GREEN field is a pre-requisite to qualifying as a football team. Other than that, I believe you have correctly placed the beloved Bulldogs out of the top 25. On another note, since I cannot depart without stirring up the wrath of at least 50 % of the readers, why are the bloggers and sportswriters of the “mainstream” media going so light on Richt__the supposed quarterback guru__for dropping the ball on having a decent quarterback going into not one, but two, seasons?
I've said this a few times
over the past couple of years in response to your blog polls… but I’ll say it again.
UNC is not a better team than UGA.
Maybe they are, but I just can’t accept it: UNC top 10, UGA unranked?
My head is going to explode!
Anyways, GO DAWGS! Can’t wait to see how it all plays out on the field.
by QuietHourBackflips on Aug 18, 2010 11:40 AM EDT reply actions
Tennessee's AD apparently has a high opinion of North Carolina
since he is backing out of a home-and-home, claiming the program isn’t back to where they want it yet.
Tennessee's AD had a high opinion of Lane Kiffin
"I want anything wearing red and black to tear the head off anything that isn't."
- Lewis Grizzard
by RedCrake on Aug 18, 2010 5:41 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions 3 recs
Minor disagreements....
I think this year is going to be a lot like 2007 – down to the wire, anything can happen, type year. With that said, first I gotta agree with Roll ‘Bama Roll, I definitely keep ’Bama ahead of Florida. Not only did they lose their DC (a DC who has pretty single handedly ruined UGA’s chances for years), but am I the only one who still doesn’t quite trust Steve Addazzio as the OC?
I would also put tOSU ahead of both UF and ’Bama right now, especially in light of your returning talent angle. I shudder to rank them that high, but I think they look better (right now) than UF or ’Bama.
Finally, as far as LSU at 10, if UGA and USC have to prove it on the field, shouldn’t LSU too? They’ve had a decent record the last coupla years, but that record includes some VERY close wins and some very lucky calls. I don’t think Les Miles is a particularly talented coach, and I also think the talent has been on a (slow, slight) decline.
This sure does look like South Carolina’s year though, doesn’t it?
I totally agree with Boise at #1
They have enough talent to run the table, they have a favorable schedule, and (most importantly) they return an absurd amount of starters. They will also be starting the season high enough in the rankings that running the table would certainly get them in the top two, and might even be able to climb back up with an early loss. I could argue with some of the other rankings (not buying LSU at all, especially with Miles and Crowton still at the helm), but the top spot looks good to me.
Not so fast, my friend!
I generally agree with your rankings, but I still think UGA deserves a ranking based on talent alone. But either way, UGA’ll prove their worth in the first few weeks of the season.
My larger gripe, however, is Boise State. Don’t get my wrong, the Broncos have been fabulous since getting whipped in Athens in ’05.
I just don’t feel that, in the current BCS system, the Broncos play enough quality competition to be given a chance at the national championship. If Boise went undefeated and earned their way to the NC through a playoff, which I am HUGELY in favor of, then it’d be different.
But, as things are, I am very uncomfortable calling a team that plays MAYBE 2-3 good teams a year the national champion. When they start playing 8-9 QUALITY conference opponents a year, THEN I’ll give them the chance.
Utah made the right conference move in order to get them in the NC conversation, Boise didn’t. ’Nuff said.
The above statements are owned by Sam Robards. If you use these statements in other venues, that's ok!
by Sam Robards, Dawg Fan on Aug 18, 2010 12:05 PM EDT reply actions
Quality conference opponents?
I want to know what conference has 8-9 QUALITY teams in any given year. it seems to me that most conferences only have 2 or 3 stand outs, and the rest are just run-of-the-mill teams that don’t impress.
Also, Boise State has had a hard time getting any OOC games. They’re not scheduling fluff teams, they’re scheduling anybody they can get. nobody ever wants to play Boise (scared, perhaps), so until you can convince your conference with 8-9 quality opponents to schedule a powerful OOC game like Boise state, your argument doesn’t stand.
by Yamani_luvbsu on Aug 18, 2010 6:02 PM EDT up reply actions
Boise has a tough time getting OOC games because....
They insist on playing home and home games, which lose money for big name schools
http://www.teamspeedkills.com/2010/8/18/1629472/boise-state-wants-ncaa-to-require
True, at most a team in the BCS conferences will average 2-3 quality (i.e. top 20) teams per year in conference, but that’s more than Boise plays. On the other hand, the mediocre teams in the MWC or MAC are about the same as the worst teams in the SEC, Big XII, etc.
