Preseason Top 10 Countdown

Preseason Top 10 Countdown

   Coming in at #7 in my top ten are the South Carolina Gamecocks. Spurrier finally did it. He has taken a team that couldn't win, a team that never thought they would see double digit wins, a team that never thought they would be in the mix for a conference championship, to a whole new level. So far I have told you about what the expectations were for some teams coming off successful seasons, and now we take a look at South Carolina. When was the last time South Carolina fans could go into a season with the expectations they have had the last two seasons? Fans are excited and they should be......but be very careful.....Carolina has a very tough schedule ahead of them.

  The Gamecocks have a solid defense returning including defensive end, Jadaveon Clowney. This defense ranked in the top 15 in points allowed. This will be key for South Carolina, as for any team in the SEC, because to have a good season in the SEC means you have to have a dependable defense to keep things from getting out of reach. There is another important point to look at with this team going into the summer and fall. No more Garcia. The days of Spurrier having to decide to keep this guy or whether to start him or sit him are finally over. This team was at its best when they didn't have the Garcia cloud hovering over them. Now, Spurrier has Connor Shaw going into the season knowing he is the guy to beat for the starting job. For Shaw, he won't feel the pressure (as much) like when he had Garcia just waiting for him to screw up. This is Shaw's offense. And if he can believe in himself and believe that this is his job to lose then he can really put on a good show for South Carolina fans this year. He brings a very good balance of running and throwing threat to the offense. His decision making got better and better as the season progressed. He rushed 135 times. He threw 188 passes. This guy gives another wrinkle to Spurrier's offense. Not to mention Marcus Lattimore should be back and healthy. Mix that with a qb who can run and throw and that sets up for a great run at the SEC East Champion. Another WR needs to emerge early in the season to take the pressure off, as they lost Alshon Jeffery to the NFL Draft. As long as Shaw can keep his feet moving and get outside the pocket and extend some plays, I think they will be okay early on. But after the first two or three games, South Carolina needs that deep threat they had with Jeffery. Otherwise, it's going to be very tough to win running the ball. Teams will start to stack the box if they feel like there isn't a threat on the outside, and when that happens......well, I don't think Lattimore can do it all.

The schedule is a tough one. The Gamecocks don't get the "cake walk" that Georgia is getting, so it is very important that they beat the Bulldogs. They start on the road against Vanderbilt, which won't be as easy as it used to be. And Vanderbilt will be pretty hyped up for the home opener. Three weeks later they play at home against Missouri. I think this will be a good game to watch but in the end South Carolina will be on top. I don't think Missouri is ready for the SEC speed yet. At Kentucky....Win. Then, Georgia. This is a big one. A very important game for the division race. A sour taste still reminds the Bulldogs of the loss last season, and better yet, the Gamecocks are pretty angry too. Don't be shocked if this one gets ugly and tempers fly. I am picking South Carolina in this one, however, the rest of the schedule gets the best of South Carolina and opens the door to let Georgia play for the SEC Championship again. I think South Carolina has the better team but it won't show because they got the short end with their schedule. After Georgia they play LSU, Florida, Tennessee, and Arkansas.....in that order. That is not anything to joke about. I almost feel sorry for them. The pressure will be on South Carolina. Beating Georgia won't be enough unless Georgia some how figures out how to choke down the stretch of what seems to be the easiest SEC schedule ever.

Next up in my Preseason Top 10 Countdown are the Seminoles of Florida State at #6. You won't want to miss this one. Also on Tap for this week are your questions. I have recieved some good ones so far. Keep them coming. Email questions to jeremy.cf2d@yahoo.com Thanks.



YOUR College Football Questions Segment

This Segment is for YOU.

You send me your questions about the upcoming 2012 season and I will post my answers here.

I will pick a question every week and have a full segment posted each Friday. So get involved and send me those questions.

Email your questions to jeremy.cf2d@yahoo.com

If you don't have questions and just have comments or feedback, it doesn't matter.....all are welcome. Make sure you check back later this week as I continue to bring you my 2012 Preseason Rankings. This week is #7 South Carolina.

Thank you all for participating!

