USA Today Coaches' Poll

[The Polish Irishman]

2009 preseason poll



Rank Team (first-place votes) 2008 record Points Final 2008 rank

1. Florida (53) 13-1 1,466 1
2. Texas (4) 12-1 1,386 3
3. Oklahoma (1) 12-2 1,358 5
4. Southern California (1) 12-1 1,321 2
5. Alabama 12-2 1,134 6
6. Ohio State 10-3 1,126 11
7. Virginia Tech 10-4 1,020 14
8. Penn State 11-2 988 8
9. LSU 8-5 917 NR
10. Mississippi 9-4 889 15
11. Oklahoma State 9-4 861 18
12. California 9-4 711 25
13. Georgia 10-3 707 10
14. Oregon 10-3 694 9
15. Georgia Tech 9-4 559 22
16. Boise State 12-1 542 13
17. TCU 11-2 461 7
18. Utah 13-0 404 4
19. Florida State 9-4 371 23
20. North Carolina 8-5 293 NR
21. Iowa 9-4 257 20
22. Nebraska 9-4 236 NR
23. Notre Dame 7-6 194 NR
24. Brigham Young 10-3 178 21
25. Oregon State 9-4 165 19

Others receiving votes (with 2008 records)
Kansas (8-5) 138; Michigan State (9-4) 136; Texas Tech (11-2) 114; Cincinnati (11-3) 90; Pittsburgh (9-4) 64; West Virginia (9-4) 55; Rutgers (8-5) 51; Miami (Fla.) (7-6) 46; Missouri (10-4) 44; Illinois (5-7) 38; Clemson (7-6) 30; South Carolina (7-6) 18; UCLA (4-8) 14; Auburn (5-7) 12; Nevada (7-6) 11; South Florida (8-5) 11; Kentucky (7-6) 9; North Carolina State (6-7) 7; Arkansas (5-7) 6; Wisconsin (7-6) 6; Northwestern (9-4) 5; Southern Mississippi (7-6) 4; Wake Forest (8-5) 4; Arizona (8-5) 3; Boston College (9-5) 3; Central Michigan (8-5) 3; East Carolina (9-5) 3; Colorado (5-7) 2; Maryland (8-5) 2; Navy (8-5) 2; Tennessee (5-7) 2; Houston (8-5) 1; Michigan (3-9) 1; Minnesota (7-6) 1; Troy (8-5) 1

 

[The Polish Irishman]

No real surprises here. Remember UGA was #1 last year in the preseason poll. I don't think polls should come out until week 3.

Who gave Michigan a vote? I bet Dick Rod voted for himself.

 

[notredomer23]

Ohio State at #6??That is way to high

 

[nlroma1o]

Ohio State at #6??That is way to high

I thought the same thing. Do you think the will be able to beat U$C at home?

 

[notredomer23]

I thought the same thing. Do you think the will be able to beat U$C at home?

I hope not cuz I want USC to come in undefeated when we play them

 

[irishtrain]

coaches poll

coaches poll

Yes Sir-have um come in here undefeated

 

[BGIF]

ND '09 Opponents in '09 Preseason Coaches Poll

ND '09 Opponents in '09 Preseason Coaches Poll

Rank Team (first-place votes) 2008 record Points Final 2008 rank

4. Southern California (1) 12-1 1,321 2
23. Notre Dame 7-6 194 NR

Other Opponents receiving votes (with 2008 records)
27. Michigan State (9-4) 136
30. Pittsburgh (9-4) 64
40. Nevada (7-6) 11
50. Boston College (9-5) 358
55. Navy (8-5) 2
58. Michigan (3-9) 1

Other Opponents NOT receiving votes
CON (8-5)
SU (5-7)
PU (4-8)
UW (0-12)
WSU (2-11)

 

[irish4ever]

Other Opponents NOT receiving votes
CON (8-5)
SU (5-7)
PU (4-8)
UW (0-12)
WSU (2-11)

And Navy.

I'm a little surprised that Bobby "Whine Ass" Bowden's Free Shoes University is ranked 19th. I thought that they may slip in between 22-25, but not the top 20!?

 

[BGIF]

And Navy. ...

Actually Navy's in the ORV Category. They got 2 votes. I had them on my handwritten list but dropped them when typing the post. Thanks for catching that.

 

[Bubba]

Actually Navy's in the ORV Category. They got 2 votes. I had them on my handwritten list but dropped them when typing the post. Thanks for catching that.

And you call yourself a mod?

 

[WabashFalcon]

Gotta say... I think we are right where we should be.

