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2009 College Football Top 5 Non-BCS Teams

Brian Kaldenberg — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 19:25:26 +0000

Another entry in GameRosters.com’s series of college football “top 5’s”. These teams may not be on the radar of most college football fans, but they should be. All of them hail from non-BCS conferences (3 from the Mountain West) and receive little television exposure. That doesn’t mean these teams aren’t worth checking out. You want offense? Check out Houston and Boise State. Defense? TCU will smother offenses all year. Rivalries? Attend the Holy War between Utah and BYU and then we’ll talk. This Top 5 list has a little bit of everything for the college football fan, so let’s look at each team a little more in-depth.

5. Houston, C-USA, Coach: Kevin Sumlin
It’s all about offense at Houston, where the Cougars posted over 560 yards per game and over 400 yards through the air last year. QB Case Keenum is the returning conference player of the year, and why not with over 5,000 yards and 44 TD’s. He returns a 1,000 yard rusher in Bryce Beall and 6 of his top 7 receivers; opposing defenses will struggle to hold this team under 40 points. The defense will likely struggle again, which will lead to a lot of high-scoring affairs. We will get a feel for how good Houston can be early on as the Cougars travel to Oklahoma State and then get Texas Tech at home in back to back games. Don’t be surprised if both games go over 100 points between the two teams. After the Texas Tech game Houston gets three straight road games, so the schedule is not friendly, but the talent is there for a conference championship and some national recognition. At the very least this team will be exciting to watch every week.

4. BYU, MWC, Coach: Bronco Mendenhall
Max Hall is the best QB in the conference, and one of the best in the nation. The defense returns 6 of the front 7 and will improve on last season’s mediocre season (numbers-wise). We think BYU has a chance to finish in the top 25 for the 4th straight year, but the thing that might prevent that is the schedule. Non-conference games against Oklahoma and Florida State will be brutal, but luckily the Cougars get both TCU and Utah at home. If they can split those 4 tough games, BYU will again reach double-digit wins and contend for the conference crown and a top 25 ranking. Another 10-win season and Bronco Mendenhall will become an even hotter commodity in the coaching world.

3. Utah, MWC, Coach: Kyle Wittingham
The Utes are coming off an undefeated season that culminated with a national spotlight stunner over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, so you’d think we would have them higher on this list. Utah does return a dominant defense largely intact, but the offense will miss a lot on offense, including outstanding quarterback Brian Johnson. Replacement Corbin Louks is one of the fastest players on the field, so keep an eye on him. Much like TCU, the Utes face an early season road test: at Oregon. Expect another bowl season for sure and another run at a conference title, but we don’t think the Utes will be making another splash in the BCS picture this year.

2. TCU, MWC, Coach: Gary Patterson
When we think of TCU we think of one thing: defense. The Horned Frogs had the #1 defense in the nation last year, allowing just 11.3 points per game, 47 rushing yards per game, and just 218 total yards per game. They have to replace several guys on defense this year, but expect another dominant defense led by DE Jerry Hughes. Hughes is one of the top defensive linemen in the entire country; he had 15 sacks and 6 forced fumbles last year. The offense will be no slouch either, led by talented QB Andy Dalton. Although we think TCU is the 2nd best non-BCS team, don’t be surprised if their record doesn’t indicate it. Early season road tests against Virginia and Clemson will show us what to expect from the Frogs this season. Expect them to battle with both Utah and BYU for what might be the most exciting conference race all year; it will certainly be the best one that nobody pays attention to.

1. Boise State, WAC, Coach: Chris Petersen

Kellen Moore will be just a sophomore but is the focal point of the offense and is capable of carrying the load on an explosive offense. The defense could be equally good after allowing just 12.6 points per game last year. The Broncos are far and away the class of the WAC, and should cruise to another undefeated season in the conference. The real test this year will be the season-opener against Oregon. With such a generous pre-season ranking this year (top 15 in most early polls), if Boise can get a win over the hyped up Ducks, they will be set-up for a BCS-bowl season. And don’t think they can’t do it; the Broncos beat Oregon 37-32 at Oregon last year on their way to an undefeated season.

There is our top 5 non-BCS conference teams. We feel confident in the top 4, but that 5th spot was a tough one to fill out. We went with Houston based on the strength of their thrill-a-minute offense and outstanding QB. You can do a lot worse than watching Houston hang 50 points week in and week out.

