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by Tom_Johnson from FOX 35

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My Preseason Top 10
Jun 24, 2008 | 10:20 AM
Category: Sports
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O.K... here's my preseason Top 10... what's yours look like?

(Click the underlined text for more on each team.)

 1. Ohio State -  Another "managable" schedule (except for USC in L.A.) in a mediocre "Big 1 & Little 10"  conference

 2. Georgia - Big time defense... fantastic offensive weapons (See Moreno, Knowshon)... but a KILLER schedule... toughest in the land.  Can they get through it unscathed?  Best team of this decade (record-wise) to have not played in the Nat'l Championship Game.

 3. Florida - Two words: Tim Tebow.  Another Heisman caliber season perhaps?  Two more words: Percy Harvin.  Can he steal Tebow's Heisman thunder this year?

 4. USC - Another great backfield... stout "D" and they play in the weak PAC-10.  Plus they're freakin' USC... they're always good these days.

 5.  Oklahoma - Too many weapons to not be in this spot and a great coach.  But will they find a way to blow it late again in the suddenly strong Big 12 South?

 6. Clemson - Probably the best backfield in college football with James Davis and C.J. Spiller (i.e. - "Thunder" and "Lightning") running the ball and Cullen Harper throwing it.  However, if Tommy Bowden finds a way to sink below expectations yet again... look for Tigers fans to riot in Death Valley and run him out on a rail.

 7.  Missouri - QB Chase Daniel is so much fun to watch.  If you did not get a chance to see the Tigers last year... try this year.  They also reloaded from losing superstar TE Martin Rucker with another really talented big TE named Chase Coffman.  (What's with all the Chase's on this team?) Great team... great coach... they'll be "chase-ing" another title run.

 8. BYU - A ton of talent... plays in a weak Mountain West conference... toughest games are at Washington and home against a transitioning UCLA at home... both early.  All the pieces are there for a run at a 12-0 schedule. 

 9.  West Virginia - Can they continue to thrive without former head coach Rich Rodriguez and his system?  I'm not a believer frankly without QB Pat White and Steve Slaton.  But... Rodriguez left a LOT of good players behind and new head coach Bill Stewart does know the system.

10. Auburn - Tommy Tuberville always seems to find a way to rise above expectations.  Despite having yet another offensive coordinator... I think the Tigers new system shakes things up and gives them advantage enough to have a resurgent year.  ** I put AU here in place of LSU (who are on a lot of Top 10 lists) because of LSU losing QB Ryan Perriloux is gonna be just too much for the Bayou Bengals to replace.

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Member Comments Total Comments: 8
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jvanfleet read my blog view my photos
Jun 25, 2008 | 8:40 AM

#1 - TIE - OKLAHOMA SOONERS AND FLORIDA GATORS

#3 - NORTHEASTERN STATE UNIVERSITY

#4 - GEORGIA

I'M GOING TO VEGAS AND BETTIN' IT ALL BABY!!
Cromagnonwoman read my blog view my photos
Jun 25, 2008 | 2:03 PM

You can never count out Florida State.
Ohio State?!! Arent they the Buffalo Bills of the NCAA? They choke so much on the big game, the entire team had to learn the Heimlich Manuver.
Get off the hype wagon and give another team the #1 spot.
I agree with jvanfleet on the #1 choice.
wrhsouth
Jun 26, 2008 | 4:41 AM

As a FSU fan, you can count them out. They need to prove their worth after 3 years of sub-par football. Granted, I'm still going to games this year, and wearing my Garnet/Gold with pride, but they have a long way to go.
As for the top 10, I can't find much fault with the list. Glad to see your not a blind follower like those guys at NBC about Notre Dame. Here's to a golden 0-12!
Oryguncb read my blog view my photos
Jun 26, 2008 | 12:07 PM

Florida in the top 10...thats wishful thinking at its best...but the List is a nice try...But USC is #1
Kevin_Holden read my blog
Jun 27, 2008 | 3:31 AM

One of the great things about college football is how so many great teams get stopped from their goals by none other than their rival schools.

When you put Oklahoma on your top 10, the first thing that comes to my mind is Texas. Haven't the Horns been just a little too quiet since the '05 championship game? I get the sense Texas might just send the Sooners swooning with an October spanking at the State Fair in Dallas.

