KTJ's College Top 25 / Big 12 Poll

[KTJ]

Starting tomorrow, college football begins. With lots of college fans on this board, I will try my best to do my college rankings, Big 12 rankings, and mini-previews of the games involving Texas teams among others (but I usually do that on Thursdays or Fridays). Also, these rankings are FOR RIGHT NOW, not where they will finish up. (people seem to always forget that.)

So here is my Top 25. If you like it, great--if not, then go about your business. Folks, this is meant to be fun yet I know some people (and they know who they are) will blow this way out of proportion, will argue and become childish, and will try to degrade said polls and previews. If that happens, well.....you'll have to answer to LHPM and Ranger Mom..........and possibly Matthew and sinton66. :D


KTJ's Top 25 Poll

1.) USC
2.) Tennessee
3.) Texas
4.) Michigan
5.) Iowa
6.) Virginia Tech
7.) Ohio State
8.) Oklahoma
9.) Miami (FL)
10.) Louisville
11.) Florida
12.) LSU
13.) Georgia
14.) Florida State
15.) Purdue
16.) Boise State
17.) Texas Tech
18.) Auburn
19.) Arizona State
20.) Texas A&M
21.) Pittsburgh
22.) Cal
23.) UTEP
24.) Virginia
25.) Boston College


On the waiting list -- Alabama, Bowling Green, Colorado, Georgia Tech, Oregon, Fresno State, Clemson, Iowa State, Penn State


KTJ's Big 12 Rankings

1.) Texas
2.) Oklahoma
3.) Texas Tech
4.) Texas A&M
5.) Colorado
6.) Iowa State
7.) Oklahoma State
8.) Nebraska
9.) Mizzou
10.) Kansas State
11.) Kansas
12.) Baylor

[Phil C]

Very good KTJ! I have a feeling though before the end of the year you may need to have a place for Notre Dame in the top five! They are going to have a great year under their new dynamic coach and then the recruits are going to be begging Notre Dame to take them in!

[AggieJohn]

ktj, why tech above A&M

[handNthedirt]

no kidding, they have no game-time experience with their qbs.

[LH Panther Mom]

Originally posted by AggieJohn
ktj, why tech above A&M

Because it's his poll. :p

[big daddy russ]

I like it for the most part. Was this taken from all the polls people sent in to you?

Also, I think Florida State, Maryland and (surprise!) Arizona will sneak up on a bunch of people this year. I've always said that you can look at the last half of a season, see how a team did and have a pretty good idea of what next season's gonna look like. 'Zona gave Wisconsin (who went undefeated through the first seven or eight??? games of the year) their biggest scare until the end of the win streak before taking out the 18th-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils and the Washington Huskies. Five of their eight losses were winnable, including the 9-7 heartbreaker against Wisconsin, a 23-6 implosion vs. Utah and a one-point loss to Washington State.

Oh, and that 23-6 loss to Utah was the Utes' biggest scare of the year. Not A&M, not Pitt, not San Diego State... but Arizona. The 'Cats coughed up the ball four times and shot themselves in the foot, but still held the best offense in the nation 326 total yards. Since Mike Stoops has been there a year now instead of two games, expect a few of those close ones to tilt in Arizona's favor.

Team Statistics (Final)
University of Arizona Football
#17 Utah Utes vs Arizona Wildcats (Sep 11, 2004 at Tucson, Ariz.)

UU ARIZ

FIRST DOWNS................... 18 18
Rushing..................... 10 8
Passing..................... 8 8
Penalty..................... 0 2
NET YARDS RUSHING............. 156 114
Rushing Attempts............ 38 33
Average Per Rush............ 4.1 3.5
Yards Gained Rushing........ 175 125
Yards Lost Rushing.......... 19 11
NET YARDS PASSING............. 170 198
Completions-Attempts-Int.... 12-22-0 19-25-1
Average Per Attempt......... 7.7 7.9
Average Per Completion...... 14.2 10.4
TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS........... 326 312
Total offense plays......... 60 58
Average Gain Per Play....... 5.4 5.4
Fumbles: Number-Lost.......... 0-0 4-3
Penalties: Number-Yards....... 8-82 3-25
PUNTS-YARDS................... 5-202 3-131
Average Yards Per Punt...... 40.4 43.7
Net Yards Per Punt.......... 38.2 39.3
Inside 20................... 2 1
50+ Yards................... 0 1
Touchbacks.................. 0 0
Fair catch.................. 2 1
KICKOFFS-YARDS................ 5-317 3-137
Average Yards Per Kickoff... 63.4 45.7
Net Yards Per Kickoff....... 52.6 42.3
Touchbacks.................. 2 1
Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD. 2-13-0 2-11-0
Average Per Return.......... 6.5 5.5
Kickoff returns: Number-Yds-TD 1-10-0 2-54-0
Average Per Return.......... 10.0 27.0
Interceptions: Number-Yds-TD.. 1-0-0 0-0-0
Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TD. 1-4-0 0-0-0
Miscellaneous Yards........... 0 0
Possession Time............... 28:24 31:36
1st Quarter................. 7:43 7:17
2nd Quarter................. 3:01 11:59
3rd Quarter................. 8:34 6:26
4th Quarter................. 9:06 5:54
Third-Down Conversions........ 7 of 13 5 of 12
Fourth-Down Conversions....... 0 of 0 0 of 1
Red-Zone Scores-Chances....... 4-4 2-5
Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 2-10 2-11
PAT Kicks..................... 3-2 0-0
Field Goals................... 1-1 2-3

While everyone else is watching out for USC, Cal, ASU, UCLA and Oregon in the Pac-10, keep the Wildcats in the back of your mind.

