Preseason Top 25 Polls

[Whiskeyjack]

Wait.... Stanford is seriously #2?

They lost all their offensive play makers and they...

Alrighty then.

Aside from Taylor, they didn't have much in the way of offensive play makers anyway. They're only replacing 1 OL, which has been the strength of their offense for years now. Most expect Hogan to improve and one of their promising RBs to emerge (Gaffney, Sanders, Jr., etc.), so it's not unreasonable (though #2 is pretty high). They'll be very good at running the ball (as usual), but it could get ugly when they run into a team that can stop them cold (enter Nix and co.).

They return almost everyone on defense. Losing Chase Thomas hurts, but they've still got lots of nasty pass-rushers. Will probably be our toughest game next season.

 

[ACamp1900]

Aside from Taylor, they didn't have much in the way of offensive play makers anyway. They're only replacing 1 OL, which has been the strength of their offense for years now. Most expect Hogan to improve and one of their promising RBs to emerge (Gaffney, Sanders, Jr., etc.), so it's not unreasonable (though #2 is pretty high). They'll be very good at running the ball (as usual), but it could get ugly when they run into a team that can stop them cold (enter Nix and co.).

They return almost everyone on defense. Losing Chase Thomas hurts, but they've still got lots of nasty pass-rushers. Will probably be our toughest game next season.

As a compliment to Stanford more than a knock on anyone else, I totally agree...

sidenote: it's nice having a program that actually does things right represent our greatest challenge in COLLEGE football... rather than the more recent road blocks in years past.

 

[woolybug25]

Aside from Taylor, they didn't have much in the way of offensive play makers anyway. They're only replacing 1 OL, which has been the strength of their offense for years now. Most expect Hogan to improve and one of their promising RBs to emerge (Gaffney, Sanders, Jr., etc.), so it's not unreasonable (though #2 is pretty high). They'll be very good at running the ball (as usual), but it could get ugly when they run into a team that can stop them cold (enter Nix and co.).

They return almost everyone on defense. Losing Chase Thomas hurts, but they've still got lots of nasty pass-rushers. Will probably be our toughest game next season.

The other way to look at is that they lost their best defensive player in Thomas (we dropped because of Manti) and had a very disappointing recruiting class. They weren't worthy of a top 2 ranking at seasons end, and they certainly don't seem to be a better team today than they were then.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

The other way to look at is that they lost their best defensive player in Thomas (we dropped because of Manti)...

That's very true. Having Murphy and Thomas coming off both edges was a "pick your poison" type of scenario. Assuming the OLB that replaces Thomas isn't equally terrifying, their overall defensive production could take a significant step backward; not just from losing one terrific player, but from losing that uniformity of strength.

...and had a very disappointing recruiting class.

2013 was a very weak class for them, but to reiterate Irish Houstonian's earlier point, incorporating the most recent recruiting class into pre-season rankings is pretty stupid anyway. Very few start as true freshman, and even fewer become immediate impact players.

They weren't worthy of a top 2 ranking at seasons end, and they certainly don't seem to be a better team today than they were then.

Greyhammer posted earlier that teams should be ranked "where they belong, not where you predict they'll end up at the end of the season." I don't really agree with that, since that's the only ranking method that can be objectively verified at the end of the season. What's the alternative? Ranking based on who the strongest team is coming out of fall camp?

To be clear, I'm not defending Stanford at #2. That's obviously too high, since they're not close to being a complete team. WR and TE are huge question marks for them, and they were weak against the pass in 2012 (though their secondary will probably improve). But they're easily a top-10 team.

 

[woolybug25]

To be clear, I'm not defending Stanford at #2. That's obviously too high, since they're not close to being a complete team. WR and TE are huge question marks for them, and they were weak against the pass in 2012 (though their secondary will probably improve). But they're easily a top-10 team.

I feel the exact same. They are a very good team that is top 10 worthy. A #2 ranking is absurd though. Makes you wonder if they did it simply to get us talking about it, eh?

 

[Old Man Mike]

Gentlemen, be HAPPY with Stanford as an overrated #2 and hope that they squeeze by all their games until we get them. I hope that we're both undefeated and both ranked in the Top-3 going into that. Or Stanford the only undefeated team left but we're one of the Top-4 and we beat them. We then jump Stanford and an SEC team to play the "other SEC team" for the NC. Or an SEC is undefeated, and already crowned by ESPN, but both Stanford and OSU are ahead of us. We beat Stanford and jump OSU. Think Happy. Such things can happen.

 

[FearTheBeard]

Michigan at 12 just makes me laugh. No way Stanford should be 2 but they will be very tough. Our D should be nasty again next year and i think as long as Golson continues to improve we should have a great season. With Golson having a year under his belt we should rack up some points and stomp teams like Purdue...

 

[Cogs]

I do not care what bowl game we end up in. I do not care how well our season goes (okay yes I do). I do not care if I break my hand again in frustration of watching an ND game. I do not care if the Sky falls....Just please PLEASE PLEASE beat Michigan. (And if we somehow rematch Bama at the end of the year....)

