Yesterday I released my Top 21 to 25; today I will continue with the countdown and bring you 16 through 20.

20. Oregon Ducks - This is a team that I have ranked a bit lower than most of the polls and magazines out. The Ducks lost both Dennis Dixon and Jonathan Stewart to the draft, and watching them last year without Dixon, was like watching a totally different team. Right now Oregon has six quarterbacks on their roster that have combined for two career starts. Justin Roper looks like he is edging out Nate Costa as the starting quarterback. If you remember Roper led the Ducks in their Sun Bowl victory over South Florida.

The strength should be in the defensive backfield led by cornerbacks Jairus Byrd and Walter Thurmond III. At the ends of the line, Oregon should be tough, but without much depth on the defensive line, they could be in trouble with a few injuries. Their first game is a Pac 10 game against the Huskies. In week three the Ducks travel to play Purdue which should be a good game of two teams looking to get over the hump in the court of public opinions. October is a bit brutal for Oregon as they play at USC, UCLA, and at Arizona State.

19. Penn State Nittany Lions - One month ago I would have had the Nittany Lions ranked a bit higher, but after the dismissal of Chris Baker and Philip Taylor and now the injury to Devon Still, the defensive line went from their strength, to one more injury away from a critical situation. On the other side of the ball, all five offensive linemen return to make holes for Evan Royster and to protect either Pat Devlin or Daryll Clark at quarterback. Neither have much game experience with Clark playing a few snaps in the Alamo Bowl and Devlin throwing 1 collegian pass. Luckily for whomever the quarterback is, they will have three, four year veterans at wide receiver.

Inexperience at the quarterback and running back are an issue and so is replacing Sean Lee at linebacker. My biggest concern for Penn State is their ability to put together a coaching plan that will attack their opposition. In big games, Penn State plays not to lose instead of playing to win, especially on the road. The Nittany Lions have not won on the road against a Top 25 opponent since 2002 against Wisconsin. This season they have Ohio State, Wisconsin, and Purdue on the road. That stat will have to change if they want to contend for a Big Ten Title.

18. Arizona State Sun Devils - Second year coach Dennis Erikson has been notorious for being better the second year at a school than the first. If that’s the case, Sun Devil fans should be elated to improve on a 10-3 record in 2007. Quarterback Rudy Carpenter is back after throwing for 3200 yards and 25 touchdowns. Joining him in the backfield is running back Keegan Herring. On defense, much of their front seven returns from a defense that only gave up 110 yards per game on the ground.

The one big question mark looming around Arizona State is if they found the formula to block for Rudy Carpenter. Last season Carpenter was sacked 55 times by the end of the year and unfortunately, Arizona State must find three starters from last year to replace on that porous line. On defense, the Sun Devils only return two starters in the defensive backfield. With teams like Georgia and USC on their schedule they must get ready to defend the pass.

17. Kansas Jayhawks - Kansas was most likely the surprise team of the year in 2007. They do have 15 starters returning combined on offense and defense but they will not sneak up on teams, and have a much tougher schedule than last season. Todd Reesing and the Jayhawks will score points. Reesing will have targets Dexton Fields and Dezmon Briscoe back to throw to, but will have to break in a new running back.

The defense returns a lot of starters too, but if you look at the last month of the season, they began to show kinks in their armor giving up more than 20 points in 4 of their last 5 games. As I said the schedule is much tougher in 2008. They have to play both Oklahoma and Texas unlike last year. Also included are South Florida, Missouri, and Texas Tech. Kansas will go bowling, but I feel they won’t come close to their 12-1 record in 2007.

16. Tennessee Volunteers - Jonathan Crompton takes over the reigns at quarterback from Erik Ainge and he has to be elated that all five starting offensive lineman are returning from a core that only gave up 4 sacks all of last season. Crompton does have some starting experience filling in for Ainge, but he also has a quality back in Arian Foster to take some of the load off. On defense, the Vols looked stacked in the secondary, which is always a good sign when you play in the SEC.

Overall, I think this season could ride on Crompton’s shoulders. Is he able to carry his weight on offense and protect the ball? If the answer is yes, the Vols could go back to their second SEC Championship game in as many years. As far as the schedule goes, they will be tested early with UCLA (away), Florida, and Auburn (away) in their first four games. If they can win two out of three there, they should be extremely happy and set for a showdown at Georgia on the 11th of October.

I promised it on the podcast and this week I will deliver the In The Bleachers Preseason Top 25 for the 2008 season. My thought process is pretty simple on this one, I am not predicting the final standings, I am predicting the Top 25 based on how good they are right at this moment.

