College football preview article

[WSUCougar]

From Stewart Mandel, SI.com:

In the immediate aftermath of their Rose Bowl victory over Michigan on Jan. 1, USC players already were being asked about next season. With what was expected to be 16 returning starters and another batch of instant-impact freshmen on the way, the Trojans seemed like an obvious choice for preseason No. 1.

A few days later, All-America defensive end Kenechi Udeze turned pro. Then came superstar Mike Williams' ill-fated departure in February. On the eve of spring practices, stud right tackle Winston Justice, one of just two returning starters on the offensive line, was lost for the year following his arrest and suspension for flashing a pellet gun at a student. Starting fullback Brandon Hancock had knee surgery and is out for the season, too.

Is USC still loaded despite these setbacks? Absolutely. Reggie Bush, who may be the most talented player in the country, was a third-string tailback last year, for crying out loud. There's speed across the board at the skill positions, and the defensive front should once again be dominant.

But with so many questions -- like whether Heisman hopeful Matt Leinart will have enough time to throw -- it's hard to declare with confidence that the Trojans are strongest team in the country coming out of spring football.

Admittedly, Georgia suffered its own potential crisis when starting linebacker Tony Taylor tore his ACL in the spring game.

But this is a team that lost nearly half its projected starting defense to injury last season and still went 11-3, with two of those defeats coming to co-national champ LSU.

Of the five teams I considered for No. 1 -- USC, Oklahoma, LSU, Miami and Georgia -- the Dawgs, who return 10 starters on offense (led by fourth-year QB David Greene) and three potential All-Americas on defense (end David Pollack, safety Thomas Davis and linebacker Odell Thurman), have the fewest question marks.

Which is why they're my post-spring No. 1.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/writers/stewart_mandel/spring.powerrankings/?cnn=yes

[GrantDawg]

Stop it. This stuff scares me.

[WSUCougar]

At the bottom of his poll (click the link), he's got WSU as a notable omission, due to "massive attrition." That's what I like to hear, low expectations.

[sovereignstar]

He has got my Gophers at #9!!!! Is this man on crack?

[The Afoci]

God I hope the Gophers can go top 10.

[HornedFrog Purple]

TCU: The heart of last year's high-scoring offense is back: QB Brandon Hassell and RB Robert Merrill. The defensive front must be rebuilt, but juco cornerbacks Quincy Butler and Drew Coleman made an immediate impact.

heh Brandon Hassell is the backup. But hey it's cool to get on there.

[sooner333]

TCU: The heart of last year's high-scoring offense is back: QB Brandon Hassell and RB Robert Merrill. The defensive front must be rebuilt, but juco cornerbacks Quincy Butler and Drew Coleman made an immediate impact.

heh Brandon Hassell is the backup. But hey it's cool to get on there.

I'm looking forward to seeing TCU in person this year in Fort Worth, I'm going to head down there for the NU-TCU game on Thursday night, because I'll still be at home and OU isn't playing that night. Of course, we'll probably get our ass kicked (see Brett Basanez, our QB). But, then my other team, OU will avenge that loss in 2005. Whatever, I'm looking forward to see what TCU football is all about...and if NU will be bad, or really bad next season.

[JeeberD]

HFP-

Is James Battle expected to get any field time this year? Do you know how he looked during the spring?

[HornedFrog Purple]

I would expect so. In the one of the Purple/White scrimmages I watched his option running was smooth as silk and he has a cannon for an arm much more than either Gunn or Hassell. Tye Gunn is the starter though and he is 100%. Lonta Hobbs has his jets back after playing hurt all last year so Merrill and Hobbs will be a good tandem. I would fathom to say one of the better duos in the country.

Right now they are trying to figure out who is going to play fullback. The defensive line is deeper than last year, probably 9 deep, and with Marvyn Godbolt healthy and Butler and Coleman who are very athletic, the secondary will be much better.

