Phil Steele's Top 10

storminspank

Justin VanLaere
From Forde:

Phil's Top 10:

1. Oklahoma;
2. Ohio State;
3. Alabama;
4. TCU;
5. Nebraska;
6. Boise State;
7. Florida;
8. USC;
9. Miami;
10. Oregon.

I don't get the Nebby love.
 
Phil Steele's Top 10...NO Iowa??

Pat Forde got advance copy and posted Steele's Top 10 on his twitter:

@espn4d Phil's Top 10: 1. Oklahoma; 2. Ohio State; 3. Alabama; 4. TCU; 5. Nebraska; 6. Boise State; 7. Florida; 8. USC; 9. Miami; 10. Oregon.


He doesn't agree with OK @ #1 and I would agree with that as well. No Iowa in Top 10 (#14), I can respect that with a preseason poll but when I saw Nebraska @ #5 I laughed! Nebraska is NOT top 5 and maybe not even top 10 - top 20 probably - but NOT top 5.
 
I don't either. They were fantastic at the end of last year...maybe a top 10 team, but when you lose your stud in the middle, it's not easy to replace that.

We will see
 
From Forde:

Phil's Top 10:

1. Oklahoma;
2. Ohio State;
3. Alabama;
4. TCU;
5. Nebraska;
6. Boise State;
7. Florida;
8. USC;
9. Miami;
10. Oregon.

I don't get the Nebby love.

Me neither Stormin!

Rest of poll:

11. Texas
12. North Carolina
13. Virgina Tech
14. IOWA
15. Auburn
16. Notre Dame
17. Arkansas
18. Penn State
19. Georgia
20. Florida State
21. South Carolina
22. West Virgina
23. Wisconsin
24. Houston
25. Arizona
 
Me neither Stormin!

Rest of poll:

11. Texas
12. North Carolina
13. Virgina Tech
14. IOWA
15. Auburn
16. Notre Dame
17. Arkansas
18. Penn State
19. Georgia
20. Florida State
21. South Carolina
22. West Virgina
23. Wisconsin
24. Houston
25. Arizona

Not sure how Wisconsin got down to 23, I think they're better than PSU (shouldn't be ranked) and how is ND even in the top 25. How??????

I know everyone thinks North Carolina is going to be good, but they'll be lucky to get 8 wins. They fold badly to not good teams (aka NC State, I've witnessed it 3 years in a row). They're not consistent and have a horrible offense. They'll be top 25, but not top 15
 
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I don't mind being in the top 20 and 14 seems about right for Iowa. What pisses me off is the love for Boise St and TCU. You've got to be kidding me!

Boise plays OOC games against Virg Tech (which BSU will lose) and Oregon State (which BSU will lose). The Va Tech game is at a neutral site and Oregon State is at home. Outside of those two games they play absolutely nobody! Even if they win one of those two we will still see them in the top 10 at the end of the season which is crap!

TCU opens the season against Oregon State. This game will be a "neutral" site but is played at the new Cowboys stadium in Arlington. Outside of that game they play NOBODY! They play Baylor - who might be lucky to win two games this year.

If these teams play weak schedules then how in the world can they be taken seriously? For God's sake TCU lost to Boise State in a boring game in Arizona last year. Outside of that single game, TCU played nobody of substance out of conference.
 
I don't mind being in the top 20 and 14 seems about right for Iowa. What pisses me off is the love for Boise St and TCU. You've got to be kidding me!

Boise plays OOC games against Virg Tech (which BSU will lose) and Oregon State (which BSU will lose). The Va Tech game is at a neutral site and Oregon State is at home. Outside of those two games they play absolutely nobody! Even if they win one of those two we will still see them in the top 10 at the end of the season which is crap!

TCU opens the season against Oregon State. This game will be a "neutral" site but is played at the new Cowboys stadium in Arlington. Outside of that game they play NOBODY! They play Baylor - who might be lucky to win two games this year.

If these teams play weak schedules then how in the world can they be taken seriously? For God's sake TCU lost to Boise State in a boring game in Arizona last year. Outside of that single game, TCU played nobody of substance out of conference.

Boise State will beat Oregon State this year....and probably beat them with ease. And the Va Tech game will be a flip of the coin. They return everybody from last year.
 
Not sure how Wisconsin got down to 23, I think they're better than PSU (shouldn't be ranked) and how is ND even in the top 25. How??????

I know everyone thinks North Carolina is going to be good, but they'll be lucky to get 8 wins. They fold badly to not good teams (aka NC State, I've witnessed it 3 years in a row). They're not consistent and have a horrible offense. They'll be top 25, but not top 15

The only thing I can think of for Notre Dame is that he thinks Brian Kelly is that much better of a coach than Charlie Weiss. Charlie brought in some great talent but never did anything.
 
Iowa should be top ten. Certainly we should be ranked above Nebraska. I mean, come on... they lost to the Clowns last year and their best player is gone!
 
The only thing I can think of for Notre Dame is that he thinks Brian Kelly is that much better of a coach than Charlie Weiss. Charlie brought in some great talent but never did anything.

I agree but they lost their QB, and their best WR from last year, though i think Floyd is better than Tate. I'm sure they'll do better (since they play nobody) but they aren't #16 in the nation. No way.
 
I don't mind being in the top 20 and 14 seems about right for Iowa. What pisses me off is the love for Boise St and TCU. You've got to be kidding me!

Boise plays OOC games against Virg Tech (which BSU will lose) and Oregon State (which BSU will lose). The Va Tech game is at a neutral site and Oregon State is at home. Outside of those two games they play absolutely nobody! Even if they win one of those two we will still see them in the top 10 at the end of the season which is crap!

