Sorry folks, but we're having a family emergency that is preventing me from completing the editing of the preview. I have posted my preseason All America selections as well as my all conference picks, and my Top 25 and conference outlooks. I'll post the rest of the preview once I have the chance. Again, I apologize for the delay and, in the meanwhile, I hope you'll check out the parts of the preview that I've posted so far. Enjoy.


All America Teams

All Conference Teams

My Top 25

Conference Outlooks

You know I'm going to respectfully disagree with your first team All-American Safeties.

William Moore would Eat Taylor Mays and Nic Harris for breakfast.

Taylor Mays....67 Tackles 1 pic
William Moore.....117 Tackles 8 pics

Dear Rich,

You killed me by labeling Darnell Scott a longhorn.

Love,
Blue

Wow Rich, great info...I feel like my general team knowledge is decent, but I certainly defer to your knowledge of players. Well done.

A few thoughts/questions:

-You seem to like the Big East, with two teams in the top-10 and Pitt squeaking into your top-25 (including BOTH WVU and USF ahead of the AP #1 Georgia.) You really see USF as a top-10 team, huh?

-Is ND "that school"? Are you ranking them top-20 because they can't help but win 8-9 games due to their high school schedule?

-I have trouble buying into ND, Pitt, and Florida St in the top-25 and Fresno State not there. I think they will be legit. We'll find out in week 2 vs. Wisconsin.

-I love Florida's team but hate their schedule. They seemed to forget last season that they won in '06 with DEFENSE...They should still have the high-powered offense, but they aren't going anywhere if they give up 26 pts/game again this year.

-You think Moody will have a big enough role in the UF offense to earn 2nd-team all conference? It'll be interesting how they use him. A big 3rd & 3 just HAS to be Tebow, right?

-USC may struggle at QB and is young at WR, but McKnight should be electric, and that defense is LOADED

-No love for UNC sophomore safety Deunta Williams??? Not even 2nd-team all-conference??? Dude is a BEAST

-Are you going to post your overall conference-to-conference rankings?

-My thoughts on Preseason Polls- LOVE 'EM!! They generate excitement, get people talking, spur debate, and give a level of importance to these first few games. The impact of the preseason polls is DRASTICALLY overrated, in my opinion. If you win, you move up. If you lose, you move down. How many teams REALISTICALLY have a shot at winning the national title anyways??? The one year it was a real stink, Auburn started out ranked #16 and made it up to #3, but couldn't jump OU or USC. Well, even if they started the season at #3, they STILL wouldn't have jumped either of those teams, as they both went undefeated also. Last season, we entered the first week of December without knowing who was going to play in the BCS title game. A bunch of teams had chances at #1 and #2 throughout the season, and they lost. Can't blame that on pollsters.

Awesome job, thanks Rich.

Yeah forgot to say thanks Rich, good job as always

William Moore's stats certainly would eat Mays' and Harris' for breakfast, but, then again, Timmy Chang's stats ate Matt Leinart and Vince Young's stats for breakfast, too.

Hey, I like Moore, which is why he's on my 2nd team. But, the fact remains that Mays played on a defense that saw 4 players drafted in the first 2 rounds, 3 of them in the first round. That defense could likely add another 3 or 4 in the 2009 draft, so there's plenty of talent 'round Mays which could account for him not dominating the scene stat-wise.

Oops.

I cannot take all the credit. I watch my fair share of games, but I also rely on numerous media outlets, various guides, and input from those w/ ties to the college game (former players, coaches, admins) to get me through.

I also got some valued input from StlBills and BlueFire, which will be on display when I finally get the more in-depth team reviews posted.




When it comes to slotting teams, I not only take into account the talent level and such, but also the schedule they must deal w/. I like Georgia a lot (my early AA listing had Stafford ahead of Tebow), but I don't see them having nearly as smooth sailing as either WVU or USF (this will be my "team to watch" this year) will do. In the SEC, there is no smooth sailing.



Yup, and yup. It sucks that they'll probably get another undeserved free pass to the BCS, but I guess it'll be as fun for me as watching the last couple BCS title games has been for Michigan fans.