25. Fresno State Bulldogs - If not for their difficult schedule, most experts would be talking about Fresno State in the same breath as BYU as far as Non-BCS schools going to a BCS Bowl game. The Bulldogs return 10 starters on offense, including quarterback Tom Brandstater, who is one of the top senior quarterbacks in the nation. Brandstater is not flashy, but in 2007 he threw only 5 interceptions. Ryan Matthews returns as a sophomore after rushing for 866 yards and 14 touchdowns as a true freshman.

The weak spot for the Bulldogs will be their secondary which will be tested in their first game of the year against Rutgers and their talented wide receivers. Their front seven is also a bit unproven since they lost Marcus Riley and Tyler Clutts. With their first two games being at Rutgers, then back home against Wisconsin, we will find out a lot about the Bulldogs early.

24. Rutgers Scarlet Knights - I have already tooted the Scarlet Knights’ horn last week, as I think they are a team that should challenge for the Big East title. Many are writing off Rutgers all because Ray Rice is gone, but quarterback Mike Teel had a good season last year throwing for 3100 yards with 20 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. To challenge for the Big East crown however, those numbers must all go up except for the interceptions. With two great receivers such as Kenny Britt and Tiquan Underwood, I believe that is a good assumption.

Their weak point is obvious, they do not have a proven running back and they are a little suspect along the offensive line. Their defense returns 8 starters from a team that only gave up 170 yards through the air a game. The Knights start off the season with a bang as Fresno State and North Carolina come to town in the first two weeks. Two wins there and they should be 4-0 heading to Morgantown.

23. Wake Forest Demon Deacons - The strength for the Demon Deacons lies clearly on the defensive side of the ball. They return 9 starters from a team that only gave up 22 points per game and 109 yards on the ground. If this team is going to go places in 2008, it will be the defense that carries them. Aaron Curry and Alphonso Smith are two to the top returning defenders. On offense, Riley Skinner is back. Skinner is talent but has to cut down on his interceptions. Josh Adams returns at running back after rushing for 950 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2007.

The weak point for the Deacons is their offensive line and at wide receiver. There are as many as 10 players in the mix to start on the offensive line, but unfortunately for Wake, they don’t return a starter that started more than 8 games. Week 2 and 3 have them going up against Ole Miss and Florida State. Wins there and they should be undefeated when the take on Clemson at home a few weeks later.

22. Illinois Fighting Illini - The Illinois offense was ranked 5th nationally rushing the ball, but now with Rashard Mendenhall gone, they should take a step back. Saying that I expect Juice Williams to improve from last season and become a more consistant player. He turned the ball over a bit too much, but he has the athletic ability to become a supreme threat in the Big Ten. Arrelious Benn showed flashes of brilliance at both wide receiver and in the return game. On defense, the Illini are anchored by their defensive line and second team all Big Ten lineman Will Davis.

As much as he is a plus, Juice Williams unsteady play can be a huge minus if he starts turning the ball over. Half way through the season last year, there was a bit of a QB controversy between Juice and Eddie McGee. If they are going to be successful, the Illini must improve on 168 yards per game through the air. They open up the season with Missouri and then travel to Happy Valley for a prime time game on September 27th.

21. South Florida Bulls - On October 13, 2007, the South Florida Bulls were riding high with a 6-0 record and a top 3 ranking in the BCS standings. It all came crashing down after that as they lost their next 3 games. Matt Grothe will be back for his junior year to quarterback the Bulls. Grothe is both the Bulls’ leading passer and rusher, and I expect him to carry the lions’ share again this season. All American George Selvie is back to wreck havoc on opposing quarterbacks and on the other side of the ball the offensive line should be a strong point.

Their defense lost two extremely good cornerbacks and filling those holes will be no easy task. It also should be interesting to see if the Bulls can still be aggressive with their front seven with inexperience cornerbacks. The Bulls should be 5-0 once again when they open Big East play at home against a talented Pittsburgh Panther team. If they get past them they should be smooth sailing until November 15th against Rutgers.

There could be something in the water, or it could be the Sports Illustrated Jinx, but both USC and UCLA found themselves carting their first string quarterbacks off the field late last week.

UCLA found out that they would be without quarterback Ben Olson for at least eight weeks after breaking the fifth metatarsal in his right foot during a non-contact drill Saturday. Funny enough, I broke the same bone in my foot playing football. It isn’t a serious injury but besides putting pin in, there is no real way to speed up the healing process. Plus being in a cast for that time will weaken your foot.

