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6/22 Roundtable - The No. 5 Team Is ...
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LSU RB Charles Scott
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CollegeFootballNews.com
Posted Jun 22, 2009
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If Florida, Texas, Oklahoma and USC are the top four teams going into the season, who's No. 5? It's the Monday topic in the CFN Daily Roundtable Discussion.
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CFN Daily Roundtables
 June
22
The No. 5 Team Will Be ... ?
Over the next several weeks, as part of the CFN 2009 Preview, we'll
examine some of the key questions going into the year with a
daily discussion of the big topics.
Pete
Fiutak,
CFN
Yes, I'm part of
the problem. You can check me out at
twitter.com/CFN_Fiu and find
out future roundtable topics and other random musings.
Q:
After Florida, Texas, Oklahoma and USC, who's
No. 5?
A: Everyone is in love with Ole
Miss, and rightly so because of the schedule, the defensive line, and an
emerging superstar quarterback in Jevan Snead. But if we're figuring out
who the fifth best team is going into the season, I'll probably take
another team from the SEC West: LSU.
Years of great recruiting
classes have stocked the shelves in Baton Rouge, and while an eight-win
season with a mediocre offense isn't going to cut it, but the lines are
going to be fantastic, Jordan Jefferson is a good-looking quarterback
who'll add even more of a rushing element to the mix, and the receivers
are among the best in America. The defense gets coordinator John Chavis
from Tennessee, and while it won't be back to national title form, it
should be more active and more consistent.
My other choices for
the potential No. 5 slot going into the season.
- Oklahoma State.
The offense will be unstoppable, while the defense will be athletic and
more consistent. Teams will have to put up 40 points-plus to stay with
the Cowboys.
- Oregon. It's all about the running game. Jeremiah
Masoli has to keep up the production and the momentum from the end of
last year.
- Virginia Tech. I think the Hokies will lose the
season opener to Alabama, but this should be Frank Beamer's best team in
years.
- Ole Miss. I'm not completely on the bandwagon, but that
defensive line is so good and the offense has so much potential that the
Rebels deserve a long look at the fifth slot.
- Georgia. This is
my sleeper-not-really-a-sleeper to watch out for. The Dawgs have an
improved O line and the holes on both sides of the ball has been
patched.
Richard
Cirminiello,
CFN
Q:
After Florida, Texas, Oklahoma and USC, who's No. 5?
A:
Duke. Oops, I got caught channeling Steve Spurrier there for a moment
when if comes to preseason rankings.
What I love about this
question is that there’s an obvious line of demarcation after those
first four powerhouses. Yeah, you can find flaws in each of these
programs, even the Gators, but no one has more talent or fewer glaring
weaknesses. I have no doubts these are the four most complete teams
heading into the season.
I’m going to take a process of
elimination approach to this topic. First off, Boise State will be
fantastic out of the WAC, and the best of the non-BCS’ers, but I’m not
ready to put them at No. 5, so that eliminates all but the six main
conferences.
The Big East doesn’t have a contender, and out of
the ACC, I’m just not sold that Virginia Tech is a bona fide national
championship contender. That quest could end on the opening weekend. Now
we’re down to four conferences. You can forget the Pac-10, which can
only serve up Cal and Oregon as the next best thing to USC. Ditto the
Big 12, which boasts Oklahoma State, but the Cowboys aren’t the league’s
third top 5 program. All that’s left standing is the Big Ten and the
SEC. More specifically, Ohio State, Penn State, and Alabama.
The
Buckeyes and the Nittany Lions are a toss-up. Both have issues related
to graduations. It won’t matter, though, because my vote for No. 5 goes
to Alabama. While it’s not a layup, I do think it’s hard to argue with
the second best program from the nation’s premier conference. Sure, the
offense has plenty of work to do, but the defense, special teams, and
coaching are fantastic, which will carry the team until the big showdown
at Ole Miss on Oct. 10. A prolific offense won’t be needed to survive in
the early going, so it’ll have time to develop under new QB Greg McElroy
and new feature back Mark Ingram.
Matthew
Zemek, CFN
Q:
After Florida, Texas, Oklahoma and USC, who's No. 5?
A:
Well, preseason polls are for the birds, but if one has to make a preseason judgment, Ohio State appears to be a good fit at No. 5. As long as their older, wiser quarterback—Mr. Pryor—doesn’t run out of bounds two yards short of the first down marker in open space, USC linebackers will have a tough time getting the Buckeyes off the field on Sept. 12 in Columbus.
Am I getting way ahead of myself (and the season) by saying such things? Sure. Then again, that’s what preseason polls force college football observers to do, and that’s why they poison the well for a sport that can’t manage to get out of its own way on far too many occasions.
Jon Miller,
Publisher, HawkeyeNation.com
Q:
After Florida, Texas, Oklahoma and USC, who's No. 5?
A: Virginia Tech is in a
position to have a great, great season and be on the outside rail for a
run at a national championship. They play in the right conference, and
while they have some challenging non-conference games, I think they
might be able to afford and early loss, as long as its just one loss and
as long as they don't get blown out, and still be in the mix at the end
of the year.
While I agree that the first four teams are going to
occupy the first four slots in the polls, I tend to prefer to rank teams
before the start of the year based on where I think they will wind up at
the end of the regular season, and I don't forsee USC being in that
mix. The other three? Yes, I think they will be there...And I think
Virginia Tech will be in that group, too.
Hunter Ansley,
Publisher,
DraftZoo.com
Q:
After Florida, Texas, Oklahoma and USC, who's No. 5?
A: This
makes me seem like a bit of a hypocrite, but I’m
going with Alabama.
I mean preseason polls are more worthless
than Spencer Pratt, but both exist and I’ll
choose to tolerate the polls.
On paper, Alabama looks like the safest bet for the fifth spot
in the top five.
They’ve got nine starters back on a defense that really turned
some heads last season.
Losing Rashad Johnson will affect the defense more than
some Bama fans want to admit, but the run D will be insane.
Terrence Cody is built like an aircraft carrier and could
be the most dominant defender in the nation.
Then there’s the offensive line.
Although they lost some incredible players, the talent is
deep. Wide receiver
Julio Jones is going to be a year better, which is hard to
believe after his stellar freshman season.
And the running game is always a strength when Nick Saban
is wearing the headset.
Of course, trying to predict what will happen in 2009 is pure
speculation at this point, and the only thing these polls can
base their opinions is 2008.
And judging by that standard, Alabama is clearly worthy
of a lofty ranking. They
marched through the regular season unscathed in the toughest
conference in the country.
And although they did lose their last two games, one was
to the eventual national champion while another came at the
hands of the nation’s only undefeated team in a game in which
their best player was suspended.
Not a bad resume’ heading into the fall.
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