College Football Preseason Rankings - February 2008

D'Angelou, Yahoo! Contributor Network
Feb 22, 2008 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."

This week, in the "BCS Mess," it's time we take a look at the latest TSW College Football Rankings. With everyone that's going to declare for the NFL draft having probably declared already, and with 99% of the recruiting done, there has been a few changes in the pre-season rankings. Now, as you know, I am firmly against pre-season rankings, but since they exist, I'll do my best to influence the sports writers out their how to vote in a fair and honest fashion.

1. Georgia Bulldogs - As you all know, the BCS left the possibility out there that Georgia may have been deserving of a shot at the BCS title. They didn't get it, so they came in 3^rd place, but with running back Knowshon Moreno and quarterback Matthew Stafford set to return, is there any doubting that this is the team to beat in the SEC this year? And with that being the case, we all know that the SEC has been the best conference in football for the better part of the last decade, so the best team in the conference certainly deserves to go into the season ranked #1.

2. USC Trojans - You just can't ever count out a Pete Carroll coached team when you're talking about contending for the national championship. Sure, they lost John David Booty at quarterback, but with talents like Mark Sanchez and Mitch Mustang (from Arkansas) set to take over as starter at the QB position, they have the arm to replace Booty's somewhere between the two of them. The rest of the team is stacked, as usual, so losing players like Sedrick Ellis and Keith Rivers to the first round of draft just allows them to reload for what should be another competitive football season for the men of troy.

3. Oklahoma Sooners - Quarterback Sam Bradford showed that he was just about as good as anyone in his freshman year. In his sophomore season, don't be surprised if he looks to pull a Tim Tebow and take a run at the Heisman Trophy thingy that some of the great college football players win from time to time. Losing Malcolm Kelly to draft takes away his most reliable target from last season, but with the emergence of DeMarco Murray at running back last year, something tells me that Bradford won't see a whole lot of two-shell secondary alignments this season.

4. Texas Longhorns - Giving some more respect to the Big 12 here, the Longhorns are in hot pursuit of the Sooners this season. They lost by a score in the Red River Shoot Out, and this year expects to be another close matchup. The Longhorns lost Jamaal Charles to the draft, but UT usually does not have a problem filling the void of running back from season to season. Colt McCoy took a step back as far as consistency went last year, but his big play ability was never more apparent than in the last half of last season, and with those last several games carrying him into next season, he will be able to more than make up for any production they may lose at the running back position.

5. Missouri Tigers - Heisman runner-up, QB Chase Daniel, is returning to the team for the 2008 season, and so is just about everyone else who was apart of Missouri's magical run last season. They are bringing back 10 starters on defense, and RB Macklin coming back on offense, this team is poised for another crack at the Big 12 Championship game. Most importantly though, just like last year, the schedule works out perfectly for the Tigers who don't have to play Oklahoma, Texas Tech or Texas A&M this year.

Rounding out the TSW Top 10:

6. Florida Gators

7. LSU Tigers

8. Ohio State Buckeyes

9. Clemson Tigers

10. Texas Tech Red Raiders

Published by D'Angelou

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