2012 Preseason Top 10 Countdown

   

  At #8 in my preseason top ten is West Virgina.

 West Virginia might be one of the more intriguing teams in the top ten because of the success they had in 2011 and they are joining the BIG 12 conference this season. Dana Holgorsen enters his second year as the Mountaineers' head coach. He is very familiar with the BIG 12, so that gives the coaching staff a pretty nice advantage. He coached at Texas Tech under Mike Leach and we all saw the numbers that team put up every season. The offense will have had two full off-seasons of working on perfecting Holgorsen's offense which averaged thirty-eight points a game in 2011. Not to mention the SEVENTY-plus points they put on Clemson in their BCS Bowl game. Geno Smith returns as the starting qb and he has some unfinished buisiness to take care of this season. Tavon Austin is coming back and as long as he stays healthy, he will put up big numbers. Austin's duties last year included kick return and punt return and played wide receiver. He catches well and he can take a few hand-offs. This is a guy that averaged 15 yds or more everytime he touched the ball. It doesn't matter where he is on the field, the guy is going to make plays.

  This team has 15 starters returning, mostly on offense. The defense, on the otherhand, has some work to do this off-season. The Mountaineers' defense was very average all season long. But this didn't hurt them as much due to the high octane offense they were running. Even the LSU game had some impressive numbers. The good news for West Virginia is that they are playing in a conference that is not known for defense. Chalk up another advantage for West Virginia moving to the BIG 12. Don't get me wrong, this is going to be a challenge for them because they will be playing some tougher opponents. The defense already looks like a BIG 12 defense with the kind of numbers they give up. They may even look better because of the 3-3-5 type defense they run. No other team in the BIG 12 has really dealt with the 3-3-5 defense before. *yet another advantage for West Virginia. Yes, the element of surprise.....at least for the first few conference games anyway.

  The Facts. The Mountaineers have a great qb returning in Geno Smith. He has thrown 55 td passes and only 14 interceptions in two seasons. Tavon Austin may set some records this season. He will have the oppossing teams' attention everytime he steps on the field. There really isn't any major pressure on the defense.....as long as the offense is scoring and scoring quickly. West Virginia's schedule got much easier since they backed out of playing against the Noles. I know it was a tough decision for them but in the end, if I had to play against the Noles and join a new conference, I might have tried to escape that loss any way I could. I see the West Virginia Mountaineers taking the BIG 12 by storm. They may not win that conference in their first year, but they most certainly will be up there with the best of the BIG 12. Don't sleep on this team......aimed directly at Oklahoma. 

  Next in my Preseason Top 10 Countdown are the South Carolina Gamecocks.

  I am working on posting another segment to get YOU involved. Starting May 21, I will be accepting reader questions. This means....You have a question about college football, then email it to me and I will post my thoughts and answers. You don't see anything being posted about your team? Email me and I will break your team down on here. Let's make this really fun and exciting.....but I can't do it without YOU! So have your questions ready for next week and I will tackle them each week. Contact information will be posted by May 21 so that you can get your questions to me. Thanks!

2012 Preseason Top 10 Countdown

                     The next team in my Preseason Top 10 for 2012 is the University of Georgia.