Over in the ACC, Miami and Virginia Tech are being touted as National Title contenders, but I think the team that pushes VT the most (and pushes Miami into the FordFiestaNapaAutoPartsgoogle.com Bowl) is going to be the Seminoles of Florida State. They return two studs in the backfield, neither of which is named Chris Rix, and quite possibly the best group of linebackers in the nation to go along with one of the best D-Lines. Everyone's overlooking them because of some off-the-field troubles, but they had off-the-field troubles between the 98 and 99 seasons and all they did was win a National Championship. It's Bobby Bowden, for crying out loud... these guys won't miss a beat.

A little further down the rung, Maryland's been dismissed by just about everyone but they're as dangerous as anyone in the ACC. A down year plagued by injuries and questions has some people doubting them as a top-notch opponent. I think they sneak into the top 20 by season's end.

[big daddy russ]

On the other side of the ball, the three most overrated teams in the nation (drumroll, please) are...

#3 most overrated team:
Oklahoma
They will lose to Texas this year and if they don't get a passing attack together before November 12 they'll lose to Texas A&M at home, too. The best offensive line in the nation in '04-'05 is now the offensive line that has all the talent but needs to learn how to block for a guy like Adrian Peterson. To top that off the porous secondary they had in 2004 lost its two best players. For Mike Leach, heaven is the Oklahoma defensive backfield in his house on a dry November afternoon.... and for defenses like A&M's and Oklahoma State's, a one-dimensional running attack is music to their ears. After all, both have defenses that resembles OU's... a brick wall against the run but there's nobody behind the linebackers.

Don't get me wrong, they have tons of talent and great coaching. They'll do well and they'll go to a bowl, but a fourth-place finish isn't out of the question in the toughest division in college ball.

#2 most overrated team:
Nebraska
I have no idea why everyone has them ranked in the top 20. Hell, I don't know why they're even picked to finish second in the Big XII North. Sure the division isn't exactly the AFC East, but the Huskers aren't exactly the Patriots either. I've heard so much about their talent but I have yet to see any heart from these guys... and Bill Callahan isn't exactly the best guy to fix that. Maybe some people thought Charles Woodson was just a big, overpaid crybaby when he started bellyaching about the Raiders' coach halfway through the season two years ago. But when the rest of the team, including consummate professionals like Tim Brown and Rich Gannon, revealed the true nature of the beast after the season you couldn't help but listen. But everyone seems to forget that he TOLD PLAYERS HE DIDN'T CARE ABOUT THEM, THE TEAM, OR HOW THEY DID JUST AS LONG AS HE COULD GET OUT OF THERE ASAP. Not me. Nebraska tanks, finishes fifth in the North.

#1 most overrated team:
Florida
Don't get me wrong, they're a good team. And they picked a great year to bring in fresh blood, what with the SEC down outside of these guys, Tennessee, and LSU. But a one-year turnaround into national championship material just doesn't happen in major college football, period. This isn't Bowling Green and the MAC, it's not Utah and the Mountain West, and we aren't looking at a top-five team. Hell, we're not looking at a top-15 team. Top-20 is believable, top-25 is more likely. They have a great QB and loads of talent, but they also lost their defensive leader from last year, the SEC East's most prolific runner and a host of other key ingredients. And the guys left to take their spots may have been blue-chippers out of high school, but they've fallen into the Zook mentality and you can't excorsize those demons in one year. Sure, Florida will be good and sure they'll make it to a pretty decent bowl. But between the Volunteers at home, the Tide in Tuscaloosa, the Tigers in Death Valley, the Old Ball Coach (and their old coach) in Brice Stadium, the Georgia Classic in Jacksonville and Florida State to close out the season, I really see them looking at a best-case scenario of an 8-3 season. Personally, I think they'll go 7-4 during Meyer's first year in Gainesville. We'll have to wait until 2006 before I believe the Championship talk.

BTW, Tennessee takes the SEC East title once again.... and then loses to the West once again.

[Pmoney]

Originally posted by handNthedirt
no kidding, they have no game-time experience with their qbs.
Tech never does but their QBs always do well

[KTJ]

Tech's QB's in the past 3 years never had game time experience and they seemed to do just fine.

Tech finsihed the season beating Cal in the Holiday Bowl.
Tech was 8-4, winning 4 of their last five.
They get both A&M (which A&M hasn't won in Lubbock in at least 10 years and Tech leads that series 7-3 over the past 10 years.) and OU at home.




russ--

I've heard of several people say to watch out for Arizona. I don't think they'll be a top-level Pac 10 team yet though.