[dawgfan]

At the bottom of his poll (click the link), he's got WSU as a notable omission, due to "massive attrition." That's what I like to hear, low expectations.

Do you think the Cougs have reached the point of annual contention? I figure them to be middle of the Pac and a likely bowl contender, but they did lose an awful lot of players including most of their defensive starters.

For the record, I don't expect the Huskies to be any better - a .500 season is all I'm realistically hoping for, unless we're spectacularly lucky with the health of our O-line and our QB's develop quickly.

[VPI97]

USC will start 0-1. Book it.

[WSUCougar]

Do you think the Cougs have reached the point of annual contention? I figure them to be middle of the Pac and a likely bowl contender, but they did lose an awful lot of players including most of their defensive starters.

For the record, I don't expect the Huskies to be any better - a .500 season is all I'm realistically hoping for, unless we're spectacularly lucky with the health of our O-line and our QB's develop quickly.My point was that whenever the expectations are low the Cougars seem to excel. I pretty much agree with your assessment of the Cougs. A lot will depend upon our new QB (probably Josh Swogger). We've got some experienced players ready to step in at most positions. The non-conference schedule is pretty favorable (at New Mexico, Idaho, and Colorado @ Seattle), plus most of the Pac-10 heavies in Pullman.

I think 8-3 or 7-4 is a realistic goal.

[tucker342]

Good to see Iowa at #13.

[BishopMVP]

Notre Dame will finish the year in the Top 15.

[scooper]

Notre Dame will finish the year in the Top 15.
The offensive line is going to have to take a HUUUUUUUUGE step up for any chance of that happening.

I believe Quinn will be better. The receivers are deeper than they have been in years.

The running backs are a big question and the O-line was bad last year. But they were young, so I will give them the benefit of the doubt.

[BishopMVP]

The offensive line is going to have to take a HUUUUUUUUGE step up for any chance of that happening.

I believe Quinn will be better. The receivers are deeper than they have been in years.

The running backs are a big question and the O-line was bad last year. But they were young, so I will give them the benefit of the doubt.We've got the talent in the Offensive Line, IMO. Young, but talented. Quinn will be much, much better this year. He was starting as a true Freshman last year, and all the stuff I've heard from Spring Practice and the Blue/Gold Game has him much improved. At receiver, if anything, Stovall was a big disappointment last year. He and McKnight should come up big, and apparently Samardzija is looking really good too. We still have Grant at RB, and he should be solid. Depth is very suspect, but hopefully we'll find someone. On defense, we lose some guys, but we should have a very good Defensive Line and be able to get a lot of pressure on QB's with Abiamiri and Tuck, and we're got athletes elsewhere. Willingham finally has speed on defense and a QB that can run the West Coast offense. The schedule is tough, but not as bad as last year, and based on that and improvement, I'm projecting 9-10 wins, which should get us around #10-15. If we beat Michigan game 1 (@ND), I wouldn't be surprised to be 8-0 going into the Tennessee game.

[dawgfan]

My point was that whenever the expectations are low the Cougars seem to excel.

No argument there - for years the west coast press didn't give enough credit to the job that Mike Price did at WSU and just assumed the cellar for the Cougs. The biggest thing in their favor IMO is the establishment of a strong and consistent coaching staff - Mike Levenseller and Bill Doba have been running the offense and defense for years, and they've done a great job of finding players that fit their style. Stability in coaching is an often overlooked key component in sustained success.

BTW, does the 8-3 or 7-4 projections include the annual Apple Cup loss to the Huskies? ;)

[JasonC23]

Good to see Iowa at #13.
I concur. And to think, many thought hiring Kirk Ferentz was stupid...those silly people. :)

[WSUCougar]

No argument there - for years the west coast press didn't give enough credit to the job that Mike Price did at WSU and just assumed the cellar for the Cougs. The biggest thing in their favor IMO is the establishment of a strong and consistent coaching staff - Mike Levenseller and Bill Doba have been running the offense and defense for years, and they've done a great job of finding players that fit their style. Stability in coaching is an often overlooked key component in sustained success.I agree whole-heartedly. They've really emphasized the Cougar family aspect, too. By the way, don't know if you knew this, but Timm Rosenbach is now their QB coach. :cool:
BTW, does the 8-3 or 7-4 projections include the annual Apple Cup loss to the Huskies? ;)Evil, wicked man! Let's just say we're due in that respect.

