Preseason Blog Poll Ballot

by user Leftyloon

It's that time of year again. Children are going back to school, the days are slowly getting shorter, and the NFL is taunting its fans with preseason football. Its also time for predictions. Around this time of year, everyone is an expert, tossing around bold predictions and the like. I am no different, except that my predictions are here for all to read. That being said, here is my preseason Blog Poll Ballot. First a few things:

1) I ranked teams on how good I think they are, not what kind of record they will finish with

2) I really have no idea what I'm doing-- aside from believing USC will reload, Arkansas and Pitt will surprise, West Virginia and Notre Dame will disappoint, I really am not sure what to expect this season

3) Who is the 3rd best team in the Pac 10? In my opinion, USC and Cal are easly 1 and 2, but I have no idea what to expect from everyone else. Without further adieu, here's the ballot.

1. Southern Cal-- picking up where they left off

2. Auburn-- Kenny Irons, sleeper Heisman candidate?

3. Iowa-- solid point differential belied their mediocre record

4. Miami-- bowl loss a fluke

5. Texas-- I think they'll miss that Vince Young fellow

6. Ohio State-- offense will be good, but where's the D?

7. Louisville-- the other Bush will shine this year

8. Virginia Tech-- got a little feeling this could be similar to 2001-2003 when VT started out highly ranked and sank like a stone once the schedule toughened up

9. Georgia-- always seem to be in the top 10

10. Notre Dame-- be very wary of the Jackets on Labor Day weekend

11. Florida-- killer schedule

12. Cal-- big test opening up in Knoxville

13. Arkansas-- sleeper

14. Florida State-- bold prediction: won't lose 5 games this season

15. Pitt-- sleeper #2

16. Oklahoma-- not buying them as a legitimate national threat

17. Michigan-- also won't lose 5 games again

18. LSU-- Miles awayfrom where they were under Saban

19. Clemson-- will they win 10 games? my man Frank says yes, I disagree

20. West Virginia-- sell, sell, sell

21. Utah-- best of the mids

22. Texas A&M-- time for a rebound

23. Purdue-- Joe Tiller won't go for consecutive losing seasons

24. Boise State-- fun to watch

25. Colorado-- will win the Big 12 North (again)

Date

Tue 08/15/06, 3:43 pm EST

The sharkDraft Pick

1230 days ago

Score 0

Don't underestimate Ohio State's D. It will be a lot better than you apparently think it will be.

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DeuelioJV Squad

1229 days ago

Score 0

I've got a hard time thinking that Colorado is better than Oregon or ASU. Hey, we'll get a chance to see on Sept. 16 when ASU goes plays the Buffs. There are several schools on your list that you have ahead of the Ducks that I disagree with, but fun to read nonetheless.

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LeftyloonJV Squad

1229 days ago

Score 0

Losing all those 'backers will have a profound impact on Ohio State's D I believe. I think the Buffs will do quite well under Hawkins, although about 3 teams could win the Big 12 North (Iowa St. and Neb the other 2). People have been high on ASU since Koetter got there, but when will they learn to play defense? Oregon could be quite good, but I think the loss of Kellen Clemens, even though they won without him last year they were not the same team, will be significant.

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IcemanvtWaterboy

1228 days ago

Score 1

1) I ranked teams on how good I think they are, not what kind of record they will finish with

This is BS. What's the point of putting out a preseason list based on... nothing. Like the Virginia Tech comment. You think they're the 8th best team but they're going to sink like a stone in the second half of the season. I'd be just fine with finishing 8th, actually pretty happy, but this doesn't make any sense.

It's nothing personal, but I really can't stand people who do preseason rankings based on how good teams are right now, when right now, they haven't done jack to deserve whatever rank people associate with them. Take, for example, Notre Dame. They happened to lose the last game they actually played against a quality opponent, but they're expected to improve based on what exactly?

When the AGM poll was up, I was tempted to fill the poll with WAC, MAC and Sun Belt teams because right now, they're all tied with the powerhouses, if you go on how teams are right now. If you go by how you think the season will go, that's a different animal altogether.

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FriskysmanVarsity Captain

1228 days ago

Score 0

Living near Columbus, all I hear on the radio is, "We don't rebuild; we reload." We shall see. I, for one, have my doubts. But if the defense can hold anything at all, the Ohio State O will light people up.

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