2011 College Football Preseason Top 5

While attempting to predict the Top 5 for the 2011 Football Season will likely prove to be an exercise in futility, that doesn’t mean that I won’t try.

I’ll continue to post the rest of my Top 25 throughout the next few weeks.

1. Oklahoma Sooners. On picking the top team in the country, I have to agree with Sports Illustrated writer Andy Staples’ pick of Oklahoma. By returning LB Travis Lewis and WR Ryan Broyles, both All-Americans, the Sooners stand out as the clear favorite not only in the Big XII, but in the entire country. Plus, with their balanced offensive attack and physical defense, the Sooners will stand a legitimate shot at knocking off an SEC team should they meet one in the National Title game.

2. Alabama Crimson Tide. Despite losing three of their top players to the draft (RB Mark Ingram, WR Julio Jones and DE Marcel Dareus), the Tide will simply reload. Replacing Ingram will be star running back Trent Richardson, a powerful runner whom many think may possess even more talent than the back he’s replacing. As for wide receiver, Marquise Maze will need to step even further into the spotlight and become a dependable target for new Crimson Tide starting QB AJ McCarron.

3. Oregon Ducks. Returning offensive stars LaMichael James, Darron Thomas, Kenjon Barner and All Pac-10 CB Cliff Harris, the Ducks bring back four huge parts to their National Championship run this year. While they do lose Casey Matthews and Kenny Rowe, their high-powered offense should roll through the new Pac-12 with the exception of Stanford.

4. LSU Tigers. While many people have the Tigers winning it all, I hesitate to pick LSU due to their offense, which sputtered throughout the year and managed a decent but not jaw-dropping 29.3 points per game. What defines them as a top ten team, however, is not their lackluster offense, but instead their shut-down defense. Despite losing Patrick Peterson to the NFL Draft, the Tigers still return eight of their defensive starters.

5. Stanford Cardinal. Despite head coach Jim Harbaugh heading from Palo Alto to nearby San Francisco to coach the 49ers, the Cardinal still return the key to their entire team, QB Andrew Luck, the early-season Heisman favorite and one of the best QB prospects in the last 20 years. The primary problem will be to deal with an offensive line which loses four seniors. I predict that Luck, while he may not have the numbers he put up this year, will still go as the top pick overall in the draft next year. The Cardinal’s biggest challenge of the year will be when the Oregon Ducks come to town.