Before bowl games bring up Boise’ strength of schedule, their strength of schedule is usually about average, at best.
Indeed.
Bronco Stadium’s what? 32,000? Vandy’s almost 40,000. Vandy.
Someone can correct me if I’m wrong, but Boise State has never played in front of a larger crowd than the one that watched the 2005 UGA game. I’ll be interested in seeing how the team responds at the VPI game (which still won’t be as big an audience).
73,719 at the ‘07 fiesta bowl, so it’s very possible.
Roll 'Bama Roll: The Champagne of 'Bama Blogs.
That's the key
When Boise State is will to play big teams on the road without requiring a return visit or a million dollars then you can claim they are taking on “all comers”.
Nobody wants to go there. Small crowds, small pay, large travel expensive. What does any team from east of the Mississippi have to game by traveling to Boise, other than a chance to see the two-headed calf in the museum?
two-headed calf
I’m not sure you’re helping your case by bringing up the two-headed calf. Sounds tempting. Even the thought of a two-headed bovine would make the thoughts of many turn to Pilgrimage.
There are other two-headed calves to see
that don’t require a trip to Boise. Here’s a list of them, including one (just the heads) at the State Capitol building (the shiny dome near the Ted) and one in Gatlinburg.
How many years
did Florida State spend playing pretty much anyone they could get, wherever they needed to? Something like 20, that’s how long.
And yet Boise, because it won one bowl game on a pair of trick plays, thinks it has the right to demand that teams come to its crappy little Smurf hut in the middle of nowhere?
Think of it this way: Rather than trying to work out how Boise State would do against an SEC schedule, try to work out how many SEC teams would go undefeated against Boise’s schedule.
And no, the SEC doesn’t have eight or nine powerhouses every year. What it does have is at least eight or nine teams who can beat you if you’re not paying attention, and at least eight or nine teams with home-game environments a lot more intimidating than San Diego State. And in that second example, by eight or nine, I mean 11. (Sorry, Vandy.)
Give Vandy some credit.
As Georgia fans, we all know how embarrassing it is to be down to Vandy 2-0 at halftime in Nashville. It might be “intimidation” of a different sort, but it still rachets up the pressure to a level above it would be at San Diego State when you know you might actually lose to Vandy.
by vineyarddawg on Aug 19, 2010 7:57 AM EDT up reply actions
Boise State has taken on all nonconference comers? You’ve listed every nonconference game of any significance that they’ve played since 2006. They played at Hawaii last year, so they could schedule five nonconference games. You know what they did with the extra game? They played at Tulsa.
Outside of Oklahoma, the last time Boise played a nonconference game against a team from a state that doesn’t border Idaho? You’ll remember it. It was in Athens. Arguably the most consistent opponent in their conference is Fresno State, a team that is constantly the butt of jokes regarding the teams that play them. (Wisconsin, anyone?)
Florida plays a more challenging nonconference schedule than Boise State. Sorry, not buying it.
C'mon, though,
…that’s not entirely their fault.
A lot of teams are ducking them.
not drunk, just overserved
by Gen. Stoopnagle on Aug 23, 2010 12:48 PM EDT up reply actions
I hate arguing for or against preseason polls. I just feel like i'm blowing out hot air.
Not that you guys are…and that’s all i have to say about that.
Ok so i lied. I only have a few things to say. If you are seriously going for your gut, i’m not sure how your gut can tell you that BS is #1 and Iowa and UNC are top 10 teams. But like i said, right now that’s just hot air coming from my mouth. But i’m sure it will work itself out pretty quickly as Redcake pointed out, a lot of these teams will face each other and we’ll get hard 2010 evidence for future rankings.
Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.
I Corinthians 9:24
While it's fair to say that it is largely guesswork at this point, . . .
. . . I think it’s also fair to say that we at least know enough to know that this ballot is crazy as a run-over dog.
Thanks for the feedback, everyone. I have made some changes to my ballot, the final version of which is scheduled to appear shortly after midnight tonight.
Go 'Dawgs!
by T Kyle King on Aug 18, 2010 10:34 PM EDT up reply actions
Here's to hoping...
that Boise State gives you a reason to drop them WAY down the rankings in week one. Come on, Virginia Tech, do the rest of college football a favor and shut that Mickey Mouse program up for the year.
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