TCU opens the season against Oregon State. This game will be a "neutral" site but is played at the new Cowboys stadium in Arlington. Outside of that game they play NOBODY! They play Baylor - who might be lucky to win two games this year.

If these teams play weak schedules then how in the world can they be taken seriously? For God's sake TCU lost to Boise State in a boring game in Arizona last year. Outside of that single game, TCU played nobody of substance out of conference.

You really think that if BSU loses one of those two marquee games that they will still be in the top 10? Pollsters I'm sure are just waiting for them to slip up so they can drop them out of the top 10. They just 'don't belong'. Personally, I'd like to see them run the table and get a shot at the title. Maybe not this year, but very soon. And I don't get why that notion ticks so many people off. Let 'em play. If they win, then there's no reason to have kept them out anyway, and if they get drilled then all the complaints will be justified, and we won't have to suffer through all this again. It's a win-win.

And the MWC is a pretty solid conference, especially at the top with Utah, BYU, and TCU. Those are good teams. BYU and TCU have both beaten Oklahoma recently, and Utah kicked the crap out of Alabama. Didn't barely beat them, they curb stomped the Tide. And don't forget that Baylor is getting QB Robert Griffin back this year. You remember him, right? The guy who led Baylor to a 4-8 record as a true freshman. 4 of those 8 losses came by a combined 16 points, 3 of which on the road and 2 of which against ranked opponents. Did you even look at their schedule? I'd be mildly surprised if the Bears don't START 4-1. They play Sam Houston State, Buffalo, Rice, TCU, and Kansas to start the year. They also have Colorado and K-State, and Oklahoma State may not be too hot this year without Dez Bryant and Zac Robinson. That's 7 wins I could see them getting, and they lost by 3 AT Texas A&M in 2008. That's a brutal place to play even when the Aggies aren't any good. The bears draw them at home this year. Their ceiling is 8 wins, and I see them getting at least 5. In the Big 12 South, that's not too bad.
 
I don't like that list. I don't see Oregon being that great after losing their qb. I'm sure they will be good in a weak pac 10, but top 10? I also don't agree with Nebraska being that high. I've never liked the love for Boise St and TCU.
 
Perception.

The only poll that matters is the BCS and that does not start until October. There's a reason for that as it's too early to make a meaningful assessment in September.

The preseason polls mean little this time of the year except for maybe indicating which teams might have a chance to finish in the top 10 at the end of the season.
 
If you're a top 10 team and lose one game you are only going to drop a few spots. A top 5 team may drop out of the top 10 but not out of the top 15 - no way. So basically if Boise starts top 5 and only loses one of their games they may slide to 12 or 13 and then run the table. The likelihood of 13 teams going undefeated isn't going to happen. Boise is going to get their loss out of the way early and slowly climb back up the polls one spot at a time as higher rated teams lose to real opponents. At the end of the season Boise will be top 10 again and everyone will be arguing that they deserve a shot at a BCS game because their loss was early in the season....Boise St played ONE ranked opponent last year and it just happened to be their opening game at home. iirc it was also Oregon's first game with their new head coach. Boise St made a lot of money at the expense of a better team by landing a BCS game - same goes for TCU.

I don't have a problem if Boise or TCU makes a BCS game IF these teams play an OOC schedule that actually resembles a major college program. Scheduling one game against a mid-pack power conference team doesn't mean squat. And please don't give me some line about bigger programs not wanting to play them. This would guarantee to be a nationally televised game and no program would turn that down - not even Missouri.

Let me try and make sure you understand the previous paragraph: Major conference teams kick the livin' snot out of each other for 10 weeks straight. No game is an automatic win as the other team is either equally good or if not they are gunning for you. So in order for a TCU or Boise St to make it to the BCS they should play 4 OOC games against major conference teams but they won't. They know that they are going to get beat up, injured and run the risk of losing some if not all of the games. It's for this reason that they schedule ONE game against a decent opponent. They can get up for that game and recover the following week(s). Total bs and it's robbing the fans.
 
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I do think it is tough to schedule teams for a team like Boise State or TCU because of the way football schedules are made many years out into the future. It's tough to know who is going to be good out into the future. Boise State has Virginia Tech and Oregon State from BCS conferences this year. They open at Ole Miss in 2011 and also have Utah (I know they are not BCS - but they are a good regional opponent) coming on the schedule next year. In 2012, they have Oregon State as well as Utah and BYU (who are both on the schedule in 2013 as well).

It looks like TCU has Oregon State and Baylor this year, Baylor and Texas Tech in 2011, LSU coming on the schedule in 2013 and 2014, Arkansas in 2015 and 2016.

Let's see if Ohio State, Texas, Alabama and the rest come on future scedules if that is possible.
 
Notre Dame 16th???? Tells me all I need to know about this poll
it's funny when people pick out one thing they don't agree with and then say the entire poll is junk. Haha, I would bet you aren't quite as familiar with ND's roster or their schedule as Mr. Steele. His magazine is the best one out their and the most accuate. I would imagine your track record is a little less impressive....
 
it's funny when people pick out one thing they don't agree with and then say the entire poll is junk. Haha, I would bet you aren't quite as familiar with ND's roster or their schedule as Mr. Steele. His magazine is the best one out their and the most accuate. I would imagine your track record is a little less impressive....

I'm no expert, but I do know this. Any other team in Notre Dame's situation would NOT be rated this high. Sure, it's possible to lose both one of the country's best qb's and of the best wide recievers in the same year and come out and be much better then you were the year before, but it's not likely.

It's pretty smart business to rank them high. There's a ton of Notre Dame fans. No matter how accurate your predictions are, they're gonna buy your mag if you rank them high.
 

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