You list Auburn, and the first thing I think of is Alabama and the pure hatred of the Iron Bowl.

You list Clemson and I think South Carolina (who won't be great, but managed to get both schools kicked out of bowl games in 2004 after that huge brawl).

You list BYU and... uh... frankly, when I see BYU, it makes me think we should allow Mountain West and WAC schools to pay their players... think THAT would level the playing field? How'd you like your Heisman Trophy winner to come from The University of Wyoming?! :)

Can't argue about the top though... Ohio State gets a leg up because their foil/natural rival Michigan is somewhere lost at sea. I'm already begging our management to send me to Jacksonville for Georgia-Florida (The World's Largest Show The Rest Of The Football World That The SEC Would Make Minced Meat Of Your Conference Party).

Something inside me (that would be my gut, made bigger after another double-dip cone at Bruster's this week) tells me Clemson, West Virginia, and possibly Auburn are going to underwhelm. I might replace them with Kansas (ask the Jayhawks how they like the BCS right now?) & Wisconsin (tons of talent and, lik
jvanfleet read my blog view my photos
Jun 30, 2008 | 11:58 AM

i will always listen to what kevin has to say, because if i don't that's like him going outside today around 4pm in a speedo and saying "here's to the sunshine all week baby!" after i tell him the forecast......

now about that longhorn state.....

dallas is by far the biggest game of the year. eddie george (o.s.u.) was on abc one year from the sidelines of the game and said ohio state / michigan had NOTHING on this rivalry.....even tom johnson tries to tell me jacksonville is a bigger rivalry.....HA!

so an upset is always possible. this game has always been a game of emotion and it doesn't matter what the ranking is....sit in the stands just once and you will see that right away.

really my first blog is a "brotherly love talking smack cause i need to see some live college football real soon or i will go crazy blog" kevin so i guess i won't go to vegas and bet it all....

so tom sorry about UGA VI, and the world series....but i still think goergia ends up no higher than #4 and if they can somehow squeek out a higher ranking that appalachian state than i will buy you an UGA VII ice cream. :)

jim
Tom_Johnson read my blog view my photos
Jul 1, 2008 | 2:56 AM

The beatiful thing about sports and college football especially... is that you really never know what's gonna happen. Who thought App. State would beat Michigan in the big house? No one. Who thought Pitt would beat West Virginia? No one. Who thought Stanford would beat USC in L.A.? No one. Who thought Georgia would end up #2? No one. But as the cliche goes: "That's why they play the games" and I can't wait for this season to begin!
Tom_Johnson read my blog view my photos
Jul 8, 2008 | 8:50 AM

I have to correct a mistake I made. I'm not quite sure why I thought Pat White left West Virginia... HE DID NOT. It does not change my mind about the Mountaineers though. Noel Devine is a great replacement at RB for Steve Slaton... but there is still too much change there for me to put them any higher than #9. I could and perhaps will be wrong... but I call 'em like I see 'em!
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Tom_Johnson

Tom Johnson co-anchors FOX 35's morning newscast from 5-9 a.m. He is a veteran newsman with 18 years of experience. He came to FOX 35 in September 2003 after nearly two years at WOIO-TV where he anchored both news and sports and also hit the streets as a news reporter. Before that Tom anchored the morning news at WSPA-TV. Tom also worked at WIS-TV, WJCL-TV and began his career at WSAV-TV in 1990. Before that first job in Savannah, Tom attended the Henry W. Grady College of Journalism at the University of Georgia from 1986-1990. Tom has covered a lot of major stories in his career. They include: Central Florida's 2004 "Summer of Storms," the trial of Susan Smith in Union, SC; the 1994 crash of a US Air jet in Charlotte, NC and the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. He was actually in Centennial Olympic Park when the bomb blast happened and eventually covered the search for accused bomber Eric Rudolph in the mountains of North Carolina. Tom has been honored for his work with 4 Emmy awards, 10 Emmy nominations and nearly a dozen other awards. Most recently he won a 2006 Suncoast Emmy Award for Education reporting at FOX 35. In 2005 he won a prestigious Edward R. Murrow award for feature reporting at FOX 35. In his spare time, he loves to read and is an AVID football fan. He closely follows the Georgia Bulldogs and the Washington Redskins. Tom is married with two young sons. He and his family are overjoyed to be in Central Florida.

Member Since: 7/20/2006


 

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