Already without Patrick Cowan who had knee surgery in the spring, the Bruins will look towards either a junior college transfer, Kevin Craft, or a redshirt freshman Chris Forcier to start the season. This was a blow that the Bruins did not need. Olson was their one ray of hope on offense.

Moving over to their main rival, the Trojans, their starting quarterback Matt Sanchez was carted off the field with a dislocated knee cap. He is being currently listed as day-to-day, but I find it hard to believe that he will be able to take the field in practice this week for contract drills.

With the inexperience at wide receiver and running back, Sanchez was someone the Trojans looked on for leadership. He filled in a few games last year when John David Booty went down and did an adequate job.

Sophomore Mitch Mustain and redshirt freshman Aaron Corp will compete for the job for back up and possibly starter if Sanchez is not ready for the opener at Virginia. Even though Mustain has starting experience with Arkansas, it is Corp who has the leg up in this battle.

We are less than one month, 23 days to be exact, to the first college football game of the 2008 season. I still have a lot of things planned for the blog between now and the start of the season, and I will outline them below:

If you’ve been counting, you will notice that there are still 3 BCS Conferences yet to preview in the podcasts. Don’t worry, I do not plan to skip any because I planned the previews out perfectly. This week the podcast will be focused on the ACC, while on August 14th the Big 12 will be previewed, and on August 21st the Big 10 will be previewed. We will have a few names from the past, as Jon Johnston from Corn Nation and Big Head from MizzouRAH will join me for the Big 12 podcast.

The week prior to the season starting, we will be switching night for In The Bleachers Live to either Tuesday or Wednesday. Either on August 26th or 27th, I will be having a 2 hour predictions show special for In The Bleachers. I already have a few guests lined up from the preview shows along with many more to fill 2 hours of podcasting. If you are interested in joining me on the Prediction Show, drop me a line at the email address listed for this site. On that show, everyone will make their predictions for the BCS Conferences, BCS Bowls, National Champion, and Heisman Trophy winner.

Coming back again this year will be Operation Pick Em where we pit bloggers against fans against the main stream media. I will once again ask Bruce Feldman to pick games against us this year, and I have a few emails out to some other MSM guys to see if they would like to join us. If you are a blogger and/or fan and want to pick games for this contest, please send me an email. Last year I handed out copies of Bruce Feldman’s Meat Market to the winner. This year’s contest will once again have prizes, but they are yet to be determined.

Finally, I plan to start coverage of my Top 25. I will be releasing the teams I think should be in the top 25 starting in the coming days. I plan on doing 3-5 teams a day and I encourage everyone to pick me apart. I love a good healthy debate.

Thanks for reading In The Bleachers, and I hope you are as excited as I am for the coming football season, it can’t come soon enough!

Yesterday the Big East held their Media Day in which the writers picked who they would finish atop the conference this year. It should come as no surprise that the West Virginia Mountaineers were picked to finish first by 22 of the 24 writers attending, with South Florida and Pittsburgh garnering the other two votes. The rest of the conference shook out as follows:


1. West Virginia (22) 189
2. USF (1) 149
3. Pittsburgh (1) 128
4. Rutgers 110
5. Cincinnati 98
6. Connecticut 97
7. Louisville 69
8. Syracuse 24


I think the real wildcard of the Big East is going to be Pittsburgh. The Panthers have the potential to contend for a conference crown, but in my mind their offensive line is still a bit of a question mark. Then you have USF, who lost their starting two cornerbacks, and it will be interesting to see if they can still play aggressive, blitzing defense losing those two guys.

You have to feel a bit bad for Syracuse, I know I did especially when I talked to Sean Keeley in the Big East Preview Podcast. The Orange are 45 points behind their next highest contender.

All in all I believe that the Media did put a bit of a shaft on Rutgers. I think this team has the potential to be very explosive offensively with wide receivers Underwood and Britt. And we know that on the defensive side of the ball Greg Schiano will have this team prepared.

To be honest, the ACC was in my opinion, the worst BCS conference in the country. This year they might overtake the Big East, but that’s as far up as they will go unless teams like Florida State and Miami come back to national prominence. Here is how the media predicts the 2008 season with first place votes in parentheses.