 

[Me2SouthBend]

And no U$C in the top 25. That just feels good. Seems appropriate they are a #2 (aka a Duece, as in I need to drop one)... in their own city.

 

[quarterback1010]

They also had USC ranked #1 this time last year. I think Michigan was in the top 10 as well. Who cares........

 

[palinurus]

And Louisville lost to freaking UCONN at home and got blown out by SYRACUSE similar to what we had happen with Alabama. Ridiculous.

this ^.

With OOC games vs. Ohio, E Ky, KY and Fla Int'l, Louisville shouldn't smell the top ten unless they have one loss or none.

 

[Irish Insanity]

They also had USC ranked #1 this time last year. I think Michigan was in the top 10 as well. Who cares........

Hell that was at the start of the season

 

[Booslum31]

ESPN is trying to be "significant" with rankings when in fact they are bias and use faulty logic in their selections. The schedule of games that they will carry this year probably played as much a role in their rankings as anything. Trying to make the news...not reporting the news.

 

[Ultimate Penn St. Hater]

Pre-season rankings are a joke. It gets proven every year.

 

[palinurus]

I suspect we will have tough games against Mich (I expect Gardner to be much better), Oky, and Stanford, plus So Cal makes me nervous, coming off our bye/fall break week. That hasn't been the best week the last two years, although Kelly did smoke Utah coming off the break in 2010. I would also expect a tough game or two that is a let down or looking ahead deal -- Purdue, AZ St and/or BYU. Not to be too pessimistic, but I'll take 10-2, finish 9th and win a good bowl game right now. I think 2014 is going to be much easier.

 

[IrishSteelhead]

Lot of transitive property going on here:

Bama: blew out ND, obviously deserve to be where they are
Stanford: I got nothing for this one
Ohio State: undefeated season, need a B1G up there to boost conversation, understandable
A&M: beat a team on the road that waxed us, no complaints
Oregon: 2 BCS wins in a row, no qualms here
Georgia: Took a team to the wire that killed us, see why they're ahead
Florida: Should have beaten UGA, and they took Bama to wire, deep but understandable reach
Louisville: Killed team that should have beaten UGA, who took Bama to the wire, now we are in 6 degrees Kevin Bacon status

*I don't mind #9 at all personally, and that is actually higher than some other ones I've seen. We are top 5 across the board if we didn't get throttled in Miami. Period.

 

[GoIrish41]

What does it matter how crummy Alamama's schedule was/is? When we played them, they whooped us pretty good.

They always have the SEC championship to navigate at the end of their season if they are going to make it to the NC game. Does anyone think that their weak schedule makes the overrated? really?

 

[phork]

Aside from Taylor, they didn't have much in the way of offensive play makers anyway. They're only replacing 1 OL, which has been the strength of their offense for years now. Most expect Hogan to improve and one of their promising RBs to emerge (Gaffney, Sanders, Jr., etc.), so it's not unreasonable (though #2 is pretty high). They'll be very good at running the ball (as usual), but it could get ugly when they run into a team that can stop them cold (enter Nix and co.).

They return almost everyone on defense. Losing Chase Thomas hurts, but they've still got lots of nasty pass-rushers. Will probably be our toughest game next season.

Zach Ertz? 69 catches 898 yards and 6 TDs, was a big deal.

 

[BobD]

I can't wait to be at the Stanford game this year.

Dang, two bye weeks this year.

 

[Booslum31]

Lot of transitive property going on here:

Bama: blew out ND, obviously deserve to be where they are
Stanford: I got nothing for this one
Ohio State: undefeated season, need a B1G up there to boost conversation, understandable
A&M: beat a team on the road that waxed us, no complaints
Oregon: 2 BCS wins in a row, no qualms here
Georgia: Took a team to the wire that killed us, see why they're ahead
Florida: Should have beaten UGA, and they took Bama to wire, deep but understandable reach
Louisville: Killed team that should have beaten UGA, who took Bama to the wire, now we are in 6 degrees Kevin Bacon status

*I don't mind #9 at all personally, and that is actually higher than some other ones I've seen. We are top 5 across the board if we didn't get throttled in Miami. Period.

I agree with this breakdown...I kind of like the 9 spot and will enjoy watching ND work it's way up next year. At least we aren't unranked and have to work through 25 teams to get to #1.

 

[WakeUpEchoes]

Gentlemen, be HAPPY with Stanford as an overrated #2 and hope that they squeeze by all their games until we get them. I hope that we're both undefeated and both ranked in the Top-3 going into that. Or Stanford the only undefeated team left but we're one of the Top-4 and we beat them. We then jump Stanford and an SEC team to play the "other SEC team" for the NC. Or an SEC is undefeated, and already crowned by ESPN, but both Stanford and OSU are ahead of us. We beat Stanford and jump OSU. Think Happy. Such things can happen.

I agree that we will jump Stanford and beat them to end the season, completely.

Ohio State will be undefeated going into the UM game, and it is an absolute TRAVESTY. Their pre-season ranking & schedule are a disservice to every other team that will have a legit shot to get into the big game next season, and represent exactly what is wrong with pre-season rankings.

