2012 College Football Preseason Top 25

Hey, remember this time last year, when everyone (including Yours Truly) was hyping the 'Noles as a legit Top 5 outfit? Remember how we were supposed to believe that Jimbo Fisher had so quickly righted the ship that had veered so far off course in the latter days of the Bobby Bowden era? And remember how that Oklahoma-Florida State game was supposed to be some kind of national title preview? Yeah, I remember all of that, too. And I also remember that the the 'Noles finished 9-4. Expect similar results this year. A good team. Not a great one.

Speaking of remarkable coaching jobs … how about what Mark Dantonio has accomplished at Michigan State? While, like Spurrier, it seems as though Dantonio has hit something of a wall up in East Lansing (the Spartans have pushed hard for a BCS bid in each of the last two seasons, only to fall short in the end), there can be no denying that Dantonio has delivered to the Michigan State program precisely what it always seemed to lack: Discipline and consistency. The Spartans will miss steady if unspectacular quarterback Kirk Cousins, but tailback Le’Von Bell returns, as does linebacker William Gholston.

Yeah, I’m all in on the Buckeyes. Which is to say, I’m all in on Urban Meyer. Luke Fickell faced a mostly impossible task last season, what with the whole Jim Tressel situation to recover from, and it’s fairly apparent that, as a result, his Buckeyes performed below their talent level. This is a situation that Meyer will rectify post-haste. With quarterback Braxton Miller leading the charge, we can expect dramatic improvement on offense for the Buckeyes, and the defense, well, it will be just fine, as it always is. By the end of the season, the Buckeyes will be playing as well as any team in the country. Then, starting in 2013, well, Meyer will own the entire Midwest.

How frustrating it must be to be an Arkansas fan these days. Even though Bobby Petrino has brought some much-needed energy and excitement to the Razorback program, and even though this team has been firmly entrenched in the Top 15 for the past couple of seasons, the sad reality for Hogs supporters is that, so long as Les Miles remains at LSU and so long as Nick Saban remains at Alabama, the Hogs will rank a distant third in their own division. Here’s to inevitable frustration and second-tier bowl bids.

I remember it so clearly now: In the immediate aftermath of Brian Kelly’s hiring at Notre Dame, there arrived my proverbial Beano Cook moment. I declared not only that Kelly would win big at Notre Dame, but that he would win multiple national championships, and that the first of those national championships would arrive within three years of his arrival. Well, coach Kelly, the clock is ticking. For both of us.

Just as we must always remember to rank Boise State in the Top 10 (because they’ve earned it) so too must we always remember to rank TCU in the Top 15 (because they’ve earned it). Though the Froggies are making a (not at all insignificant) move from the Mountain West Conference to the Big 12, and though they will be facing a tougher weekly grind as a result, Gary Patterson’s record speaks for itself. They guy is a winner. That won’t change.

Time is running out on Bret Bielema and Wisconsin. Bielema has done a commendable job building Wisconsin into a true Big Ten power, but the reality is that he’s accomplished this at a incredibly convenient moment in history: Just as he began building Wisconsin up, Michigan was headed south, Penn State was stuck in neutral under an aging Joe Paterno and, eventually, the Jim Tressel era ran aground at Ohio State. It was the perfect storm of opportunity, and Bielema, to his credit, seized it. But now Urban Meyer is at Ohio State, Brady Hoke is making noise at Michigan, and Penn State is … well, going to do something under Bill O’Brien. Most importantly, Russell Wilson has graduated. Back to the middle of the pack, Badgers.

I think we all can agree at this point that we should just pencil in Clemson somewhere between No. 16 and No. 25 in the rankings pretty much every year from now until eternity. They’ll end up somewhere in the middle. It’s where they belong, and it’s where they are most comfortable. Tajh Boyd and Sammy Watkins will put up some serious points, and the Clemson defense will occasionally melt down in spectacular fashion, and we’ll all have fun watching. It’s Clemson, after all. It’s their role.

Bill Snyder has to be considered one of the greatest geniuses in college football history, yes? I mean, the fact that this guy won at Kansas State the first time around was mind-blowing enough. The fact that he’s done it again is simply astounding. Players come, and players go, and Kansas State never looks very good on paper (in truth, they don’t look very good on paper for next season, either) and yet somehow and someway Snyder makes them at least mildly formidable. Such will be the case in 2012, as Collin Klein leads a team that will once again be underestimated and will once again prove the doubters wrong.

I watched Texas at least five times last season and never once walked way from those viewings feeling the least bit impressed by what I saw. But heck, maybe it was just an off year. Fact is, Texas has more talent than just about any team not located in either Baton Rouge or Tuscaloosa, and eventually talent wins out. It would be nice, however, to see this program finally develop a decent tailback.