Atlantic Division
1. Clemson (59) 383
2. Wake Forest (5) 304
3. Florida State (1) 265
4. Boston College 154
5. Maryland 147
6. NC State 112



Coastal Division
1. Virginia Tech (58) 383
2. North Carolina (4) 288
3. Miami (1) 253
4. Georgia Tech (1) 195
5. Virginia (1) 161
6. Duke 85


ACC Championship Game Winner: Clemson (51 votes)

I can’t really argue with either choice for the Atlantic and Coast Division champions. If I am going to nit pick a little, I cant see Georgia Tech finishing 4th in the Coastal Division, I see them at 5th. Other than that, I agree with the media’s assessment.

Once again the Big Ten has to be different, it isn’t enough that they are the Big Ten, with Eleven teams, but when they do their media day predictions they are not spelled out like every other conference. That’s not even mentioning that I live in Pittsburgh and STILL don’t get the Big Ten Network.

Not as impressive as USC going for 7 straight conference titles, but the Ohio State Buckeyes are looking for their 4th straight Big Ten Title. Before Penn State fans get all fired up with me, technically the Buckeyes’ split with the Nittany Lions in 2005 due to wait for it…wacky Big Ten rules. Sorry to have to spell it out for Nittany Lions fans, but after the Outside the Lines segment on ESPN on Sunday, Penn State fans are a bit cranky.

Getting back to the Media predictions; once again the Buckeyes are picked to finish first in the conference. Wisconsin was picked at number 2, and Illinois at number 3, again firing up Penn State fans.

Ohio State running back Chris “Beanie” Wells was voted Preseason Offensive Player of the Year while teammate and linebacker James Laurinaitis was tabbed Preseason Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season.

Both the Missouri Tigers and the Kansas Jayhawks were huge surprises in 2007, and with 17 starters returning, the Tigers should contend for another Big 12 title. In the South, it looks as if Oklahoma will once again be the pick with Texas and Texas Tech right behind them. As I have said a few times before, if the Red Raiders can find a hint of defense, they can be dangerous. Here are the media’s predictions for the Big 12:


North
1. Missouri (51) 306
2. Kansas 234
3. Nebraska 183
4. Colorado 181
5. Kansas State 108
6. Iowa State 59

South
1. Oklahoma (49) 304
2. Texas (2) 230
3. Texas Tech 227
4. Oklahoma State 140
5. Texas A&M 118
6. Baylor 52


In the South, it is going to be an interesting battle between the Aggies, Cowboys, and Red Raiders for the middle portion of that Division. Even with a new coach, I will not count out the Aggies with a QB like Stephen McGee.

In the North, it isn’t a surprise that Missouri is #1, but I am a bit surprised that Colorado is not ranked over Nebraska. I think the Buffaloes are a team on the rise, while the Cornhuskers will improve, but not enough to finish in the top half of the North.

The USC Trojans enter this season looking for a school record 7th straight Pac 10 Title. Looking at the Pac 10 from top to bottom, it doesn’t look as tough as in previous years and once again the Trojans are picked by the media to win the conference title. Here are the rest of the standings.


1. Southern California (38) 389
2. Arizona State, 330
3. Oregon, 295
4. California (1), 274
5. UCLA, 204
6. Oregon State, 192
7. Arizona, 185
8. Washington, 139
9. Stanford, 76
10. Washington State, 61


Southern Cal at number one does not surprise me, but who gave the Bears a #1 vote? That’s a bit of a head scratcher in my opinion. I think the Arizona Wildcats with their explosive offense will be the surprise team of the conference, while UCLA will be in the bottom half. I think their #5 ranking was more of a reflection of the respect the media has for their new coach.

I usually post these up each season so that I can look back and see how good the main stream media does picking each conference. Since I was gone last week, a few BCS Conferences had their Media Days, so I will start with the best conference, the SEC. Here are the predictions from the media with first place votes in parentheses:


Eastern Division
1. Florida (45) 98
2. Georgia (23) 121
3. Tennessee (2) 222
4. South Carolina 266
5. Kentucky 356
6. Vanderbilt 407

Western Division
1. Auburn (48) 99
2. LSU (21) 120
3. Alabama 228
4. Mississippi State 299
5. Ole Miss (1) 338
6. Arkansas 386

SEC Champion - Florida (36), Georgia (18), Auburn (13), LSU (1), Tennessee (1), Ole Miss (1).


I was a bit surprised to see Florida picked over Georgia since all you hear about is how Georgia could be the #1 or #2 ranked team in most of the preseason polls. I guess it doesn’t hurt to have the reigning Heisman winner Tim Tebow and one of the most exciting players in the country with Percy Harvin on your team.

As far as the West, it is hard to argue with Auburn being the pick, but what is with Ole Miss getting a first place vote? Take away that man’s press pass.