Let us know what you think in our comments section.

NCAA 10 Top 25 – Overrated and Underrated Teams

Brian Kaldenberg — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:34:42 +0000

Now that we’ve had some time to look at EA’s top 25 rankings for NCAA 10 (you can view them here), we’ve come up with a list of teams that we think are either overrated, underrated, or got snubbed entirely. Let’s dive right in:

OVERRATED – #17 BYU
– The Cougars are the top ranked team from the Mountain West at #17. While we think BYU is top-25 worthy, we think 17 is a bit too high, especially considering they are ahead of both TCU and Utah. BYU opens the season against Oklahoma, and also get Florida State early on. Two losses in their first three games will likely drop the Cougars from the top 25, and they will need to spend the rest of the season climbing back up the rankings. QB Max Hall is the best QB in the conference, but we think BYU loses at least 3 games and finishes the season in the 20-25 range at best. Our Pick: 20-25

UNDERRATED – #18 Georgia Tech

– Paul Johnson’s option offense took the ACC by storm last year. Despite an entire year’s worth of tape to study for opposing defenses, we think the Yellow Jackets offense will keep right on clicking this fall (just look at the improvement Johnson’s offense made in year 2 at both Navy and Georgia Southern). All of the key pieces return on offense and the back 7 of the defense are all back. GT gets both Virginia Tech and UNC at home this year, and could easily carry a top 10 ranking into the season finale against Georgia. Our Pick: 10-15

OVERRATED – #5 LSU
– No one can deny LSU’s talent and potential, but a top 5 preseason ranking is a little high in our opinion. The Tigers disappointed last year with a 7-5 regular season and only 3 conference wins. The bad news is the SEC slate doesn’t get any easier this year, and with road games at Georgia, ‘Bama, and Ole Miss and a game against the ‘Gators sandwiched between Georgia and Auburn, the Tigers could drop 3 or more and find themselves on the outside of the top 10. LSU certainly has the ability to win the SEC West and make a run at a BCS bowl, but we don’t think it happens this year. Our Pick: 10-15

UNDERRATED – #12 Oregon
– Anyone who read our Pac 10 preview knows we are super high on the Ducks this year. 12th isn’t a bad spot to put them, but we think they are worthy of a top 10 ranking. Yeah yeah, we know it’s Coach Chip Kelly’s first year and they have questions on the offensive line and lose a lot on defense, but the Ducks still have the potential to go BCS-bowling. Jeremiah Masoli presents as big of a match-up problem as any QB in the nation, and LeGarrette Blount is a load at RB. We think the transition to Kelly from Mike Bellotti will be seamless, and the defense has shown this spring that they will be able to hang with the offenses in the rest of the conference. If the Ducks can avoid an opening-week letdown at Boise State they will be primed for a run at the Pac 10 title and a birth in a BCS bowl. Our Pick: Top 8

SNUBBED – Notre Dame
– ND’s schedule is widely considered to be as soft as Andre Smith’s “abs” at the NFL combine. While some have the Irish in the top 10 (we’re looking at you, Phil Steele), EA has them out of the top 25 completely. We think the Irish will fall somewhere in the middle. Jimmy Clausen leads an offense that returns a ton from last year, and the team’s athleticism should be much improved all the way around. The game against USC will show that the Irish still have a long way to go to be considered elite again, but Charlie Weis’ team will ride a relatively easy schedule to about 8 wins and could make a run at a BCS bowl. Our Pick: 20th

One thing to keep in mind is that “our picks” are where we think the team’s will finish the season, so we were able to factor in the schedule and other variables that EA may have left out in their pre-season rankings.

Some honorable mentions include Virginia Tech (underrated) and Penn State (overrated). We are very high on Virginia Tech this year and think they can make a run at the National Championship, but their rough non-conference schedule and the potential of Georgia Tech and UNC kept us from arguing against the Hokies #10 ranking. Penn State loses a lot of talent, but with Darryl Clark and Evan Royster back to lead the offense and a potentially dominating D combined with a cake non-conference schedule and relatively easy conference slate, we think they can hang around the top 10 all season. If the Lions played anybody outside of the conference we would want them lower in the rankings, but as is we think they have the pieces to make another BCS bowl.

Sound off in our comments section to tell us who YOU think is overrated or underrated, or let us know how wrong we are with our picks. Be sure to check back regularly as we continue to update information on NCAA 10 and talk the 2009 college football season!