My Pre-Preseason Rankings In College Football

The season is finally over, which means a brand new one is on the horizon. It's time to decide who is the best coming into next year. Many of these top ten teams you may be able to guess, but some may be a surprise.

1. Florida- Their is no doubt in my mind that Florida should be ranked #1 coming into next season. Their entire defense is returning after a dominating national championship run last year, and they're simply just gonna get better. Tim Tebow, one of the greatest of all-time, is returning to play QB, and most other starters are coming back also. Lately, the pre-season ranked #1 hasn't won the big one, but Florida has an awfully good chance.

2. Texas- Texas was very good last season, and all longhorn fans had a gripe about the BCS when it was all over with, but they still have much room for improvement. They have many young defensive back starters that will only get better, and they have QB Colt McCoy coming back for his senior season. With Colt McCoy directing the longhorns on offense, and some slight pass defense improvements, look for the longhorns to be high in the rankings.

3. Oklahoma State- When you think of national title contenders, Oklahoma State doesn't pop up in most peoples heads. But most college football fans do not realize how great this football is. With their big brothers Texas and Oklahoma overshadowing them, not many fans got to see how great they really are. They have tremendous veteran talent coming back on the offensive side of the ball, including QB Zac Robinson, WR Dez Bryant, RB Kendell Hunter, and OT Russell Okung. They're also not looking bad on defense either, with six starters coming back.

4. LSU- LSU may surprise many people next year. They won the national title two years ago, but were easily forgotten with their embarrassing five loss season, and outstanding performances by Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss, and Florida. LSU has the #1 recruiting class coming in, which can do wonders for a football team. Just look what it did to Alabama. They went from 8-5 to 11-2. LSU also has all of it's impact players returning, including WR Brandon LaFell, which may be one of LSU's best ever. If they can get their QB problem under control like they did in the Chick-fil-A bowl, then they will be a force to be reckoned with.

5. Ole Miss- Ole Miss surprised the nation last year with an amazing four loss season. Now...... wait a second. Four losses isn't amazing!!! Well in this case, some how it is. They were the only team to beat Florida, beat Arkansas, stuffed Auburn, squandered LSU, shut-out Mississippi, and showed Texas Tech who's boss. This team was a physical smash-mouth football team that improved during the season more than any other team in College Football. They have almost all of their starters coming back on both sides of the ball, and if some of their younger players can be a little bit more focussed, then they can be a threat to many SEC contenders next year.

6. Oregon- Usually USC is the top team in the Pac-10 year after year. But this year is going to be different. Sophomore QB Jeremiah Masoli is going to be a huge force for Oregon next year. With his powerful running game and poise in the pocket, It's gonna take one strong defense to tame him. Oregon also has motivated runner RB LeGarrette Blount, which will get more carries with former Oregon RB Jeremiah Johnson leaving. Oregon made a run at the title in 2006, but with QB Denis Dixon breaking his leg, the season went on a free-fall. The bottom line is that Oregon will be playing in the Rose Bowl one way or another.

7. Oklahoma- Oklahoma is virtually unstoppable at home. Better yet, they're unstoppable with Sam Bradford at home. Sam Bradford, along with most other offensive starters, are coming back for another season. Although the Sooners had an appearance in the national title last year, I don't think that they have the team to quite do the same this year. They simply have too many tough games on the road including Texas, Texas Tech, and Nebraska. I think that Oklahoma will be a great team, but Texas will end up grasping the Big 12.

8. USC- The reason I'm ranking USC lower than most people would, is because they lost 8 starters on defense. When You lose that many starters, no matter how good you are, it's hard to perform the same way. Losing Mark Sanchez won't be a problem though. USC is known for first year starters to be phenomenal. Their offense looks to be a little better than last years, but defensively, I don't think they can survive with only one loss.

9. Alabama- Although many fans were disappointed with their loss in the SEC championship game, the Tide have a good future in front of them. The #1 recruiting class was what sparked their great season last year, but I think it will do the same next year too. The players are only going to mature and improve their play, which results in Alabama being a considerable force the next couple of years.

10. Penn State- I'm not expecting Penn State to be the same one loss team as they were last year, but with Daryll Clark returning for his 5th year, Penn State looks to have a steady offense. Also, with the ol ball coach coming back to lead the Lions for the 44th straight season, they'll have a disciplined defense as well. I'm saying that they might be headed to the Rose Bowl if they get a few breaks.