Go ahead (in general, not you OMM) and look at their schedule for next year, and tell me a game (besides Michigan) that they will lose. And they will NOT lose to Northwestern.

 

[chicago51]

I hate it when they rank teams low because they assume they will lose because of the schedule. It happens every year to a couple of teams. You're supposed to rank the team where they belong, not where you predict they'll end up at the end of the season. Good example is last season, where most people kept us out of the top 25 because "our schedule was just too hard". What does that have to do with it?

Could not have said it better. For preseason rankings you rank the team not the schedule.

 

[chicago51]

I agree that we will jump Stanford and beat them to end the season, completely.

Ohio State will be undefeated going into the UM game, and it is an absolute TRAVESTY. Their pre-season ranking & schedule are a disservice to every other team that will have a legit shot to get into the big game next season, and represent exactly what is wrong with pre-season rankings.

Go ahead (in general, not you OMM) and look at their schedule for next year, and tell me a game (besides Michigan) that they will lose. And they will NOT lose to Northwestern.

At Northwestern baby! They are going down.

Okay it is unlikely but I have had the privilege of meeting some NW coaches at coaching clinics and outreach events. I got a Fitzgerald autographed football. So I got to pull for them.

 

[irishff1014]

I agree that we will jump Stanford and beat them to end the season, completely.

Ohio State will be undefeated going into the UM game, and it is an absolute TRAVESTY. Their pre-season ranking & schedule are a disservice to every other team that will have a legit shot to get into the big game next season, and represent exactly what is wrong with pre-season rankings.

Go ahead (in general, not you OMM) and look at their schedule for next year, and tell me a game (besides Michigan) that they will lose. And they will NOT lose to Northwestern.

Penn state is their second toughest game Wow.

 

[JughedJones]

.

 

[Bishop2b5]

Lot of transitive property going on here:

Bama: blew out ND, obviously deserve to be where they are
Stanford: I got nothing for this one
Ohio State: undefeated season, need a B1G up there to boost conversation, understandable
A&M: beat a team on the road that waxed us, no complaints
Oregon: 2 BCS wins in a row, no qualms here
Georgia: Took a team to the wire that killed us, see why they're ahead
Florida: Should have beaten UGA, and they took Bama to wire, deep but understandable reach
Louisville: Killed team that should have beaten UGA, who took Bama to the wire, now we are in 6 degrees Kevin Bacon status

*I don't mind #9 at all personally, and that is actually higher than some other ones I've seen. We are top 5 across the board if we didn't get throttled in Miami. Period.

Not so sure we deserve to be #1. We're losing too much on the OL and a couple of major DL players. OL worries me the most.

Stanford's a little over-ranked. Good team and great coach, but there's not that much elite talent.

OSU sure has an easy path to an undefeated season, but everybody said the same about FSU last year too. Hard not to stumble somewhere along the line.

UF is a mystery. They looked so good all year, but then that disaster in the bowl left me wondering if they were for real or just a paper tiger. I'm leaning towards writing it off as just a bad night, but time will tell.

ND should probably be a couple spots higher and definitely ahead of Louisville, but #9 is not a big problem. Win and you'll climb. You moved up 25 spots last year. Preseason top 10 puts you easily within striking distance if you win.

 

[JughedJones]

Can you imagine if we had a schedule that included the Florida A+M Rattlers, Buffalo Bulls, SD State Aztecs, and the Hoosiers?

We would be absolutely raked through the coals.

Give me a ****ing break. I say would would have crushed Ohio State last year, maybe will this year in the NCG? That would be a dream.

 

[BobD]

I could honestly give a $hit where we're ranked right now. We'll have an amazing team this year, kick some major a$$ and win a BCS bowl game. Mark it down.

 

[WakeUpEchoes]

At Northwestern baby! They are going down.

Okay it is unlikely but I have had the privilege of meeting some NW coaches at coaching clinics and outreach events. I got a Fitzgerald autographed football. So I got to pull for them.

I know, and I specifically said not to say Northwestern because I remembered you know a good amount about the program, and have been predicting a NW win over OSU for awhile.

I mean, theoretically it is possible, and I agree with you that NW will be a good team. But there aren't any games on OSU's schedule that stick out and say "wow, that game will be crazy competitive." It's just asinine to me that they can schedule that nonsense. I guess it is not completely their fault, and part of it is the lack of solid play in the BIG10.

 

[chicago51]

I know, and I specifically said not to say Northwestern because I remembered you know a good amount about the program, and have been predicting a NW win over OSU for awhile.

I mean, theoretically it is possible, and I agree with you that NW will be a good team. But there aren't any games on OSU's schedule that stick out and say "wow, that game will be crazy competitive." It's just asinine to me that they can schedule that nonsense. I guess it is not completely their fault, and part of it is the lack of solid play in the BIG10.

Yes my wishing aside the reality is the OSU schedule is soft. Urban Meyer should almost be fired if he does not got 12-0.