[GoldenEagle]

No mention of Memphis makes this guy an idiot. We return every single starter on offense. We are three deep at each position on the offensive line. We have a gret defense. Our special teams will be much improved.

This guy has Louisville on the verge of getting in. The same Louisville we beat by like 50 points at Louisville. I just don't get it.

[Noop]

Florida State and Florida are ranked to high on this guys poll. Florida State should be 10 and Florida somewhere in the 20's...

[dawgfan]

I agree whole-heartedly. They've really emphasized the Cougar family aspect, too. By the way, don't know if you knew this, but Timm Rosenbach is now their QB coach. :cool:

Yeah, and they brought back George Yarno as line coach as well. I think the ex-player returning as coach thing works better at a school like WSU in the sense that WSU inspires particularly strong devotion in their alumni, and these coaches are more likely to stay at WSU rather than leave for other jobs. I thought it was illuminating how few guys left for Alabama with Coach Price. This is part of the whole longevity of staff advantage.

Evil, wicked man! Let's just say we're due in that respect.

Heh, yes you guys are. This will be as good a season as any - the streak of .500 or better seasons is in serious jeaopardy at Montlake...

[BishopMVP]

No mention of Memphis (in a preseason Top 25 college football poll) makes this guy an idiot.:eek: Never thought I'd see the day.:D

[lynchjm24]

No love for the Orange Bowl bound Huskies of Connecticut.... :confused:

[GoldenEagle]

:eek: Never thought I'd see the day.:D
So you agree? Good. :)

[mckerney]

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=2 width=560 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=cnnIEColHdrC style="FONT-SIZE: 18px; BORDER-LEFT: #666 1px solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #c7c7c7" width=45>9</TD><TD class=cnnIEColHdrC style="FONT-SIZE: 18px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #e7e7e7" width=45>--</TD><TD class=cnnIEColHdrC>http://i.cnn.net/si/images/football/college/logos/minnesota_65.gif</TD><TD class=cnnIEColTxtL>Minnesota Golden Gophers (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/ncaa/teams/minnesota/) (10-3)
Too high? Not if the defense is as stout as it looked this spring. Coupled with the nation's most dominant rushing tandem (Marion Barber and Laurence Maroney) and impressive sophomore QB Bryan Cupito, this could be the Gophers' year. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>



As a Gopher fan all I can say is, "No fucking way." Last year they were a 6-3 team who pulled off one of the biggest defensive choke jobs in the middle of the season. In Cupito you have a guy who couldn't beat out Kamrath for the backup QB spot last year. Kamrath, a guy who came close to completing 50% of his passes. Also the top receiver is a JC transfer coming off a serious knee injury.

I'd love to be able to say the Gophers are a top 10 team, but it's honestly one of the most ridiculous things I've ever read. I'd hope I'm wrong, but there's really nothing I've seen that can rationalize ranking them that high. I really don't think the defense will have a vast improved, and I don't think that Barber and Maroney will be able to carry the team.

[The Afoci]

I have more confidence in the JC QB out of California than I do Cupito. I think the defense will be much improved because of a few people becoming eligible because of grades now that were studs, at least for the Gopher defense. The offense will still be a machine this year. It isn't like Klaqic or whatever his name was lit the world on fire with his passing abilities.

[scooper]

That's a shame. I was wondering how Cupito was doing. He was phenominal in high school here in Cincinnati. I was hoping for good things from him.

[KWhit]

I am so ready for football season, but I'm with you, GD, all this hoopla around the Dawgs is a bad thing.