CFN 2008 Pre-Preseason Rankings
No. 76 to 100
- 2008
Top 25 |
No. 26 to 50 |
No. 51 to 75 |
No. 101 to 119
- 2007 CFN Pre-Preseason Rankings
76. Southern Miss 2007 Record:
7-6
Going to bowl games and having winning records wasn't enough, so Jeff
Bower is gone and Larry Fedora is in. Finding a steady starting
quarterback will be the first order of business, but having Damion
Fletcher to hand off to will certainly help. The interior of the
offensive line has to be replaced as does the entire D line and good
defensive backs Brandon Sumrall and LeVance Richmond.
77. New Mexico 2007
Record: 9-4
Losing receivers Marcus Smith and Travis Brown will be a hit, but QB
Donovan Porterie still has Rodney Ferguson to hand off to. Will there be
any room to run with four starters gone off the O line? The secondary
will have to shine early with mega-losses on the front seven including
all-star end Tyler Donaldson.
78. Bowling Green 2007 Record:
8-5
If the team can get off the mat after the GMAC Bowl embarrassment to
Tulsa, it should be strong with QB Tyler Sheehan running a loaded
offense with all the skill players returning along with all the depth.
The issue early on could be on the line losing C Kory Lichtensteiger and
tackles Drew Nystrom and Kevin Huelsman. Nine starters are back on
defense including the entire secondary.
79. Marshall 2007 Record:
3-9
The Herd should come up with a big turnaround in a make-or-break season
for coach Mark Snyder. Step one in the improvement is getting back
superstar DE Albert McClellan from a knee injury to lead a veteran D
that stunk throughout 2007. Brian Anderson will get the first look at
quarterback, and he'll have plenty of help with the top skill players
back including TE Cody Slate. Losing C Doug Legursky off the line is
huge.
80. Hawaii 2007
Record: 12-1
This might not be pretty. Hawaii will still wing the ball around with
veteran backup Tyler Graunke ready to step in for Colt Brennan, but
losing all four starting receivers and head coach June Jones will mean a
major freefall from the success of the last two years. The defense has
to replace seven starters.
81. Florida Atlantic
2007 Record: 8-5
Led by QB Rusty Smith, the defending Sun Belt champions should have one
of the league's best attacks. Ten starters return on offense, while the
defense should be fantastic up front with six of the front seven back.
The secondary might be a little bit of an issue losing safeties Kris
Bartels and Taheem Aceveda, but Tavious Polo and Corey Small form the
league's best corner pair.
82. San Jose State 2007
Record: 5-7
Dick Tomey should have the defense rocking and rolling with just about
everyone coming back outside of top tackler Matt Castelo and top pickoff
man Dwight Lowery. The offense loses QB Adam Tafralis, but the running
game should be better. Four starters return from a very, very young
offensive line.
83. Troy 2007 Record: 8-4
Step one is replacing two-time Sun Belt Player of the Year Omar
Haugabook with Tanner Jones and Jamie Hampton fighting it out for the
starting quarterback gig. Step two is replacing three of the starters on
the defensive line while hoping someone can step up for star corner and
return man Leodis McKelvin and running mate Elbert Mack. LB Boris Lee
will be the early favorite for Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year.
84.
Navy 2007 Record:
8-5
New head man Ken
Niumatalolo isn't
going to change the formula, but he'll need some new playmakers to
emerge in the backfield with the loss of RBs Reggie Campbell, Zerbin
Singleton and bruiser Adam Ballard. QBs Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada and
Jarod Bryant are back, and they'll have to be even sharper with four
starters gone off the line. The defense should be better, especially in
the secondary.
85. Western Michigan 2007 Record:
5-7
The team showed tremendous potential over the second half of last year
including a win at Iowa. Now the expectations will be raised with almost
all the top skill players back including QB Tim Hiller and WR Jamarko
Simmons. The problem is on the line with both tackle and center Robbie
Krutilla gone. The defense was a disappointment, but it'll be
experienced with 11 returning starters, all seniors.
86. Wyoming 2007 Record:
5-7
After last year's mega-disappointment, there's hope for a quick
turnaround with the entire offensive line returning along with QB
Karsten Sween and RBs Devin Moore and Wynel Seldon. The defense has to
replace the starting corners and LBs Sean Claffey and John Prater, but
the entire line is back.
87. Syracuse 2007 Record:
2-10
Head coach Greg Robinson is still around, and he has a team full of
veteran. Now the production has to match the experience with QB Andrew
Robinson needing to step up and make everyone around him better. Losing
WR Taj Smith early to the NFL doesn't help, but Mike Williams is back.
The big key is the play of the lines getting three starters back on
offense and three on defense. The biggest hole is at safety with the
graduation of SS Dowayne Davis and FS Joe Fields.
