Next Season's NC favorites??

[Buckskin86]

http://msn.foxsports.com/story/3244484

Who will emerge as next year's favorites for the national title? On a whim, let's go with Ohio State and Florida. Have you seen Buckeyes stars Troy Smith and Ted Ginn? Better yet, why didn't OSU coach Jim Tressel see them a little sooner -- say, after the first loss of the season? Or the second? Or the third? And Florida, well, let's just say the Gators had better be playing at least for the SEC championship -- not that such an engagement helped much for those with national championship aspirations this season (see: Auburn) -- or Superboy Urban Meyer can take that funky little offense and giddyup back to Utah.

 

[BIATCHabutuka]

those two are the first two that came to my mind while clicking on the link. throw in the usual suspects of usc, oklahoma, and miami and you probably have at least one if not both title game teams there.

 

[SC"U"Mbuster]

Florida might be a contender, but SCum-West is going to be loaded. Even if Leinart leaves, Booty and Sanchez will pick up the slack. If Bomar's ready at Oklahoma, they could also be back. Their WR's could actually be better and they have Peterson the battering ram.

As for our Buckeyes, let's hope Tressel unleashes the hounds starting week 1, and takes Mack Brown and his campaigners behind the woodshed (Oklahoma-style) in week 2. Then we may be onto bigger and better things...

 

[bucknut74]

I don't see any of the first year coaches making a run this year.
Florida will be a serious contender if Leak stays for his senior year.

here's who I see making a run, and when

2005

tOSU if we beat tejas...
tejas if they beat us...
SC
Maiami
Colorado
tennessee

-----------

2006

tOSU :) Troy's Sr., TGII Jr
Florida
FSU
Nebraska
South Carolina

 

[stxbuck]

scUM, unfortunately
Miami
V-Tech if Marcus "R-Kelly" Vick steps in and plays up to all the hype
USC-their o will be sick again...ugh.....
Florida
OSU-if Smith continues to improve, the RBs step up, and the D matures....

 

[heisman]

I don't see how the discussion can go past USC. They return 2 of the top 4 heisman candidates from this season, along with just about everyone else of importance.

 

[OSUG314]

I don't see any of the first year coaches making a run this year.
Florida will be a serious contender if Leak stays for his senior year.

here's who I see making a run, and when

2005

tOSU if we beat tejas...
tejas if they beat us...
SC
Maiami
Colorado
tennessee

-----------
2006

tOSU :) Troy's Sr., TGII Jr
Florida
FSU
Nebraska
South Carolina

Colorado? They lost to us 42-14 at their home.

My Predictions:

USC
Meeeechigan
Texas (if they beat OU)
Miami

 

[DaytonBuck]

Marcus "R-Kelly" Vick

 

[BuckeyeTrail]

why is everybody including Miami? they have a terrible coach. they still have talent but it is not being developed at all. their defense has been lousy at tackling, and they continue to remain weak on the offensive line. they have a highly touted QB, but we all know how little that means (especially since i doubt he can develop into a good QB under coker). Miami might be a "usual suspect" but as long as Coker is there i wouldn't worry about them at all.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

Can we stop saying Texas every year. We always say Texas if they beat OU. Well how many times have they under Mack Brown.

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

...Better yet, why didn't OSU coach Jim Tressel see them a little sooner -- say, after the first loss of the season? Or the second? Or the third? ...

Uh, he did start Smith after our third loss, and Ginn had already been returning punts for two games by then. A little research, please...

 

[jlb1705]

If you wanna split hairs though, Smith didn't start because of some great Tressel revelation - he started because of Zwick's injury.

 

[KevinBuck]

Quote:
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=alt2 style="BORDER-RIGHT: 1px inset; BORDER-TOP: 1px inset; BORDER-LEFT: 1px inset; BORDER-BOTTOM: 1px inset">...Better yet, why didn't OSU coach Jim Tressel see them a little sooner -- say, after the first loss of the season? Or the second? Or the third? ... </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


Ah, the benefit of hindsight, the sports journalist's best friend...

 

[martinss01]

If you wanna split hairs though, Smith didn't start because of some great Tressel revelation - he started because of Zwick's injury.

if you really wanna split hairs though, our winning streak has nothing to do with the qb. but then, its so much easier to blame zwick for the lack of offensive output and the 3 losses than it is to accept the fact that the blame rests on the shoulders of not only tressel, but all the coaches AND players. but then, scapegoats are far easier to blame and much more reassuring aren't they...?

tOSU is a national championship contender next year period. the defense should be dominating across the board so long as they stay healthy. best lb trio in the country, argueably best lb in the country. i honestly think we will have one of the better d lines next year as well. ay will play very well and our safeties should be good.

the o-line has been good in spurts. if we can stretch those spurts into entire games... we WILL have a running game. and lets face it, our running attack can't get any worse. we are stacked at wr. 1 star in holmes and ginn + gonzo have everything it takes to be even better than holmes.

special teams... he who is "the nuge" is no more :(. punting should be decent. i expect to see ginn and holmes on kickoff returns. don't be shocked if ginn is a heisman hopeful come mid next season off his special teams play alone. what we lack in punting and field goal ability, ginn and holmes will likely make up for in returns.

 

[BB73]

Can we stop saying Texas every year. We always say Texas if they beat OU. Well how many times have they under Mack Brown.

To answer the question, twice. 1998 and 1999, in Mack Brown's first 2 years at Texas. Obviously the last 5 have been different.