[rhino33]

Originally posted by KTJ
Tech's QB's in the past 3 years never had game time experience and they seemed to do just fine.

Tech finsihed the season beating Cal in the Holiday Bowl.
Tech was 8-4, winning 4 of their last five.
They get both A&M (which A&M hasn't won in Lubbock in at least 10 years and Tech leads that series 7-3 over the past 10 years.) and OU at home.


and they also beat my team (nebraska) 70-10 in lubbock

[SnyTigBaseB07]

haha gosh notice how baylor is at the bottom...but i guess i cant argue seeing as how they probably will only win 5 games at the most this year.....



sometimes it sucks to be a baylor fan!

[sahen]

Originally posted by big daddy russ
On the other side of the ball, the three most overrated teams in the nation (drumroll, please) are...

#3 most overrated team:
Oklahoma
They will lose to Texas this year and if they don't get a passing attack together before November 12 they'll lose to Texas A&M at home, too. The best offensive line in the nation in '04-'05 is now the offensive line that has all the talent but needs to learn how to block for a guy like Adrian Peterson. To top that off the porous secondary they had in 2004 lost its two best players. For Mike Leach, heaven is the Oklahoma defensive backfield in his house on a dry November afternoon.... and for defenses like A&M's and Oklahoma State's, a one-dimensional running attack is music to their ears. After all, both have defenses that resembles OU's... a brick wall against the run but there's nobody behind the linebackers.

Don't get me wrong, they have tons of talent and great coaching. They'll do well and they'll go to a bowl, but a fourth-place finish isn't out of the question in the toughest division in college ball.

#2 most overrated team:
Nebraska
I have no idea why everyone has them ranked in the top 20. Hell, I don't know why they're even picked to finish second in the Big XII North. Sure the division isn't exactly the AFC East, but the Huskers aren't exactly the Patriots either. I've heard so much about their talent but I have yet to see any heart from these guys... and Bill Callahan isn't exactly the best guy to fix that. Maybe some people thought Charles Woodson was just a big, overpaid crybaby when he started bellyaching about the Raiders' coach halfway through the season two years ago. But when the rest of the team, including consummate professionals like Tim Brown and Rich Gannon, revealed the true nature of the beast after the season you couldn't help but listen. But everyone seems to forget that he TOLD PLAYERS HE DIDN'T CARE ABOUT THEM, THE TEAM, OR HOW THEY DID JUST AS LONG AS HE COULD GET OUT OF THERE ASAP. Not me. Nebraska tanks, finishes fifth in the North.

#1 most overrated team:
Florida
Don't get me wrong, they're a good team. And they picked a great year to bring in fresh blood, what with the SEC down outside of these guys, Tennessee, and LSU. But a one-year turnaround into national championship material just doesn't happen in major college football, period. This isn't Bowling Green and the MAC, it's not Utah and the Mountain West, and we aren't looking at a top-five team. Hell, we're not looking at a top-15 team. Top-20 is believable, top-25 is more likely. They have a great QB and loads of talent, but they also lost their defensive leader from last year, the SEC East's most prolific runner and a host of other key ingredients. And the guys left to take their spots may have been blue-chippers out of high school, but they've fallen into the Zook mentality and you can't excorsize those demons in one year. Sure, Florida will be good and sure they'll make it to a pretty decent bowl. But between the Volunteers at home, the Tide in Tuscaloosa, the Tigers in Death Valley, the Old Ball Coach (and their old coach) in Brice Stadium, the Georgia Classic in Jacksonville and Florida State to close out the season, I really see them looking at a best-case scenario of an 8-3 season. Personally, I think they'll go 7-4 during Meyer's first year in Gainesville. We'll have to wait until 2006 before I believe the Championship talk.

BTW, Tennessee takes the SEC East title once again.... and then loses to the West once again.

good predictions on the over ranked teams.....florida didnt look over ranked today but they played an easy team....however OU was obviously over ranked and Nebraska struggled w/ Maine in Lincoln!...I really havent quite grasps how that could happen because i'd like to think a team as storied as Nebraska could beat a team like Maine any year, even their down years w/ no problem, esp. in the environment at Memorial stadium but yah..apparantly not.....

on a side note, Tenn. looked vulnerable today against UAB....UAB has a good team but a SEC contender shouldnt struggle that much w/ them esp. at their own house.....

[KTJ]

I'll post the new poll probably tuesday, seeing as how the FSU/Miami game is tomorrow.

[LH Panther Mom]

Originally posted by AggieJohn
ktj, why tech above A&M

You also need to remember that Tech is the only Big 12 team that has had a winning season every year since the beginning. :D

[KTJ]

You're right about Tech.

They have something else that no other Big 12 team has done as well but I can't remember what it is. Or maybe the winning season is it. I dunno.

[big daddy russ]

Originally posted by KTJ
You're right about Tech.

They have something else that no other Big 12 team has done as well but I can't remember what it is. Or maybe the winning season is it. I dunno.
Isn't it bowl appearances every year????