TOP FIVE is all I've got. Been workin waaaay too much this summer.
1: Alabama:
No surprise here. Once again, the Tide will do it with great defense and one of the Top OLs in the nation. This is a team that has lost only one game in 11 of the last 12 seasons. Both QBs can run the offense, Jonah Williams can play guard or tackle. The offensive line is stacked, Leatherwood is a beast. RBs out the wazoo. Top caliber WRs aplenty. The defense will be raw at many positions. The LB is rock solid on starters but will lack depth. The Tide secondary was practically all but erased in terms of starters. The DL also devastated by departees. Eight starters in all. Anybody out there worried? Not me. If there ever was a plug and play team, this is it. I could rattle of a long list of names but why bother. Sabin has talent and he’ll have em coached up. They’ve made every one of the college playoff gigs, already won two, and came within an illegal pick of possibly winning a third.
2: Clemson:
First things first, that DL. Probably the best DL in college football. In fact, this is a downright scary group of dudes. The LB corps get leading tackler Joseph back. Look for Simmons, a safety really playing LB to be all over the place. Another guy I’ll have my eyeball on is Tre Lamar the inside guy.The secondary will be stellar because they have good talent, but even moreso because of that killer DL. On offense, Bryant will be more seasoned and that should help the passing game. But two OL starters need to be replaced. The Tigers have recruited well and should be able to plug replacements in without too much hitch in their giddyup in that re-guard. Renfrow is still there, seems like he’s been there for half a dozen years now plenty of WR to go with him. Travis Etienne has a touch more speed than Feaster but they will make a formidable platoon as both are excellent RBs.
3: Georgia:
It’s now no secret just how good Kirby Smart is at recruiting. He might be the best in the business. Behind his old Boss that is. But if so just tick. If their ever was a loaded team coming into the new season this team is it. Yes, they lost a boatload of guys from possibly the best defense in football last year. Yes, I said it. But due to that incredible recruiting the Kirby and the Dawgs will reload Bama style. They’ve got some tough road games, South Carolina, LSU and Florida. But IMO they have a good chance to run the table to the SEC CG. The OL should be solid, starting QB returns. Yes they lose a couple of great RBs but they have a great one, D’Andre Swift, to plug in. But I had looked for Zamir White to get some reps too. IMO this guy is destined to be another big name Dawg back down the line, but the ACL injury might change that a bit. And then, there’s James Cook with that smooth gliding style. As offensive guys go he’s okay. Wink.
4: OSU:
The fact that they have an unscrupulous head coach, to say the least, notwithstanding. And as I write this I assume OSU will not have the balls to do the right thing. The Buckeyes have a wealth of talent. Let’s start with Dwayne Haskins, possibly the best QB OSU has had for the last couple of decades or so. I am very impressed by this young man’s throwing ability. And he’s got a plethora of good young receivers to throw to. Johnnie Dixon might not be the fastest dude on the field but he’s got good wiggle off the catch and is a TD machine. The OL loses some top talent and the TE needs to be replaced. But the cupboard is full for Liar Meyer. The defense is stout, their DC Schiano, is a bit of a dick. But then you have that everywhere, including chat forums. Schiano knows his stuff though and if you can get by the personality issues he’ll get the job done. Wanna beat him, throw to the TE’s and Fullbacks. Lots of departures on defense. But as is the case with big time defenses these days you play a lot of guys due to rotation, so a lot of guys pick up experience. So they aren’t as inexperienced as all those departures would have you think.
With or without Lia... err... Meyer the Buckeyes are stacked as always with top shelf talent across the board.
5: Washington:
The Huskies are going to be an experienced team across the board this season. That’s, as always, barring injury/s. Peterson has allowed the Husky faithful to forget that just ten years ago they went 0-12. No 22-5 in the last two years will help you forget a lot. But here’s the thing, in order to be the man you have to beat the man. And while Auburn isn’t Alabama it’s the same principle. Lose that first game and, well, it’ll be a long sled back to the top. The OL is mostly back intact and IMO they might be the best OL group in college football this year. Certainly in the top ten. Browning is a savvy vet of Peterson’s system and Gaskin would IMO have been drafted day two if not day one had he opted to leave. On defense Vita is gone but this squad is stacked. Not going to go into individuals as there is way too many off them to mention without mentioning them all. If I were a Huskie fan, and I am not sure I’m not, I’d be salivating at all of the offensive corpses we are going to feed off of this year. But they have to beat Auburn.
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