karen lotz;449384 wrote:Right, I wasn't agreeing with him at all. Could just be part of ESPN trying to hype up OSU/Miami.

Kinda like NBC trying to hype up all ND games huh?

centralbucksfan;449768 wrote:Kinda like NBC trying to hype up all ND games huh?

Yes because NBC typically comes out and has teams ranked 20 spots too high.



And I do see and understand the

karen lotz;449773 wrote:Yes because NBC typically comes out and has teams ranked 20 spots too high.



D

So your saying Miami is 20 spots to high? And of course in 2012...they'll be top 5, right?

centralbucksfan;449778 wrote:So your saying Miami is 20 spots to high? And of course in 2012...they'll be top 5, right?

Possibly. More than likely they will be a FCS program.

A few teams I don't agree with, but you'll have that. There's a couple on mine people don't agree with.

1. Alabama: The defending National Champions return many of their offensive starters, including Heisman winner Mark Ingram. Can Julio Jones stay healthy and show the country what we’ve been waiting for? Nick Saban will have his hands full with a depleted defense. Luckily for the Rolling Tide, Saban has a knack for reloading instead of rebuilding.



2. Ohio State: The Buckeyes get it done with defense, but the tide has turned, and now the offense is the more experienced group. Can Terrelle Pryor take the next step and become a Heisman candidate on one of the nation’s elite squads? Is this the year Ohio State gets back to winning the big one?



3. Boise State: Coming off an undefeated season and quite possibly their highest preseason ranking ever, the Broncos may have what it takes to bust the BCS. A win over VaTech early in the season may be enough to keep them atop of the rankings all year. If they can go unblemished, watch out.



4. Texas Christian: Will the Horned Frogs use the momentum of last year to keep themselves in the National title hunt? Going undefeated doesn’t seem to be much of a stretch once you look at the 2010 schedule. Last year’s loss to Boise may hurt them shall they both go undefeated.



5. Texas: Colt McCoy, wait… He finally graduated. But just as Colt made the transition from Young easier than anticipated, Gilbert could do the very same. The Longhorns have to replace several key players from last year’s squad. They will need more production from their stable of running back’s to replace the yardage they’re so used to McCoy giving them.



6. Florida: The Gators must replace A LOT of production, but if there is anybody that can do it, it’s Urban Meyer. The Gators may have more of a vertical game this year, but one thing if for certain, speed WILL kill. The winner of the Bama/UF game may find themselves in the National Championship game. One last thing… Tim Tebow.



7. Oregon: Had their not been turmoil and offseason issues, the Ducks would have found themselves much higher. With 19 returning starters, they will be one of the more experienced teams in the nation. However, can they get the production they’re used to seeing from the quarterback position?



8. Wisconsin: I must have jumped in a time machine back to the Barry Alvarez days. It’s been awhile since a Wisconsin team ranked among the top 10. The Badgers snuck up on people last year, and they could possibly disappoint this year with such a high ranking. But I do know this much, the big uglies will be opening holes up for John Clay at ease this year.



9. Nebraska: Is Big Red back? The Cornhuskers may have what it takes to sneak up on the powerhouses of the Big 12 (as we know it) while they break new quarterbacks in. If they can get consistent performances from Zac Lee, they could be the dark horse in the National Championship title hunt.



10. Iowa: Will the Hawkeyes find the few plays here and there to make the 2-3 game difference like they did last year. You can’t argue against their success of last year, but how confident can you be in their ability to pull games out like they did last year?



11. Miami FL: The Canes are on the rise. They will get tested early (Ohio State) and often in the ACC. The defense will be fast. The swagger will be there. But can Harris reduce the mistakes to become one of the nation’s elite signal callers?



12. North Carolina: Butch Davis has built himself one stellar defensive crew. The Tarheels defense may give people fits all year long. But will that be enough in the ACC? TJ Yates must improve and lead this team if they want to find themselves in a BCS game.



13. Virginia Tech: The Hokies may challenge the Crimson Tide for the best 1-2 punch in the backfield if Evans is fully healthy. They must reload on defense if they want to win the ACC (which may turn out to be the best race in college football). Taylor’s improvement is the difference between BCS and 3rd best in the ACC.



