AP Poll

Preseason AP Poll
Rank Team

1. Georgia 1,528
2. Ohio St. 1,506
3. Southern Cal 1,490
4. Oklahoma 1,444
5. Florida 1,415
6. Missouri
7. LSU
8. West Virginia
9. Clemson
10. Auburn
11. Texas
12. Texas Tech
13. Wisconsin
14. Kansas
15. Arizona St.
16. BYU
17. Virginia Tech
18. Tennessee
19. South Florida
20. Illinois
21. Oregon
22. Penn St.
23. Wake Forest
24. Alabama
25. Pittsburgh
Others receiving votes: South Carolina 84, Fresno St. 83, California 59, Utah 53, Cincinnati 44, Florida St. 41, Michigan 36, Boston College 32, Rutgers 32, Michigan St. 21, Boise St. 17, Arkansas 14, North Carolina 14, Connecticut 10, Tulsa 7, UCLA 6, Oregon St. 5, Mississippi St. 4, Virginia 4, Arizona 3, Nebraska 2, Notre Dame 2, Hawaii 1, Washington 1.

Will Syracuse ever make that list again.

If Hawaii can get a vote, anything is possible.

Nebraska, Notre Dame and Michigan are all unranked. That shouldn't last long.

Unlike the Coach's Poll, I think the AP got it right in not ranking Michigan. I still think the Wolverines will surprise some people this year. While they are learning a new offensive scheme, and will have a new QB, there are a lot of experienced players on offense, and the defense returns some good players on the line and in the secondary.

The wolverines are going to struggle to win 5 games this year. Utah is going to come into the big house & b*tch slap them in the opener. RR will get things turned around there but he needs a few years to get his kind of players. This next year or so is going to be rough.

Agreed. Rodriguez will be fine at UM but needs to get the right players to execute his spread offense. That's the danger with the spread vs. a traditional run game/drop back passer attack...When clicking, the spread can be nearly unstoppable, but it takes special athletes to make it function correctly. The play call alone doesn't generate any yardage, and success can depend on the sustained health of your 3-4 skill players.

The evidence could be seen last season, when after 2 months, Dennis Dixon was a Heisman candidate and undefeated Oregon was on track for a potential title game appearance. Swap in Leaf (drop back passer) for the injured Dixon, and suddenly Oregon loses three straight and looks like a mid-level PAC-10 team. (Not to say that ANY offense losing their starting QB wouldn't suffer...Just that it's easier to replace like-for-like.)

Two areas where the Wolverines alway deliver is with their lines. They always seem to recruit monsters regardless of what else may be missing from the rest of the roster. Introducing the spread offense should throw an interesting wrinkle into Big Ten - Eleven play. Utah is also unranked. The Utes usually seem to do well in conference. I think Michigan will be ready for the Utes after having learned from last season's App. St game. This matchup could be a good one. However, it is the opener for both teams so anything could happen.

Speaking of App. St. they play LSU on Aug 30th:

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news...p&type=lgns

Everybody will be keeping an eye on that LSU-App State game, but don't hold your breath, the Mountaineers lost quite a few players from that team.

As for Michigan, what they will rely on for the most part is their defense, which is quite good. After awhile the Wolverines offense will gain more experience and become more comfortable. I'm not saying they will win the Big 10 Conference, but I doubt they will be sub .500 team.

Utah is a legit top 25 team even though they start the season unranked. Them, BYU & Fresno ST are all going to be really good this year. Fresno St probably will not sniff the bcs bowls because of their schedule(play rutgers, wisconsin & I think UCLA OOC) but I would not be surprised that the winner of the season finale between Utah & BYU gets a bid into the BCS. I think they will beat Michigan.

I still say my Tigers could beat all those teams in the top 5. We are going to be absolutely nasty this year! Willy Mo for President!