Below I count down my 2010 predictions for the Top 20! Be sure to get my college football picks and my free college football picks via our newsletter.
20. NORTH CAROLINA
The Tar Heels have a lot of parts and a lot of experience. This team returns 19 starters from a year ago, and this may be their best team in a long time. The defense certainly rates out higher than the offense, so having 10 back on offense may be good, but this offense scored 20 points or less in six games last year, which will put a lot of pressure on the defense if they can’t move the ball into the endzone. There is another huge challenge here for this club. The Heels will face nine teams on their schedule that had winning records last season, so they are going to be tested week in and week out. That schedule keeps my prospects for them in check.
19. AUBURN
Auburn may have upped expectations with their 5-0 start, but this team wasn’t ready to be a player a year ago, but winning eight and a Bowl game finish, turned it into a respectable season, but more is expected here than respectable. The Tigers have 15 starters returning, and had a major impacting recruitting class that should help fill a few voids. The good news is that this team will play just four on the road, while they get eight at home, but they won’t be easy because within this tilted schedule lies eight teams that went to Bowl games a year ago. This team finished 8-5 a year ago, and with enough experience and a home dominating schedule, nine wins are certainly doable here.
18. GEORGIA TECH
Paul Johnson’s option was supposed to be a joke when he brought it to the ACC. Many believed that was good with a Navy team that played mostly a cupcake schedule, but the speed and athleticism in the ACC would shut it down. Well the Jackets played eight ACC games a year ago and put up 30+ in six of them, so that arguement is gone. What the Jackets couldn’t do is stop anyone, so they now have former ACC Coach of the Year Al Groh handling the defense. If Groh can work his magic with the defense, this rating will be too low, and the Jackets will be a top 10 team, but for now this is where I see them.
17. PITTSBURGH
This team saw its season really go up in smoke when a missed extra point turned a Big east Championship and BCS Bowl bid, into a nightmare. So the Panthers pick up the pieces, and return to the gridiron with a chip on their shoulder. This team has a lot of playmakers and a Heisman Tropphy potential running back, and some big time players on defense. They open the season at Utah, never easy, and that game may show if this team has the merit to be a player, as they were a year ago.
16. FLORIDA STATE
It’s hard to look at the Seminoles and know you won’t see Bobby Bowden on the sidelines, he is a legendary, great coach. The offense is loaded, and QB Christian Ponder despite only playing nine games a year ago because of injury, still managed to lead the ACC in total offense. The defense has question marks, and the fact that they not only play a tough ACC schedule, they have to go to Oklahoma to face the Sooners followed by a home tilt with never easy BYU. Then the season fnale is vs. the Gators. So although Ponder is arguably one of the top QBs in NCAAF this season, and posess a loaded offense, it won’t be easy for the Noles.
15. ARKANSAS
Bobby Petrino has a lot to smile about when he looks at a loaded offense led by Heisman Trophy candidate Ryan Mallett. Mallet had an outstanding season last year that led to some post-season awards, and he could be chasing the biggest trophy of all this season. The Razorbacks scored 40+ in seven of their last nine games, and there is no reason to believe they will be slowed down this year. The problem has been on the other side of the ball, where Arkansas allowed 30+ in four of their five losses. If they find a way to keep the opposing team from scoring with them, they can move up into the top 10.
14. WISCONSIN
You can almost always pencil in the Badgers for a Bowl bid as they have now been to eight straight. The question that remains is will that be a big time Bowl, or in Wisconsin terms, just another Bowl? This team has the talent for the top 25, and they will definetly be riding an easy schedule that contains just three teams that had winning records a year ago. The big game is going to in their seventh game when the Badgers, potentially 6-0, will square off with the Buckeyes at home. The talent here and the rather easy schedule by Big-10 standards dictates that a 10-win season is within reach, and if they take down Ohio State at home, much bigger things could be in store.