14. Oklahoma: No team lost more playmakers to the NFL Draft than Oklahoma. Bob Stoops is blessed with the opportunity to reload once again. The Sooners are rich in talent and may have the biggest chip on their shoulder. A date with Texas may set the stage in the Big 12.



15. Southern California: Lane Kiffin may have his hands full this year in trying to get back to where USC is so used to being. But couldn’t the same be said for the USC fans in relation to Kiffin being their new HC? The talent is there, no question about it. But do all the puzzle pieces come together?



16. West Virginia: The Mountaineers return a lot of starters. However, it comes down to one player—Geno Smith. Depending upon his production, this team has the ability to be playing in a BCS game or on the outside looking in to the top 25.



17. South Carolina: This is the team I’m most interested in watching throughout the year. The Gamecocks return a lot of starters. If Garcia and the defense can meet expectations, they could find themselves challenging Florida for the SEC East crown.



18. Arkansas: The Razorbacks may have the most potent offense in the SEC this year, as well as one of the best quarterbacks. They’ll score points and play at their pace, but can the defense step it up and allow for them to make some real noise in the SEC?



19. Georgia Tech: This may be a bit low, but I think the NFL Draft impacts them enough to be passed up by a team or two in the ACC. Paul Johnson is a good coach, but he doesn’t get his 3rd ACC Coach of the Year Award.



20. Missouri: It seems like each year a team outside the top 25 puts the pieces together for a nice run. I don’t think they reach the level of success as the past few teams, but this is my dark horse team. Gary Pinkel returns a lot of starters from an 8-4 team. Gabbert has one more year of experience and may be ready to become one of the Big 12’s elite signal callers. If the defensive backs can improve, Mizzou could finds themselves playing for the Big 12 title.



21. Cincinnati: There’s a new HC and a new QB, but I don’t see that slowing down the offense at all. The Bearcats need to replace some guys on defense, but the last time they were faced with the problem, they knocked it out of the park. There are a few teams that can win the Big East this year. Cincinnati is one of them.



22. Florida State: This will be the first time in a long time that FSU will be lead by somebody other than Bobby Bowden. The Seminoles whole offensive unit returns (which isn’t hard to do when your whole offensive line held their stance the entire offseason and didn’t move from the field). If FSU can get back to being a stingy defense, their stock will rise high this year.



23. Stanford: The Cardinals lose Heisman candidate Toby Gerhart, but bring back promising young quarterback Andrew Luck. Coach Harbough has this team going in the right direction. My money is on him pushing them into the same direction.



24. Oregon State: This may be a bit low for the Beavers. The Rodgers’ will continue to carry this team as far as they can. But they do need to replace Sean Canfield from last year. That’s what worries me. The defense will once again be solid, but they may need more from them to overcome the QB situation.



25. Houston: It was a tough call, but Houston rounds out the poll. I think there are more talented teams out there, but it was a battle of talent vs. production, with production winning. Of course, nobody has produced a single thing yet, but that shouldn’t stop us from guessing who will



Just Missed:

Utah

PSU

LSU

Pitt

Uconn

I'm high on a couple teams and low on a couple. But that's the way polls go. Always a few teams that work their way out quickly and a few that get into it and climb. A poll needs some upsets in there. This was also created about 2 months ago, so there are a few changes. UNC must drop with all the drama. I will take USC completely out, I don't put banned teams in it. Once I do some research about camps and the season gets closer, I'll do another. Why I'm telling you this-- I have no idea.

^^^^ good analysis.

Little Danny;449365 wrote:Mel and other voters overrate Miami. They will be a good ballclub, but not Top 5 material. There is no justification for rating them this high. The team lost five ballgames last year and got pummeled in their bowl game by a decent Wisconsin team. I can very easily see them losing 3-4 games during the regular season again this year.

Many of these "experts" vote for the names on the front of the jersey , not the actual team who wears them at the present time.

Very insightful opinion, basing it off of LAST season's performance. HA

Any college football fan will know last season has nothing to do with this season except players returning, and Miami has LOT of talent on this team. That's why Mel has them so high, based on talent, which is the only thing you can base a poll this early on.


Do they have the 4th most talent in America? Probably not, and I wouldn't rate them 4th, I just disagree with your logic for them not being ranked 4th.

Little Danny;449365 wrote:Mel and other voters overrate Miami. They will be a good ballclub, but not Top 5 material. There is no justification for rating them this high. The team lost five ballgames last year and got pummeled in their bowl game by a decent Wisconsin team. I can very easily see them losing 3-4 games during the regular season again this year.

