3afan
01-25-2006, 08:49 PM
10. West Virginia 2005 Record: 11-1
9. Tennessee 2005 Record: 5-6
8. Florida State 2005 Record: 8-5
7. Oklahoma 2005 Record: 8-4
Why Oklahoma could be the Pre-preseason No. 1: The common perception is that the 2005 Sooners were a major disappointment after playing in the previous two national championship games, but it was a solid season with the four losses coming to TCU, UCLA, Texas and Texas Tech, who combined to lose a total of six games. It was one of the toughest schedules ever played, yet OU still finished impressively with a Holiday Bowl win over Oregon. This year, there’s more than enough talent returning on both sides of the ball to expect a run for the Big 12 title, and maybe even more. The baby-young receiving corps of last year should be a strength, the linebacking corps should be among the best in the nation, and the secondary should be fantastic. Of course, Adrian Peterson returns and should be the nation’s best player.
Why Oklahoma isn’t the Pre-preseason No. 1: September 16th at Oregon. The Ducks should be just as good as last season, and it’ll have some extra motivation after the Holiday Bowl loss. There are some key losses on the offensive line, and FB J.D. Runnels will be sorely missed. The big question mark is still QB Rhett Bomar, who might have all the talent in the world, but still has to prove he can be a consistent winner.
What Oklahoma needs to do to get to the BCS Championship Bowl: Get a big season out of Bomar. Every defense will load up to stop Peterson, so Bomar has to be a weapon with his arm as well as his legs after completing only 54% of his passes with ten touchdown passes and ten interceptions. He was every bit the big-time recruit Peterson was, and if he starts to play like it, the sky is the limit.
Realistic, feet-on-the-ground, goal to shoot for: The BCS Championship Bowl. It’s not going to be a walk in the park, but the schedule sets up perfectly with the potential for a splashy opening day win at Oregon to set the tone, the Texas game to get the huge win needed to get high up in the rankings, and a relatively easy rest of the slate with the road games coming at Oklahoma State, Missouri, Texas A&M and Baylor.
The number one thing to work on is: The return game. OU was 11th in the Big 12 in both punt and kickoff returns averaging only 7.4 yards on punt returns and 18.18 on kickoff returns. Most importantly, as already mentioned, is to make Bomar a more efficient passer.
Biggest offensive loss: OT Davin Joseph
Biggest defensive loss: DT Dusty Dvoracek
6. Auburn 2005 Record: 9-3
5. Ohio State 2005 Record: 10-2
4. LSU 2005 Record: 11-2
3. USC 2005 Record: 12-1
2. Florida 2005 Record: 9-3
1. Texas 2005 Record: 13-0
Why Texas is the Pre-preseason No. 1: Vince Young is gone so the program will go into the tank, right? Nope. Fine, so Texas is here mostly because there’s absolutely no one else truly worthy of the top spot, but there’s a lot to get excited about from Jamaal Charles and the nation’s best stable of running backs to an experienced and underrated receiving corps to a fantastic defense that should survive the loss of Thorpe Award winner Michael Huff and big-hitting LB Aaron Harris just fine. The offensive line is still loaded with big-time run blockers even after the loss of two Rose Bowl starters.
Why Texas shouldn’t be the Pre-preseason No. 1: Vince Young was the difference. Texas would've needed some luck to find its way to the Rose Bowl without him. It likely would've lost to Ohio State and certainly wouldn’t have beaten USC if there was an upset in Columbus. Young is an irreplaceable talent who took the program to another level, and now it’ll be up to redshirt freshmen Colt McCoy and true freshmen Jevan Snead and Sherrod Harris to try to fill the enormous void. In other words, the nation’s best team is walking into the season with no experience whatsoever at quarterback.
What Texas needs to do to get to the BCS Championship Bowl: Let the rest of the talent shine through. The new quarterback, likely McCoy, can’t carry things the way Young did, but he’ll have a fantastic supporting cast around him. As long as the new starter doesn’t make mistakes, Charles and the ground game should be good enough to get through the Big 12. The defense could be good enough to slow down Ohio State and get the win that’ll pave the way to Arizona.
Realistic, feet-on-the-ground, goal to shoot for: BCS Championship Bowl. Ohio State has a ton of defensive holes that likely won’t be adequately filled by September 9th, and the one true road game before the October 21st trip to Nebraska is at Rice. Unless there’s an epic upset, it’s a four game season playing Ohio State, Oklahoma, at Nebraska and at Texas Tech before the Big 12 title game.
The number one thing to work on is: The passing game. No matter who’s under center, the ground game will roll out of bed and average 250 yards per game. Texas became national title good because Young turned into a fantastic passer. McCoy threw for 116 touchdowns in his high school career, but he doesn’t have to be Peyton Manning. All he has to do is be efficient and keep the chains moving. If that happens, the offense will be just fine.