13. IOWA
The Hawkeyes were a disgrace last season on offense. They finished No. 10 in the Big-10 in scoring, had no running game, and their total offense was No. 10 as well. Despite the misgivings on offense, the Iowa defense was so strong they went on to an 11-2 season, culminating with a Bowl win over Georgia Tech. The defense returns eight so you know they will be strong. QB Ricky Stanzi and RB Jewel Hampton are both healthy, which should bolster the offense. The schedule bodes well for the Hawkeyes, who catch Penn State, Ohio State and Wisconsin all at home. They will be in the mix in the Big-10.
12. USC
Pete Carroll out, Lane Kiffin in. Carroll left a mess behind, but Lane Kiffin spent the first six years here with him, so the transition should be quite calm. The Trojans were handed probation and loss of scholarships, so players defected, but before you feel sorry for them, the talent pool remains deep. The transition will be eased by the fact that the Trojans’ first five opponents combined for a 21-41 record a year ago, but it gets tougher from there. This team isn’t the dominating force it was the past several years, but they are good enough, especially in a weak Pac-10 to find themselves in the hunt for the top 10.
11. OKLAHOMA
While the injury to Sam Bradford last season cost the Sooners dearly, it will certainly help them this year. Replacement QB and freshamn Landry Jones passed for over 3,000 yards and 26 TDs which topped the freshamn class in NCAAF. The offense brings back 10 starters, and will certainly be equipped to get into the endzone. The Sooners’ five losses were a shock, but they faced one of the toughest schedules in the country, and were within a combined 12 points in four of the five losses. The schedule is never easy in the Big-12, but they open with their first three games at home, and missing from the schedule this season is Nebraska. The Sooners could crack the top 10.
10. MIAMI, FLA
Jacory Harris is fragile, and the Hurricanes fate will reside on his ability to avoid the constant injuries that plagued him a year ago. Despite of all that, the Canes’ nine wins were their most in four years, and the program appears to be back on an up-tick. The schedule features teams that finished a combined 92-61 a year ago, so there won’t be a break there. The Canes’ front side of their defense will be the strength of the team. They held six teams to under 20 points a year ago, but at the same time they allowed 124 total points in their four losses. That is 31 points per game, and a repeat this year will make this rating look too high.
9. VIRGINIA TECH
Will this be the changing of the guard for the Hokies? Virginia Tech has claimed 10+ wins for six straight seasons under Frank Beamer. The hallmark has been defense and special teams. Something may be changing here in Hokie land as the offense is likely to take center stage as they are returning just five on defense. The QB is Tyrod Taylor and he is definately in the top five as far as NCAA QB’s go for 2010, then throw in Ryan Williams and his 1,600+ yards from a year ago, and the Hokies will score plenty. If Frank Beamer works his special teams magic and finding athletes, putting them in the right spot defensively, the Hokies will become a national title threat.
8. TEXAS
The Horns thought they were going to win the National Championship last year, and then it happened. Colt McCoy went down with an injury, and so did the Texas hopes. Texas will be doing a lot more running this year, and expect the defense to be very good. This team will learn just how good they are fairly early as games three, five, and six are at Texas Tech, in Dallas vs. Oklahoma, and on the road to face Nebraska. If the Horns can come away from those three at 2-1 or better, count them in the top five looking at a shot for a BCS Title game.
7. TCU
TCU is 23-3 over the last two seasons, and only Boise State held them from perfection in their Bowl game a year ago. In the last seven years, three times the season came down to a Bowl game vs. Boise State. This team is loaded once again, as the seniors double in number from last year’s team that ran the regular season table, and they have an experienced, very good QB in Andy Dalton. The Frogs will be in the BCS hunt again, and the road travelled is friendly, as the only real toughy is at Utah and they get Air Force and BYU at home. Can the Frogs leap over Boise State and finally get a Bowl bid vs. a BCS Conference team? We’ll see.
6. NEBRASKA
What the Cornhuskers did a year ago defensively may put that defense in the top five of all-time in NCAAF. The Big-12 is loaded with top flight QB’s and big time offenses, couldn’t matchup with the defense the Huskers put on the field. Despite playing many big time offenses, the Huskers allowed just one team to top the 20-point mark. Just a couple years ago this team was allowing nearly 40 points per game! The Huskers’ schedule is loaded with non-conference creampuffs vs. the likes of Western Kentucky, Idaho, Washington and South Dakota State and they also don’t face Oklahoma. They have 10 back on offnse and seven defenders, it all adds up to BCS watch.