Many of these "experts" vote for the names on the front of the jersey , not the actual team who wears them at the present time.

Are you implying that Mel spit out a #4 ranking for Miami because of the "front of the jersey?" I would bet he could name 90% of the roster and is extremely familiar with their talents. You know, because thats his job, evaluating college players for the NFL. While the ranking may be high at this point, you can be assured that he evaluated the team off the talent on their present roster.

And there would be no reason for Mel to "hype" up OSU/Miami.

dat dude;450038 wrote:Are you implying that Mel spit out a #4 ranking for Miami because of the "front of the jersey?" I would bet he could name 90% of the roster and is extremely familiar with their talents. You know, because thats his job, evaluating college players for the NFL. While the ranking may be high at this point, you can be assured that he evaluated the team off the talent on their present roster.

And there would be no reason for Mel to "hype" up OSU/Miami.

+1 for bringing up the same point as me from a different approach. I like it.

Canes will be 7-5 this year.
OSU, Pitt, F$U, Va Tech, and the Skip Holtz led USF Bulls will all beat Da EWE.

dat dude;450038 wrote:And there would be no reason for Mel to "hype" up OSU/Miami.

Who writes his paycheck?

karen lotz;450166 wrote:Who writes his paycheck?

It's definitely NOT a network not broadcasting that particular game....

Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch 3G

lhslep134;450029 wrote:Very insightful opinion, basing it off of LAST season's performance. HA

Any college football fan will know last season has nothing to do with this season except players returning, and Miami has LOT of talent on this team. That's why Mel has them so high, based on talent, which is the only thing you can base a poll this early on.


Do they have the 4th most talent in America? Probably not, and I wouldn't rate them 4th, I just disagree with your logic for them not being ranked 4th.

Usually the preseason polls are based on what the team did last year and who they have returning. You can't separate the two. For instance, if Duke had 18 of 22 starters returning from last year's squad, I doubt anyone picks them in the top 25. Yes, Miami does return a lot of talent from last year, but that is all they are at this point-- talent. Jacory Harris was extremely inconsistent last year. Is he going to play like he did against Florida State or is he going to pull a game like he did at VT going 9 for 25. Is the Hurricane defense going to stifle opponents like they did against Georgia Tech or are they going to get run over like they did against Wisconsin.

I do believe Miami deserves a top 15 spot in the preseason poll, I just see a number of teams that have a lot of talent and play a favorable schedule who should be ranked over them.

karen lotz;450166 wrote:Who writes his paycheck?

So Mel does this every year then for a number of teams, right? I mean, ESPN broadcasts more than one game.

But it couldn't be because Miami actually has talent and may be a good team. Nah, no way.

dat dude;450393 wrote:So Mel does this every year then for a number of teams, right? I mean, ESPN broadcasts more than one game.

But it couldn't be because Miami actually has talent and may be a good team. Nah, no way.

They do have talent and may very well be a good team. I forgot the play OSU, dude. Sorry. I now believe they are underrated at 4th.

Red_Skin, I guess I should have been a little more specific for you. My thoughts were not that I was stating the obvious, but that with so many people commenting on the Gators being ranked too high, I don't think that is the case. I could see another National championship for the Gators this season, not the dropoff that people think is on the way due to the loss of Tebow.

So going into most years, I feel like you can look at five or six teams and say, "that looks like a championship team". Then it just becomes a matter of who wins the handful of big games and avoids an upset.

This year, I feel like there aren't any teams you can say, "that looks like a championship team", which either means one of the handful of regulars is still going to be right there despite not being as good as say, last year or it completely opens up the field. To me, the two teams with the most talent AND best path to the title game are Ohio State and Texas (Boise State, not included). I don't think Alabama or Florida will be as good as last year talent-wise, but with the SEC looking a more significant drop-off below them, they could match up (twice) again for one of those slots. A slip or two by any of those teams isn't out of the question and wouldn't be all that surprising, which gets back to - this could be the season that it is wide open for a non-traditional power to sneak in. There don't seem to be any "great" teams in the Pac 10, Big East, or ACC. But if a team like Cincinnati from last season happens to have the ball bounce its way in a few tight games, there could be an opening.