 

[IrishAddiction]

Texas, OSU, and Georgia Tech.... my bets to have the best shot at going to the BCS championship.

And i agree with Wabash, ND is right where it should be as of now. Actually, we are the only team with under 8 wins that they put in the top 25, so i consider us lucky.

Hell, if i was another coach i dont know if i even would have put us in the top 25 until we prove we can win. JUST IMO.

 

[BillyIrish]

living in Columbus, This poll for whatever reason has given my friends a reason to trash our ranking. I mean one guy was literally offended that we are #23. no playmakers on D he says. Clausen is ok, Allen and Hughes are average, Floyd and Tate are good he begrudgingly admits. i ask how many games he thinks we will win. he responds with 9. my response to that was "wouldnt we be ranked if we end up 9-3" still waiting on the rebuttal...

preseason polls are pointless. just gives the talking heads something to debate. if we win them all, we will be playing in Pasadena.

 

[Bubba]

living in Columbus, This poll for whatever reason has given my friends a reason to trash our ranking. I mean one guy was literally offended that we are #23. no playmakers on D he says. Clausen is ok, Allen and Hughes are average, Floyd and Tate are good he begrudgingly admits. i ask how many games he thinks we will win. he responds with 9. my response to that was "wouldnt we be ranked if we end up 9-3" still waiting on the rebuttal...

preseason polls are pointless. just gives the talking heads something to debate. if we win them all, we will be playing in Pasadena.

Whatever, I think OSU is overrated as well. Maybe we don't deserve to be ranked in the preseason, but many don't. I think we will be in the top-10 by the time the season ends, so who cares what the preseason rankings are.

 

[Bubba]

Texas, OSU, and Georgia Tech.... my bets to have the best shot at going to the BCS championship.

And i agree with Wabash, ND is right where it should be as of now. Actually, we are the only team with under 8 wins that they put in the top 25, so i consider us lucky.

Hell, if i was another coach i dont know if i even would have put us in the top 25 until we prove we can win. JUST IMO.

I think GT will be the surprise of the season. Even though, they shouldn't be. Their D will be good and they will control the clock with their run game. I think they win the ACC and will be in a BCS bowl.

 

[BGIF]

... I think we will be in the top-10 by the time the season ends, so who cares what the preseason rankings are.

There could be as many as half a dozen unbeaten teams at season's end. Considering Conference Bowl Tie-Ins, Revenue Sharing, and Secret Ballots in the Coaches Poll, those that start out ranked higher have a significantly better chance of making BCS bowls and the NC game.

It's a lot easier to climb to #2 and make the NC game from Preseason #5 slot than it is from the 17th slot.

With a perceived softer schedule ND is not going to get a boost from knocking off a couple of Top 10 Teams, ND needs teams ahead to lose on their own.

 

[NeuteredDoomer]

... loss on their own.

I get loss on my own often.

Fox sports on MSN has ND at 17.

College Football Power Rankings - Top 25 NCAA Football Teams - FOX Sports on MSN

 

[BGIF]

... Fox sports on MSN has ND at 17. ...

Sporting News (magazine) has ND at #18 and forecasts the Irish to the Fiesta Bowl.

#17, #18, or Coach's #23, it's still a lot of ground to cover to get to the Title Game. Starting out inside the Top 10 makes it a lot easier.

 

[NeuteredDoomer]

Yeah. But you have to eat what's on your plate before you can ask for dessert.

 

[no.1IrishFan]

Yeah. But you have to eat what's on your plate before you can ask for dessert.

Well said, sorry i can't rep you yet.

 

[Dizzyphil]

Yeah. But you have to eat what's on your plate before you can ask for dessert.

+1

Power Rankings, USA Today, Coaches Poll, all mean shit right now. Just conversation and argument starters. As CW said in his press conference, 'show me' an 'prove it'.

I don't know about you fellas, (and gals), but I need a good year.
Dizzy

 

[NDOM]

There could be as many as half a dozen unbeaten teams at season's end. Considering Conference Bowl Tie-Ins, Revenue Sharing, and Secret Ballots in the Coaches Poll, those that start out ranked higher have a significantly better chance of making BCS bowls and the NC game.

It's a lot easier to climb to #2 and make the NC game from Preseason #5 slot than it is from the 17th slot.

With a perceived softer schedule ND is not going to get a boost from knocking off a couple of Top 10 Teams, ND needs teams ahead to lose on their own.

This I agree with. Even if we DID (which we wont) go undefeated, there is gonna be at least 4-6 teams ahead of us that will deserve the chance to play for the National Championship more than us. Our schedual is cupcake and we dont really have a good track record when it comes to the BCS. So an undefeated season to me is more than likely a BCS bowl for sure but not the title game.