5. OREGON
The Ducks have a lot of turmoil, but the biggest news in all of it is the suspension of QB Jeremiah Masoli for the season. The Ducks broke through last season and won the Pac-10, but laid an egg in the Rose Bowl where they were smacked around by Ohio State. This team was loaded with juniors a year ago, and have 17 starters returning, and a boat load of talent – especially on offense. The Ducks have two potentially capebale QB’s in Nate Costa and Darron Thomas, and they don’t need either to be great, just good, because the Pac-10 is not strong and the Ducks have virtually everything else. The deciding game will come early, and we will know if Oregon is a player in the BCS after they travel to Tennesee in game two. A loss will certainly hold them back from this lofty rating, but a win could keep them here all season.
4. FLORIDA
After a storied career at Florida, Tim Tebow is now gone, so the Gators are done right? Hardly. The Gators boast talented reserves ready to step up, and I don’t look for them be on the fall. Perhaps the best news is that the pressure may be off, because although expectations are always high, the fans have a sense it will be hard to expect what they have seen the last few years. John Brantley has a big arm and all the ingredients to be a star, and he will operate with a speedy, talented backfield and a strong offensive line. The biggest obstacle will be a trip to Alabama October 2. If the Gastors somehow get out of there with a win – look out, they could be defending again in the BCS Championship game.
3. OHIO STATE
Terrelle Pryor came to Ohio State billed as a QB that would lead Ohio St. back to the promised land. So far, he has graded out an incomplete. If you watched him vs. Oregon in the Rose Bowl, you would say he is on his way, but if you watched him vs. Purdue last year, you’d say “uh oh” if your a Bucvkeyes fan. His problem isn’t talent, it is consistency. If you’re a believer that this is his year start to finish, then this ranking is too low. If you believe he will crash and burn in at least one game, then this ranking is too high. The Buckeyes are stacked and loaded to make a run at the BCS Championship, but in the end, get there or not, win or lose, the storyline is likely to revolve around Pryor.
2. ALABAMA
The Tide broke an 18-year drought at the top of the NCAA Football world with their win over Texas last year. Do they have the motivation and the talent to do it again? The Tide lost nine defenders from last year’s team, but what they kept on offense, with two big time running backs and a more experienced QB, this team isn’t going to fall far – if at all. Remember last year’s team had a new QB, new RBs, a new offensive line and still won it all. I wouldn’t worry about the defensive losses, much as last year’s offense, there is plenty of talent to fill the losses. The schedule has a few obstacles in playing at LSU and Arkansas, as well as facing the Gators and Penn State at home. If they manage to run the table, look for them to be odds-on favorite to do it again.
1. BOISE STATE
Ok, I’m sure most are looking at this and saying Boise State No. 1? Who are you kidding? The Broncos finished unbeaten last year at 14-0, and are a single point from being 27-0 the last two years, and don’t be surprised if they go into their Bowl game 1 point away from being 40-0 for three years. It’s hard to picture a program from a non-BCS conference winning it all, but there is a reality to it all. The Broncos should runaway from the WAC as a team that has compiled a 94-11 mark the last eight seasons and arguably, has their best team ever. They will bring back 22 of 24 starters from a team that beat a previously unbeaten TCU team. The Broncos will be watched by all when they face Virginia Tech and Oregon State because if they take care of business in those two, they are going to be hard to keep out of the National Championship game. This team is loaded, has all the excperience, a big time coach, and experience and depth everywhere. The big shocker was when this team beat Oklahoma in a Bowl game no one expected, but the biggest shock will be when they win it all this season!
Tags: 2010 College Football Picks, College Football Picks 2010, College Football Picks Top 20, Preseason Top 20 College Football Picks, Top 20 College Football Picks
