College Football Rankings: Preseason

Okay, so this might seem like cheating a bit, but I had rankings written down for a planned top-25 post that didn't happen until now... Because the blog didn't exist. Sue me. This is basically what I had before, though I edited a couple of comments slightly. Anyway, at the start of the year, this is how I saw the teams shaking out, with comments:

1) USC -- Duh. "Best team ever," round 7 billion. We'll see how it goes.
2) LSU -- Offensive question marks, but the defense will be stellar, with tons of all-around speed on both sides.
3) Michigan -- Basically the inverse of LSU - look for Henne, Hart, and co., to put up lots of points every week (ed - uh, oops).
4) West Virginia -- I'm even less certain about their D than for the Wolverines. Still, Steve Slaton and Pat White are pretty inarguably the best QB/RB tandem in the country.
5) Florida -- The Tim Tebow era begins. Some loss of talent, but Meyer has plenty to work with, and clearly can coach.
6) Texas -- Colt McCoy, round 2. Insert jokes about the impossibility of his name actually being Colt McCoy... NOW.
7) Oklahoma -- No more Adrian Peterson, but tons of talent in the trenches. Can Sam Bradford not suck? (ed - yes)
8) Cal -- Look for lots of 52-42 wins. DeSean Jackson gets the highlights, but Justin Forsett may be the best player on this team.
9) Wisconsin -- PJ Hill will eat you, your family, and all your pets. Good defense, good offense, but no standouts.
10) Ohio State -- Having a hard time differentiating between Wisky and tOSU in terms of who's better. Buckeyes have better defense. Badgers have better offense.
11) Virginia Tech -- ACC version of Ohio State. But their defense should win them a lot of games.
12) Georgia -- I don't think they'll win the SEC East, but they'll give Florida a good run of it first.
13) UCLA -- With pretty much everybody returning, this team will either be really good, or really disappointing.
14) Louisville -- Their scoring D was way out of line (better) than their total D last season. Still, tons of offense (sound familiar?).
15) Penn State -- Can Anthony Morelli stop throwing touchdowns to defensive backs? If so, this team will be very good.
16) Arkansas -- Darren McFadden is, of course, Humanity Advanced. Living proof that you CAN win 1 against 11.
17) Rutgers -- Shockingly good defense last season. Can they do it again? Ray Rice is really talented.
18) Tennessee -- Wide receivers? Check. QB? Probably. Fill in the rest on your own. Third-best team in the SEC East.
19) Auburn -- War Damn Eagle will struggle offensively all season, but their defense is absurdly fast (you could probably say this about 8 or 9 SEC teams, honestly).
20) Hawaii -- COLTBRENNANOMGZWTFZORSLOL. They'll sit here all year. Play a team with a pulse, please. Moving on.
21) Nebraska -- Cornhuskers and Texas A&M form clear 2nd-tier of Big 12. After that? Anybody's guess.
22) Texas A&M -- But I'll be damned if I know who's better between the two, really.
23) Florida State -- Bowden the Elder is older than dirt. But the day you see him finish with a losing season is approximately 14 years after he's dead.
24) Boise State -- Jared Zabransky is gone. Fortunately for the Broncos, Ian Johnson is still around. Ask Oklahoma if he's any good.
25) Duke -- Hey, if it's good enough for Steve Spurrier, it's good enough for me. (ed - I'm retarded, this joke wasn't funny then and it's not funny now - kept in for full disclosure)