Biggest offensive loss: QB Vince Young
Biggest defensive loss: LB Aaron Harris
9. Tennessee 2005 Record: 5-6
8. Florida State 2005 Record: 8-5
7. Oklahoma 2005 Record: 8-4
Why Oklahoma could be the Pre-preseason No. 1: The common perception is that the 2005 Sooners were a major disappointment after playing in the previous two national championship games, but it was a solid season with the four losses coming to TCU, UCLA, Texas and Texas Tech, who combined to lose a total of six games. It was one of the toughest schedules ever played, yet OU still finished impressively with a Holiday Bowl win over Oregon. This year, there’s more than enough talent returning on both sides of the ball to expect a run for the Big 12 title, and maybe even more. The baby-young receiving corps of last year should be a strength, the linebacking corps should be among the best in the nation, and the secondary should be fantastic. Of course, Adrian Peterson returns and should be the nation’s best player.
Why Oklahoma isn’t the Pre-preseason No. 1: September 16th at Oregon. The Ducks should be just as good as last season, and it’ll have some extra motivation after the Holiday Bowl loss. There are some key losses on the offensive line, and FB J.D. Runnels will be sorely missed. The big question mark is still QB Rhett Bomar, who might have all the talent in the world, but still has to prove he can be a consistent winner.
What Oklahoma needs to do to get to the BCS Championship Bowl: Get a big season out of Bomar. Every defense will load up to stop Peterson, so Bomar has to be a weapon with his arm as well as his legs after completing only 54% of his passes with ten touchdown passes and ten interceptions. He was every bit the big-time recruit Peterson was, and if he starts to play like it, the sky is the limit.
Realistic, feet-on-the-ground, goal to shoot for: The BCS Championship Bowl. It’s not going to be a walk in the park, but the schedule sets up perfectly with the potential for a splashy opening day win at Oregon to set the tone, the Texas game to get the huge win needed to get high up in the rankings, and a relatively easy rest of the slate with the road games coming at Oklahoma State, Missouri, Texas A&M and Baylor.
The number one thing to work on is: The return game. OU was 11th in the Big 12 in both punt and kickoff returns averaging only 7.4 yards on punt returns and 18.18 on kickoff returns. Most importantly, as already mentioned, is to make Bomar a more efficient passer.
Biggest offensive loss: OT Davin Joseph
Biggest defensive loss: DT Dusty Dvoracek
6. Auburn 2005 Record: 9-3
5. Ohio State 2005 Record: 10-2
4. LSU 2005 Record: 11-2
3. USC 2005 Record: 12-1
2. Florida 2005 Record: 9-3
1. Texas 2005 Record: 13-0
Why Texas is the Pre-preseason No. 1: Vince Young is gone so the program will go into the tank, right? Nope. Fine, so Texas is here mostly because there’s absolutely no one else truly worthy of the top spot, but there’s a lot to get excited about from Jamaal Charles and the nation’s best stable of running backs to an experienced and underrated receiving corps to a fantastic defense that should survive the loss of Thorpe Award winner Michael Huff and big-hitting LB Aaron Harris just fine. The offensive line is still loaded with big-time run blockers even after the loss of two Rose Bowl starters.
Why Texas shouldn’t be the Pre-preseason No. 1: Vince Young was the difference. Texas would've needed some luck to find its way to the Rose Bowl without him. It likely would've lost to Ohio State and certainly wouldn’t have beaten USC if there was an upset in Columbus. Young is an irreplaceable talent who took the program to another level, and now it’ll be up to redshirt freshmen Colt McCoy and true freshmen Jevan Snead and Sherrod Harris to try to fill the enormous void. In other words, the nation’s best team is walking into the season with no experience whatsoever at quarterback.
What Texas needs to do to get to the BCS Championship Bowl: Let the rest of the talent shine through. The new quarterback, likely McCoy, can’t carry things the way Young did, but he’ll have a fantastic supporting cast around him. As long as the new starter doesn’t make mistakes, Charles and the ground game should be good enough to get through the Big 12. The defense could be good enough to slow down Ohio State and get the win that’ll pave the way to Arizona.
Realistic, feet-on-the-ground, goal to shoot for: BCS Championship Bowl. Ohio State has a ton of defensive holes that likely won’t be adequately filled by September 9th, and the one true road game before the October 21st trip to Nebraska is at Rice. Unless there’s an epic upset, it’s a four game season playing Ohio State, Oklahoma, at Nebraska and at Texas Tech before the Big 12 title game.
The number one thing to work on is: The passing game. No matter who’s under center, the ground game will roll out of bed and average 250 yards per game. Texas became national title good because Young turned into a fantastic passer. McCoy threw for 116 touchdowns in his high school career, but he doesn’t have to be Peyton Manning. All he has to do is be efficient and keep the chains moving. If that happens, the offense will be just fine.
Biggest offensive loss: QB Vince Young
Biggest defensive loss: LB Aaron Harris