My favorite time of year. This was released on 7/31/03 With last years records. 1. Oklahoma (29) 12-2 2. Ohio State (28) 14-0 3. Miami, Fla. (5) 12-1 4. Texas 11-2 5. Kansas State 11-2 6. Auburn (1) 9-4 7. Michigan 10-3 8. USC 11-2 9. Georgia 13-1 10. Virginia Tech 10-4 11. Pittsburgh 9-4 12. Florida State 9-5 13. Maryland 11-3 14. N.C. State 11-3 15. LSU 8-5 16. Tennessee 8-5 17. Virginia 9-5 18. Notre Dame 10-3 19. Washington 7-6 20. Wisconsin 8-6 21. Florida 8-5 22. Purdue 7-6 23. Arizona State 8-6 24. Oklahoma State 8-5 25. Colorado State 143 10-4 25. Penn State 9-4 OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: Iowa 132; Colorado 127; TCU 95; Texas A&M 90; Oregon State 70; Nebraska 64; UCLA 40; West Virginia 31; Hawaii 24; Boise State 22; BYU 22; Fresno State 22; Minnesota 22; Boston College 21; Arkansas 16; Washington State 16; Mississippi 14; Clemson 13; Missouri 12; Oregon 12; Marshall 11; Georgia Tech 9; New Mexico 9; Southern Mississippi 9; Utah 7; South Carolina 4; Air Force 3; Louisville 3; California 2; Illinois 1; North Texas 1; Syracuse 1; Toledo 1. http://www.collegesports.com/sports/m-footbl/polls/03polls/espn.html I don't think this years National Champion will "run the table". Discuss.
Yay. BYU got some votes. My friend works out with the team, he says they'll be back to form this year. And we have a better schedule at least. Maybe they'll get some post-season love.
I know this poll is meaningless.. but this surprised me ... 20. Wisconsin 8-6 21. Florida 8-5 ... 24. Oklahoma State 8-5 ...
Oklahoma number 1?!?! Not for long.... I predict an 'upset' first game of the season against Alabama...
I was just about to start this thread. We're three weeks away from kicking off the season with the Cal - KSU game. Practice starts on Monday, so it's time for meaningful (sans The Cat) discussion. Ohio State has a difficult schedule, but they should be able to run the table easily until their final test at Michigan. They play Washington and NC State non-conference, then face Purdue, Wisconsin, and Michigan in Big 10 play. They have their work cut out for them, but Tressel should have them ready to go. I think they only lost a couple of starters from last year's team. Clarrett's suspension will not matter, as they have two other very capable HBs who filled in last year as well. Larry Coker will have Miami ready to go this year as well. Kellen Winslow is a future top 10 pick, and I'm ready to see what Frank Gore can do as McGahee's replacement. Brock Berlin takes over at QB, so they might actually be better off there. KSU has a joke of a schedule this year, with juggernauts such as Maine, UMass (do they even play football?), Troy St., and McNeese state. Sproles and Ell Roberson are two of the better at their positions in the Big XII. AA Center Nick Lecky anchors their O-lin They will be completely untested when they come into Austin on October 4th. Even so, KSU gave the Horns all we could handle last year, and it will be a very difficult home game for us. If KSU beats us at home, the next step will be the Big XII championship, assuming they can get by Oklahoma State. Herbstreit picked them to go to the Sugar Bowl. OU's defense isn't impenetrable: just ask Reggie McNeal and Josh Fields. Both teams ripped apart an overly aggressive OU secondary consisting of AA's Strait and Everage. They still have monsters at LB in Lehman and Mitchell, and the overhyped Tommie Harris returns at DT. This year they have equal or greater talent than Texas, so they should enter the Red River Shootout as favorites. They do face an early test against a disorganized Bama team led by stud sophomore QB Brodie Croyle. Which brings me to my beloved Longhorns. Two early challenges, as we face a pumped up Arkansas team in our 2nd game. Apparently all the radio talk shows in Fayetteville have been talking non-stop about the Texas game being their biggest of the year. So in essence, the Horns play a 3rd rivalry game this year. Chance Mock has the talent to lead this team, and the most dangerous weapon in college footbal in Roy Williams. Look for sophomore Rodrique Wright to have a breakout season at DT. Also, I expect big things from sophomore MLB Garnet Smith. As always Derrick Johnson will wreak havoc, and expect a healthy Kalen Thornton to lead the Big 12 in sacks. My BCS bowl picks: Sugar: Ohio State - Miami Rose: USC - Florida State Orange: Texas - Auburn Fiesta: Oklahoma - Va. Tech
Watch out for the SEC this year, that league is just loaded! Pay particular attention to Auburn & LSU. They've both added some major talent over the past few years. Ditto for Ar-Kansas. If they can figure out how to complete more than 2 passes in a row in a given series, they could be dangerous. But I don't know if the Nat'l Champ will come out of that bloodbath, the SEC Champ could very well finish with 2 or more losses.