You could be right. I have them right behind Boise State in that conference, but I have them both outside the top 25 though. I hope the bulldogs prove me wrong. I also have my beloved PENN STATE out of the top 25, even though I've seen them listed in many top 25 polls so far.




Their defense has talented guys like Spikes and Joe Haden, who I feel will be an outstanding player for the Gators based on his excellent freshman year. Still, they aren't as loaded as other years and I feel that will be an issue for them if they get to a BCS title game. If there's a Florida-TOSU rematch, I'd give the edge to TOSU. They're every bit as determined to make amends as the US basketball team was in Beijing.




If they use Moody right and there's no injury concerns w/ him, third downs might not be an issue since teams will have to deal w/ his athleticism on first and second downs.




Not only is their defense loaded, but they're very physical. I'm taking a "wait and see" approach to Sanchez, which is why I didn't mention him in my All Pac 10 listing. I saw on ESPN that Mark May listed him as a "top 10 impact player" for this year? What a shock, since he's one of the biggest USC cheerleaders on that channel.




He, along w/ Haden and Crabtree, are among the top sophomores to watch this year. Then again, Perez is technically a sophomore (transferred to the Terps from USC after his freshman year) and I've heard a LOT of good things 'bout how he's doing. I took a flyer on him, though neither guy 'tween Perez and Williams is a slouch.



I plan on it. I just need to find the time and not have life throw any more curveballs @ me. For a while, we thought we weren't going to be able to even make the home opener next weekend, but it looks like that might be safe. For now.




Thanks, and I agree that it's nice to have something to stir up interest. I could've just parrotted what the AP would do or what some other person thought, but I tried to add not only where I thought teams should be rated, but how their schedule would affect them, the level of maturity of the team (a very good group of sophomores or juniors, or solid senior leadership?), injuries, and other factors to shake things up. It's not perfect; just something to jump start college football discussion.

I still have more to do, as I am editing the team previews and will post them as soon as they're done.

Yeah but "offensive systems" can drastically increase stats....just as the spread offense has seen the offensive stats of Tebow, Daniel, and Harrel explode over the last few years. Thats the difference between a guy like Chang and other QBs like Young and Leinhart (although Young and Leinhart put up pretty impressive stats themselves). The same can't really be said for defense, although having other talented players on a defensive could reduce the amount of plays an individual makes it doesn't explain such a gap between Moore and Mays. Moore lead the NCAA in Ints last year and is the best ballhawk in the Nation but it doesn't end there.........he's a 230lb wrecking machine that is equal parts head hunter as he is ballhawk. Mays may have all the physical attributes to be a great safety (although Moore's are off the charts) but he's way too inconsistent to be considered in the same class as my boy Willy Mo. Just wait for Sat., somebody in Blue and Orange is going to get there lunch money stolen.

You know I like Moore, but you said that Mays having 3 first round picks, a second round pick, and 3 first team preseason All America teammates doesn't affect his stats? C'mon now.

Both guys are very good and should have standout seasons. I'll leave it @ that.

Thats not what I'm saying at at all, I admit it affects his stats but not by a margin of Seven Pics. Thats my argument, I know guys like Rey M. are going to be getting a sh*tload of tackles themselves. Anyway, agree to disagree....good job and thanks for the good read.

Moore is legit, no doubt. But he has had one incredible breakout season...The year before that, he started just 4 games as a sophomore.

Mays has been a freak of nature since he arrived in LA, starting from day 1 on one of the best defenses in the nation. He had a tender ankle for the majority of his sophmore season, which likely affected his ball hawking. I'm sure he's poised for a big junior year, much like Moore had in his junior year in '07.

Both are the "hybrid" type safeties (linebacker size and hitting, CB speed and coverage) that every NCAA and NFL coach is dreaming about at the moment.

Thanks, for your comments and your contributions to the preview. This discussion to be continued on September 28th.

You gotta love these new safeties. I've been creating guys like this on videogames for years, and now we get the real thing.

Kinda makes me long for the days when I begged my HS coach to let me try out @ corner, when I was 6'5" and 'bout 200lbs. Then I think 'bout the overall size of players nowadays; that's where the "kinda" part comes from.