Can the Florida Gators win it all again?

Charlie got the ball rolling the other day with his preliminary top 25 poll. Today I unveil my top 25 poll, which will be averaged together with Charlie’s and Devon’s top 25 polls for our official ballot in the CBSSports.com BlogPoll.

Like just about every poll that is coming out the top three teams are a given. Florida takes the top spot in my initial poll as they return a boat load of starters from last year’s championship team. I felt last year that Texas was better than Oklahoma, and I feel that way once again. I fully expect Texas to play their way into the BCS Championship game in 2009, but Oklahoma will be ready to take their spot should the Longhorns slip.

I hesitated to USC as high as number four as they enter 2009 with a young quarterback tandem leading the charge. Still though the Trojans have mega talent and at the end of the year they may be chirping for a shot at the title game.

As for Penn State and Ohio State, it really could be a toss up. As it stands though I am predicting the Nittany Lions to win the Big Ten, including a head-to-head victory over the Buckeyes so naturally I have to put Penn State ahead of Ohio State for now.

Kool-Aid Tastes Funny, but not too Sour

Charlie left the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame out of his top 25 and I do not blame him. When the coaches poll was released I was slightly miffed at the notion that Notre Dame made a preseason appearance on the list for the first time in a couple seasons, but I was hardly in disbelief.

Notre Dame does some have talent on their team, like it or not. Are they as great as sliced bread? No, despite what Notre Dame fans will say.

When I put together my initial top 25 poll I try to predict where the teams will finish the season. Honestly, Notre Dame has a schedule that should get them into the top 25. I will not go as far as saying that Notre Dame should book plane tickets to any of the BCS bowl locations, but they should be able to pick up eight or nine wins, and with the media machine rolling behind them a top 25 finish is not at all out of the question.

A team that I feel has been given a free entry to the preseason top 25′s in a number of recent years is Florida State. Winning a pair of national championships in the 90′s has served the Seminoles well in some pre season polls as Florida State has become a regular in the initial polls despite not having much to offer. Playing in a weak ACC that rivals the ineptitude of the Big East recently, the Seminoles are usually one of the top teams discussed. the Seminoles last competed for the ACC championship in 2005, when they knocked off fifth ranked Virginia Tech to steal a BCS bid and played Penn State in a triple overtime Orange Bowl.

But this year could be a little different for Florida State. Despite a black cloud looming over the program right now they still possess the kind of talent that can bring home a 13th conference crown. Virginia Tech appears to be the stiffest competition, but Georgia Tech will be no slouch either. Florida state will host Georgia Tech as well as Miami and Maryland and Virginia Tech is not on the regular season schedule.

Surprise, Shockers, and Let-Downs

Rutgers is my surprise team in the top 25. Because they play in an anemic Big East where any team can win, and they have welcomed in former prized Penn State recruit Darrell Givens, I am going to take a stab in the dark and predict that Greg Schiano will coach Rutgers back to a bowl game. they get their toughest conference games at home against Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Cincinnati and South Florida. Brace yourself, because Rutgers could make a run for the Orange Bowl as Big East champions.

Is it considered a shock to have a popular and trendy top ten team not in my top ten? I am not prepared to dip into the pool when it comes to anointing Ole Miss as a possible national championship dark horse. Why? Because they beat Florida last year? To me it seems that Ole Miss is suffering from what I call “Pittitis”, a disease I came across when witnessing that early pollsters were quick to jump on the Pitt band wagon a couple early polls deemed Pitt as a legitimate threat from the Big East with nothing more than stating the act that they had beaten #2 West Virginia the prior season. The Rebels from Ole Miss may be a decent football squad, but basing their lofty pre season rankings based on the fact that they beat Florida last year and a Texas Tech team that does not know the concept of defense in the Cotton Bowl is sketchy at best. Remember that Ole Miss lost four games that were not against Florida. They had a fine season last year and picked up some nice wins, but I am not ready to purchase my ticket for this band wagon just yet.

As this is my first stab at the top 25 poll and a single game has not been played yet on the field, where it matters, I do not have a let down yet. But for future reference, this is the place I will discuss a particular team that I feel did not live up to expectations and may have dropped in my rankings for one reason or another.

On the Radar

Cal, Nebraska, Miami, Kansas, Texas Tech, West Virginia