 
  Checking in at #9. It has been reasonably quiet for Georgia this off-season, and that's a good thing.  Georgia, this time last year, had concerns at runningback, injuries, and all kinds of questions surrounding Mark Richt's job security.
  Good news: No major injuries to talk about, Runningback position is looking bright, and Mark Richt's seat is just a little above room temperature.
  Coming off a solid season, Georgia will try to make it back to the SEC Title Game where they were out-lasted by LSU. I say outlasted because after one half of football, Georgia was still hanging around. LSU had the depth. Georgia ran out of steam.....and maybe a little outmatched. A few more studs and some depth and that game would have gone down to the wire.
  What to expect. Still a young team but very experienced. Murray threw for over 3000 yds with 35 td passes and Isaiah Crowell rushed for 800+ yds last season (ESPN Stat Reports). Those kind of numbers build confidence for the offense. Consistency is what Richt is looking for on the offensive side of the ball. The defense didn't have a bad season. They ranked 23rd in the country in points allowed. There were times when the defense was on the field too much. Anytime the defense has to come back out on the field three and four times because the offense has had a three and out a few times in a row, they are going to wear down. Looking at their schedule, they have to be happy. Georgia clearly has one of the easiest SEC schedules I have seen in a long time. No Alabama. No LSU. No Arkansas. And I don't want to hearabout Auburn. They were the modern day "one hit wonders" of college football. Who is left to play? Oh yeah, I forgot about the east. The SEC East is down and that leaves the door wide open for Georgia to not only win the SEC East but possibly be the dominant team in their division. Florida is still nothing but question marks. South Carolina will be the biggest threat but even the Gamecocks don't look to be all that scary. Sure, South Carolina stole one from Georgia in 2011, but the keyword was "stole." South Carolina knows it was a steal and believe me, the Bulldogs know it and can't stand it. Can't write off the possible upset alert from Vanderbilt this year, but I still don't see Georgia losing more than one game in conference. Tennessee is another question mark and nobody can truly say Tennessee is a threat. If Georgia plays to what they are capable, then you are looking at the SEC East Champs and a for sure top 10 finish in 2012.

  What if Georgia doesn't live up the expectations? I promise you this, Mark Richt cannot survive a mediocre season this year. He won the Georgia faithfull back last year.....or most of them I think. But you can't follow up last season with a seven or eight win season.....especially with the schedule they have. That is why I still the think the seat warmers are still on in Georgia.....they may not be set on high but they are still on for Mark Richt.
 
  The Final Run Down. Georgia wins the SEC East. Then play a close game with whoever wins the SEC West (as I have Alabama and LSU in my top 5, I can't spoil it now)....but still come up short in the SEC Title game. And we talk about what a great job Mark Richt is doing to bring Georgia back.

Next in my Preseason Top 10 for 2012 is #8 West Virginia.....remember that team that threw up a crazy amount of points in a BCS Bowl?

2012 Preseason Top 10 Countdown

  Starting with #10 on my preseason countdown to the 2012 season is Clemson.

 After the 2011 season, the Clemson Tigers are going into 2012 with a little higher expectations than this time last year. Clemson had question marks all over and honestly, never had any thought of starting 8-0. It seems that when the expectations are there for Clemson to make some noise they let people down. On the other hand, when nobody expects them to do anything special they tend to turn people's heads.  So, the question for Clemson is, can they block out what the media and fans expect them to do? Or will they do what they did last year? (get to 8-0 and start buying into the hype and lose focus, get an invite to play in a BCS bowl but not actually show up). Sorry Clemson fans, that even hurt me a little.....but only a little.

  The defense is where I have the most questions. A defense that gave up 70+ points in a BCS bowl.... Think about that for a moment, take it in. SEVENTY POINTS. There are teams that don't score seventy points in three games. This wasn't a regular season blowout. This was supposed to be the best the ACC had to offer. ESPN doesn't have Clemson in their preseason top 10 and it might have something to do with that showing against West Virginia. Out with the old and in with Brent Venables. Venables will take over as Defensive Coordinator for the Tigers. Let's face it, Clemson's Defense was mid-level at best. Venables, formerly with Oklahoma, has his work cut out for him. I won't say that the Tigers will magically have a great defense, but I do think they will improve enough for them to be in the hunt for another ten win season.

   Something that should have Clemson fans feeling good about the upcoming season is the offense. Returning a couple of key players like Tajh Boyd and Sammy Watkins definitely gives something opposing defenses cannot ignore. The offense may have started slow last season but they were firing on all cylinders by midway through the season. Giving the players another off-season in the system just makes them that much more dangerous. Dabbo Sweeney has to be feeling good about his team's offense going into the fall. If the defense can keep games close, then I think the offense will be able to answer the call.

  Clemson has the ability to make a run in the ACC again. How will they respond to high expectations? They may get a chance to redeem themselves in a BCS bowl. Either way, Clemson has to start fast in order to help fans forget about the beating they took in their final game last season.

Next on my Preseason Top 10 is #9 Georgia. Can Mark Richt put together another solid season and get back to the SEC Championship game?