Buckeyes Preseason #1
Posted in Buckeyes/NCAA on August 4th, 2006
For all of us who can’t wait for the College Football season to start, finally some news that doesn’t involve litigation and bail-bondsman. The first USA Today/Coaches Poll was released today, and it’s my Ohio State Buckeyes at #1. Some may look at that as a Kiss of Death, but not me. Think about it. The horrible system we are stuck with rewards a team for where they finished last year. Ohio State could lose a game, let’s say at Texas week 2, and not fall far from the top. Win out and they’ll still have a chance at the National Championship.
Now let’s look at another team I really like that isn’t getting the same respect. The Iowa Hawkeyes are at #17. The have a cake schedule, a SR. Quarterback(Drew Tate) and a total of 14 starters returning. In a rare night game in Iowa City, they get the Buckeyes on a Saturday Night after the Buckeyes deal with Texas in Austin and Penn State in Columbus. Not an easy trifecta to say the least. Looking at their 12 games, they’ll probably be big favorites in 10 of them, and depending on what the Buckeyes and Michigan Wolverines do it may be all 12. The problem for the Hawkeyes? It will take them 4 or 5 weeks to climpb the charts to get the help they need in the severely flawed BCS. Mark it down, you saw it here first. I like the Hawkeyes.
Looking at the rest of the Top 10, Texas sits at #2, too high for my liking after losing Vince Young. Notre Dame and USC are tied at #3. The Irish are going to be tough, but have a vicious schedule. USC might have a down year after all the success, if you think 2 losses is a “down” year.
Oklahoma sits at #5, but unfortunitely the vote was taken before QB Rhett Bomar was booted of the team for accepting payments for a job he wasn’t doing. For my part, I don’t think it is going to be as big of a deal as most others. Sure, they are probably out of National Title consideration, but they have Adrian Peterson and more than enough talent to get it going before they face Texas, and to make a run at the Big 12.
After Auburn at #6 is another intriguing team in my eyes, West Virginia. After whooping up on Georgia in the Sugar Bowl last season the Mountaineers return 8 on offense and play a cream puff schedule. There is no reason why W.V. won’t be undefeated at the end of the season, and could be one of those teams left out of the Fieta Bowl because of that schedule.
Florida, LSU and Florida State round out the Top 10, but none of these teams really impress me.
One thing is to be sure, it feels good to be talking about College Football again and August 31st can’t get here fast enough.