 

[notredomer23]

This I agree with. Even if we DID (which we wont) go undefeated, there is gonna be at least 4-6 teams ahead of us that will deserve the chance to play for the National Championship more than us. Our schedual is cupcake and we dont really have a good track record when it comes to the BCS. So an undefeated season to me is more than likely a BCS bowl for sure but not the title game.

disagree. If we go undefeated, that means we will most likely give USC its only loss, beat a Pitt team picked to win the big east, and MSU who will have one of the top defenses in the country. If we go undefeated we will finish top 2 because we are notre dame

 

[Bubba]

Maybe this should be in the bold predictions thread, but I'm gonna jump out on a limb here and say for a fact that there will not be 6 undefeated teams at the end of the season. If we handle our business and have no more than 1 loss we will be in the BCS equation. Getting into the NC game with one loss will be about luck. If we are undefeated we will be in the title game IMO. Simply because others will have fallen at least once.

 

[Riddickulous]

2009 preseason poll



Rank Team (first-place votes) 2008 record Points Final 2008 rank

1. Florida (53) 13-1 1,466 1
2. Texas (4) 12-1 1,386 3
3. Oklahoma (1) 12-2 1,358 5
4. Southern California (1) 12-1 1,321 2
5. Alabama 12-2 1,134 6
6. Ohio State 10-3 1,126 11
7. Virginia Tech 10-4 1,020 14
8. Penn State 11-2 988 8
9. LSU 8-5 917 NR
10. Mississippi 9-4 889 15
11. Oklahoma State 9-4 861 18
12. California 9-4 711 25
13. Georgia 10-3 707 10
14. Oregon 10-3 694 9
15. Georgia Tech 9-4 559 22
16. Boise State 12-1 542 13
17. TCU 11-2 461 7
18. Utah 13-0 404 4
19. Florida State 9-4 371 23
20. North Carolina 8-5 293 NR
21. Iowa 9-4 257 20
22. Nebraska 9-4 236 NR
23. Notre Dame 7-6 194 NR
24. Brigham Young 10-3 178 21
25. Oregon State 9-4 165 19

Others receiving votes (with 2008 records)
Kansas (8-5) 138; Michigan State (9-4) 136; Texas Tech (11-2) 114; Cincinnati (11-3) 90; Pittsburgh (9-4) 64; West Virginia (9-4) 55; Rutgers (8-5) 51; Miami (Fla.) (7-6) 46; Missouri (10-4) 44; Illinois (5-7) 38; Clemson (7-6) 30; South Carolina (7-6) 18; UCLA (4-8) 14; Auburn (5-7) 12; Nevada (7-6) 11; South Florida (8-5) 11; Kentucky (7-6) 9; North Carolina State (6-7) 7; Arkansas (5-7) 6; Wisconsin (7-6) 6; Northwestern (9-4) 5; Southern Mississippi (7-6) 4; Wake Forest (8-5) 4; Arizona (8-5) 3; Boston College (9-5) 3; Central Michigan (8-5) 3; East Carolina (9-5) 3; Colorado (5-7) 2; Maryland (8-5) 2; Navy (8-5) 2; Tennessee (5-7) 2; Houston (8-5) 1; Michigan (3-9) 1; Minnesota (7-6) 1; Troy (8-5) 1

Virginia Tech, LSU, Oregon, Georgia Tech (WTF?), North Carolina, and Nebraska are all too highly ranked. And I believe Michigan State should be ranked. I think MSU is going to be a great team for years to come. Dantonio is a great coach.

living in Columbus, This poll for whatever reason has given my friends a reason to trash our ranking. I mean one guy was literally offended that we are #23. no playmakers on D he says. Clausen is ok, Allen and Hughes are average, Floyd and Tate are good he begrudgingly admits. i ask how many games he thinks we will win. he responds with 9. my response to that was "wouldnt we be ranked if we end up 9-3" still waiting on the rebuttal...

preseason polls are pointless. just gives the talking heads something to debate. if we win them all, we will be playing in Pasadena.

This is just about the same crap I get from my Michigan fan friends. Except they believe Clausen sucks, they have no idea who Armando Allen or Robert Hughes is, they think Golden Tate sucks and that Michael Floyd does, too. Oh, and they all believe Michigan is going to kick our asses this year. When I present them with relevant information (specifically Forcier's inexperience, a terrible defensive line, and a suspect secondary) they shrug it off like it's nothing.