Little Danny;450242 wrote:Usually the preseason polls are based on what the team did last year and who they have returning. You can't separate the two. For instance, if Duke had 18 of 22 starters returning from last year's squad, I doubt anyone picks them in the top 25. Yes, Miami does return a lot of talent from last year, but that is all they are at this point-- talent. Jacory Harris was extremely inconsistent last year. Is he going to play like he did against Florida State or is he going to pull a game like he did at VT going 9 for 25. Is the Hurricane defense going to stifle opponents like they did against Georgia Tech or are they going to get run over like they did against Wisconsin.

I do believe Miami deserves a top 15 spot in the preseason poll, I just see a number of teams that have a lot of talent and play a favorable schedule who should be ranked over them.

Again, all of those things you just said are about LAST YEAR'S TEAM. They are COMPLETELY irrelevant to discussion this year except who is coming back. Other than that, it's all speculation, which is why preseason polls are dumb in the first place.

karen lotz;450414 wrote:They do have talent and may very well be a good team. I forgot the play OSU, dude. Sorry. I now believe they are underrated at 4th.

Seriously, your OSU bashing on both football and basketball is old. Miami happened to be 9-4 last season, and return 14 starters, including Harris who threw for 3300 yds and 24 TDS. They were 3-2 vs ranked teams last year as well. They have improved their record by 2 games each of the past seasons.
If you happen to think Miami is "overrated" currently, based on what they return, and what they did last year, your flat out that ignorant, or as I and others assume...just trying your best to downplay them because OSU is playing them.
This team has talent, and experience now. I think they are rated just about "right", within the top 15. I am not a Shannon fan by any means. Its a make or break year for him. This is a team who could go on to win 10 games..or end up no worse then 3/4 loss IMO.
But don't kid yourself, they are talented, and return quite a bit. The potential for a very good team, is there. Coaching is the big question IMO.

If your going to spout off, at least back up your statements with something...anything.

Talent is one thing, but as centralbucksfan pointed out coaching has to be considered as well. Miami has never really been short on talent. How the team performs as a unit with that talent is what's important.

centralbucksfan;450552 wrote:Seriously, your OSU bashing on both football and basketball is old.

I stopped reading after this. Please tell me when I have bashed OSU basketball? I am an OSU basketball fan. Get a fucking clue.

centralbucksfan;450552 wrote:Seriously, your OSU bashing on both football and basketball is old. Miami happened to be 9-4 last season, and return 14 starters, including Harris who threw for 3300 yds and 24 TDS. They were 3-2 vs ranked teams last year as well. They have improved their record by 2 games each of the past seasons.
If you happen to think Miami is "overrated" currently, based on what they return, and what they did last year, your flat out that ignorant, or as I and others assume...just trying your best to downplay them because OSU is playing them.
This team has talent, and experience now. I think they are rated just about "right", within the top 15. I am not a Shannon fan by any means. Its a make or break year for him. This is a team who could go on to win 10 games..or end up no worse then 3/4 loss IMO.
But don't kid yourself, they are talented, and return quite a bit. The potential for a very good team, is there. Coaching is the big question IMO.

If your going to spout off, at least back up your statements with something...anything.

Went back and read this and I'm sorry I did. I didn't say they were overrated at 15. If you can read you would see that at #4 in the country they are overrated. I must have been typing in Japanese, and if so I can see how this could be confusing. I like how you and every other bucknut on this site call people ignorant every time there is a difference of opinion. I know I've said this to you a few times, but there is a lot more to the world than OSU football.

You say Miami could end up with 3-4 losses. Is a 9-3 or 8-4 team from the ACC a top 15 team? You are ignorant if you think that!

If YOU ARE (not your) going to spout off, please try to comprehend what has been posted before coming on here and trying to get everyone to see things with scarlet and gray glasses on.

karen lotz;450764 wrote:
You say Miami could end up with 3-4 losses. Is a 9-3 or 8-4 team from the ACC a top 15 team? You are ignorant if you think that!

Funny how he defends a 4 loss ACC team, but is the first one to rip 9-4 LSU, and last time I checked LSU plays in the best conference in college football.

and they both lost to big 10 teams in biwls last year, so whats it matter?

Last year's bowl games were the most important bowl games and games in general in the history of the college game. What great timing for the Big Ten to not lay an egg, right?