88. Miami University
2007 Record: 6-7
The defending East champion should be even better if QB Daniel
Raudabaugh can take the offense by the horns. The receivers are in place
and they'll need to be fantastic with the running game sure to be an
issue early on. Nine starters return on defense including Clayton
Mullins, Joey Hudson and Caleb Bostic forming the MAC's best linebacking
corps.
89. Colorado State 2007 Record:
3-9
New head coach Steve Fairchild is fired up to try to restore the glory
at CSU, but he'll have some work to do needing to replace his top
receivers and QB Caleb Hanie. The running game should be fine with
Gartrell Johnson, Kyle Bell and Michael Myers working behind a veteran
line. The D loses six starters with the biggest hit coming on the D line
losing Blake Smith and Jesse Nading.
90. Nevada 2007 Record:
6-7
Last year might not have been the season the Wolf Pack might have likes,
but the nucleus is there to be among the nation's most explosive
offenses with Colin Kaepernick and Nick Graziano back to battle at
quarterback, and Luke Lippincott running the ball. The secondary will be
an issue early on, and the loss of tackling machine LB Ezra Butler will
be a problem.
91. Toledo 2007 Record: 5-7
Last year, it was simple. Offense really, really good. Defense really,
really bad. The three best offensive players, OT John Greco, RB Jalen
Parmele, and TE Chris Hopkins, won't be easily replaced, and the
quarterback situation has to be settled immediately with Aaron Opelt,
Clint Cochran and D.J. Lenehan battling for the job. The defense will
get all the attention, and if nothing else it'll be experienced with
eight starters returning.
92. Duke 2007 Record: 1-11
Does new head man David Cutcliffe have anyone to work with? Yup. Duke
can't replace a WR like Jomar Wright, but QB Thaddeus Lewis is a
playmaker and RB Requan Boyette has potential. The defense loses FS
Chris Davis. That's it. 19 players on the defensive two-deep are back,
but the much-ballyhooed tackle tandem of Vince Oghobaase and Ayanga
Okpokowuruk have to play up to the hype.
93. UTEP 2007 Record: 4-8
Last year's collapse (a yearly rite of passage around El Paso) could be
a case of growing pains as QB Trevor Vittatoe started to grow into the
job. Enough good players are gone off the offense, like RB Marcus Thomas
and WRs Lorne Sam and Joe West, to be concerned, but the defense should
be better even with the loss of star CB Quintin Demps.
94. UNLV 2007 Record: 2-10
You don't get better by losing linebackers Beau Bell and Bradley Niles,
but the defense should be better. The offense went through some major
growing pains, and living through the rough patches should pay off with
just about everyone returning. The receiving corps will be among the
best in Mountain West, but QB Travis Dixon has to do better at getting
everyone the ball.
95. Baylor 2007
Record: 3-9
Art Briles will try to do the impossible and make Baylor football
relevant, but he has a veteran group to hit the ground running with nine
starters returning on offense and six back on D. Blake Szymanski has to
show he can be the leader of the offense right away and a running back
has to emerge to provide some semblance of a ground game that hasn't
been there for a few years.
96. Temple 2007 Record:
4-8
After a major turnaround, and with head coach Al Golden still around,
Temple is one of the MAC's hot teams. Fullback Josh Bundy is gone.
That's it. All eleven starters are back on defense and ten return on an
offense that had its moments. Getting QB Adam DiMichele back and healthy
is a must, but Vaughn Charlton has the experience to push for the job.
97. Buffalo 2007 Record:
5-7
After a great stepping-stone season under Turner Gill, now Bulls might
be the favorites in the MAC ten starters returning on offense, only
losing C Jamey Richard, and with eight starters back on D. The offensive
nucleus of QB Drew Willy, RB James Starks and WR Naaman Roosevelt is the
best in the MAC outside of Central Michigan.
98. Northern Illinois 2007 Record: 2-10
New head man Jerry Kill should immediately turn around one of 2007's
most banged up teams. The defense gets everyone back including star DE
Larry English, while the offense can't help but be better with nine
starters returning. If NIU is as good as Kill's Southern Illinois teams
were at the lower level, this should be a MAC favorite.
99. Ohio 2007 Record: 6-6
You don't get better by losing RB Kalvin McRae. QB Theo Scott has to be
steady and the right side of the offensive line needs work. The defense
gets most of the top players back with seven starters returning, but the
inside will be an issue with three of the top tackles gone. The corner
tandem of Mark Parson and Julian Posey should be good.
100. San Diego State 2007 Record:
4-8
Will this finally be the year the ship is turned around under Chuck
Long? He won't have QB Kevin O'Connell to rely on anymore, but Brandon
Sullivan and Atiyyah Henderson lead a good backfield. The biggest
problem early on will be a line that loses four starters. The defense
had a mix of of very young and very old last year, and now if the
safeties and linemen Nick Osborn and Ornan Nwansi can be replaced, there
should be more production.
- 2008
Top 25 |
No. 26 to 50 |
No. 51 to 75 |
No. 101 to 119
- 2007 CFN Pre-Preseason Rankings