I say....
15. Florida State Seminoles
Seminoles will watch a Bobby Bowdenless sideline for the first in the history of relevant FSU football for the first time ever this fall, but there is one sight they are used to seeing that will still be present, a team with top notch talent ranked in the 20's most of the season. This entire decade has been a tremendous struggle for the once powerhouse program. The Seminoles despite being far and away the best team in their division in the ACC have gone six years now without the division title but there is a very good cahnce of that changing this fall.
The Seminoles are absolutely loaded on offense. QB Christian Ponder is one of the best QB's in the country and should gain the attention of plenty of NFL scouts by the end of next season, and is easily the best QB in the ACC. The offensive line returners all five starters and Rodney Hudson is thought to be the best Guard in the entire country. The WR's are shaky, but Ponder is good enough to get good performances out of them.
The defense is the reason the 'noles went a mere 7-6 last season, it's awful.... statistically. Now I was completely against the way Bowden was forced out of FSU last year, for everything he has done for the program it was completely unfair, but the guy was killing the defense. The defense is filled with five star recruits and a few among the top five at their respective position in the country. The problems, I believe, were more coaching and scheme than talent. The linebackers are very talented but there is no other proven production on this unit but new defensive co-ordinator has done well with a lot less talent at Arizona over the last few seasons. The D almost certainly will be better than last year.
The schedule is pretty nightmarish. The seminoles get to skip Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech in conference play this year, so to make up for it they scheduled Oklahoma and Byu in out-of-conference play, to go along with the annual grudge match against Florida. So much for taking advantage of a weak schedule. The good news is that FSU will play only two quality teams on the road all year, Oklahoma and Miami. The Oklahoma and BYU games are two of the first three games, and North Carolina, Clemson, and Florida make up three of the last four.
Prediction: Winner ACC Atlantic division.
14. Iowa Hawkeyes
Iowa is the best team that no one trusts in the country. Admit it, at the end of last season, you thought the Hawkeyes 11 win season was due mostly to their schedule. Iowa surged into the topthree last season, despite trailing in every game they played last year with the exception of the Orange Bowl against Georgia Tech. Despite a 9-0 start, Iowa managed to lose the conference to Ohio State as well. The 'Eyes are good though, make no mistake about it, and they should be just as good this year.
The offense is full of question marks. Most will tell you that Ricky Stanzi is a great QB. He isn't. His numbers tell a different story than watching him play tells. Stanzi is bad under pressure and is risk averse to the point where he just begged to be sacked if someone isn't wide open. This is particulary bad because Iowa will have to replace four starters on the line this year, replacing to 2nd team all-americans. The good news is that Iowa has plenty of talent at the skill positions and the new players on the line should be very good, just too fresh to be great.
The Hawkeyes could be really special on defense, if they make BCS noise this season, it will be on the back of the defensive line. The players up fornt are getting more hype this season than any other defensive unit in college football this season. Overall, the entire defense should be great, but in a league where teams love to run and play power football, Iowa's stands out as a difference maker.
The schedule is just what a team wants if it wants to make a national championship run. It is balanced, has good teams on it, a good number at home, but doesn't look brutal. The only test in the first four games is a trip to Arizona, surive that and a 4-0 start is a given. Then starts the hard part of the schedule, Wisconsin, Penn. State, Michigan, and Michigan State in consecutive games. The good news is only Michigan is on the road among those and that team is very, very unproven. The only challenge among the final four, if this team is as good as billed, will be the home date with Ohio State. Overall, with Penn. State, Wisconsin, and Ohio State coming to Iowa this season, there is no excuse not to win the conference.
Prediction: Third place, Capital One Bowl
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