Great post, Baqui99! When will Snyder learn? A soft schedule is great when you're trying to re-establish a program, but you would think KSU has passed that stage. When Michael Bishops team lost to the Ags in OT a few years ago, they were knocked from the national championship game to the Cotton Bowl just because of their lame schedule. The pollsters and/or BCS computers won't cut them any slack this year if they lose just one. I'm not convinced ou is the best team in the country. The loss of Griffin at RB could really hurt them. He carried that team last year. As usual, they are very strong defensively (at least the front 7) but like you said, their DB's are suspect. The Horns are an enigma as usual. They seem to lose 1 game they are supposed to (ou) and 1 game they're NOT supposed to (NCState, Stanford, Tech, et al) every year. They're pretty unbeatable at home, so I look for them to be undefeated come the Red River Shootout. If they beat ou, I think they will ride that momentum for the rest of the season. If not, the opposite could happen. If Cedric Benson doesn't look out, Selvin Young may just pass him on the debth chart. I liked him last year. Much too early for predictions but I wouldn't be surprised if Miami and OSU play for the title again this year.
I find it amazing Texas Tech didnt even get 1 vote. They did lose a few key players but they have some guys coming in that can pick up where they left off. I expect BJ symons to have a huge season and break some of Kingsburys records along the way. He has a better arm, so with their style of play he is going to put up some huge #'s. Though there is no way he can be as tough, so thats the main difference. They also have one of the best young running backs in the country in Henderson. I wasnt expecting a ranking but North Texas having a vote and Texas Tech not? Please thats just dumb National Chamionship will be a rematch of OSU and Miami Heisman Ill go with Gore, hes an absoulute hoss and hopefully a future Texan given that hes healthy of course
Symons may have a better arm than Dinglebury, but arm strength is irrelevant in their offense. Kliff ran the Mike Leach offense to perfection last year. To be successful, you have to be able to see the whole field. Most of the passes are dinky dump off passes to the flats. Rarely does the QB throw deep. Also Taurean Henderson will run the ball maybe 10 times a game. The rest of the time he will be used to catch screen passes and dump offs.
I'm not either. Losing Griffin won't hurt as much as losing Hybl. Trust me. DB's have a chance to be better, (they'll certainly be deeper) with Nicholson starting at Safety and moving Bassey back to his CB position...Chijoke was also said to be a top 5 NFL prospect had he been in the draft last year...My prediction: 2 losses for OU this year. Too many question marks at QB, with 4 games of experience from 4 quarterbacks.
mduke, Isn't Jason White going to start. I assume he is healthy. And he is a decent player who can scramble and buy time.
Yes. I seriously doubt he can scramble anymore. He does, however, look like a linebacker. Maybe he can run people over or something
Man, I love being number one, but I'm not gonna lie. I'm just not feeling it. Our team has a lot of question marks and that Bama game actually does scare the hell out of me. Ah, well...Boomer Sooner!
We all know he's gonna inexplicably fall to the ground while running a bootleg. JW is the Grant Hill of college football...
I just don't see UT anywhere near the #4 position given their quarterback situation. Absolutely no experience at all to speak of with Mock and Young. I predict they will lose @A&M, @Oklahoma State, and versus Oklahoma, giving them a 9-3 regular season record. A&M has never lost a maroon out game, Oklahoma State played UT VERY close in Austin last season, and UT has a mental block versus OU.
I see UT winning 8-9 games this year. I think they will lose 3-4 of these games: @ Rice Kansas State Oklahoma @Iowa State Nebraska @ Oklahoma State @ Texas A&M
that would be awsome what year was it that year that Rice got over on UT last? it was within the last 10 years ?
I just don't see UT anywhere near the #4 position given their quarterback situation. Absolutely no experience at all to speak of with Mock and Young. I predict they will lose @A&M, @Oklahoma State, and versus Oklahoma, giving them a 9-3 regular season record. A&M has never lost a maroon out game, Oklahoma State played UT VERY close in Austin last season, and UT has a mental block versus OU. Dude, we upgraded our QB position from last year!! I see two major stumbling blocks for UT - the KSU and OU games. Unfortunately, they are back-to-back I think. KSU always gives us trouble and when their defense is on, they blitz the hell out of people. With the new QB's, that could be a problem. OU is just OU. I don't see the other games as too big a deal if we allow the offense to do what it can (ie, no playing conservative to protect a QB).
