The Andrew Extravaganza

The new college football season kicks off on Thursday night. I'm not sure how much I'll write about college football this year, but I have spent some time looking over the major players in the national title hunt. Here's my top 25:

My Rank	AP Poll	Team	LY	Quick Thoughts
1	3		13-0	Great defense and plenty of weapons. Colt McCoy: Cool name, but is he worth a damn?
2	6		12-1	Lost Leinart, White, & Bush, but they're a recruiting machine. The D has to play better though because the offense can't be perfect again without the big 3
3	4		9-3	Soft non-conference schedule and all the big ones at home. Kenny Irons is a great back, QB Brandon Cox has to step up.
4	1		10-2	Explosive offense, but D must replace 9 starters. September will be a bitch with games at Texas, vs Penn St, & at Iowa
5	12		9-3	Great D, Offense sucked last year with poor line play. Starting the year vs FSU won't be easy.
6	8		11-2	Tough SEC road schedule, QB JaMarcus Russell is still inconsistent and a QB controversy could surface with Flynn and Perrilloux waiting in the wings.
7	9		8-4	A PAC 10 team that actually plays defense, they will challenge USC for the conference title. The O-line lost two stars, so that could be an issue early on.
8	13		9-3	The Big East sucks, so there are only two landmines: Miami on 9/16 & WVU on 11/2. QB Brian Brohm is still coming back from an ACL tear, but should be fine.
9	10		8-4	QB Rhett Bomar is at Sam Houston St after cashing some fat checks for not really selling cars, Adrian Peterson gets to see 11 man fronts until Paul Thompson proves he doesn't suck, which is likely never going to happen.
10	5		11-1	An explosive offense led by QB Pat White and RB Steve Slaton and a weak schedule means worst case is 11-1 with a good look at 12-0
11	7		9-3	Great defense, but the jury is still out on Urban Meyer's finesse offense in the tough SEC. The O-line isn't so hot, so that won't help.
12	11		8-5	The defense saw a mass exodus of talent to the NFL, so inexperience is an issue. The offense was inconsistent last year, so it could be ugly in the opener against Miami.
13	17		11-2	Their attacking defense is a given, but they have to replace the criminal Vick at QB and the O-line is iffy.
14	2		9-3	Brady Quin is a star, but he doesn't play DB. The Domers are overrated and should get upset in September. I say GT will get the job done on 9/2
15	14		7-5	Lloyd Carr can kiss his ass goodbye if they underperfrom again. After showing no heart last year, they need to get more aggressive on defense. QB Chad Henne will give them a chance.
16	15		10-3	The Offense is young and inexperienced, which ought to translate to losses in the brutal SEC. The defense isn't what it used to be.
17	18		8-4	This team is loaded with future NFL talent. The question is, will Clemson step up and actually play to their talent? They've managed some big upset wins over the years, but then they lose to bottom feeders the next week.
18	20		8-4	This should be the year that the Huskers start to execute in their new West Coast Offense. If they do, they'll walk away with the Big XII North because the defense should be excellent.
19	24		7-5	This is a classic PAC 10 team, all offense and no defense. The formula should work to the tune of a third place finish in the conference.
20	25		9-3	Finally getting some solid talent. They could win the Big XII North, but unlucky for them, they play in the South. The secondary could be a weakness, but there's plenty of speed to go around and a lot of first year QBs in the league.
21	19		11-1	QB Michael Robinson is gone from last year's surprise team. The receiving corps is talented, so new QB Anthony Morelli should have an easier time picking things up. Great LBs on defense.
22	16		7-5	Drew Tate is a really good QB, but his team a classic underperformer, it's very talented but will fade as always
23	23		5-6	Top 10 talent & Cutcliffe is back at OC, but tough schedule. QB Erik Ainge was terrible last year, so that's a concern.
24	29		7-5	QB Reggie Ball should have a hell of a year and with NFL calibre WR Calvin Johnson, they should torch a lot of defenses. They aren't a great team, but they could manage some big upsets.
25	22		11-1	TCU is the best of the non-major conference teams and should win the Mountain West. 9/16 game vs Texas Tech will determine if they're for real.