LSU Rank #13 ESPN Poll

Discussion in 'The Tiger's Den' started by gotlsu, May 19, 2006.

  1. gotlsu

    gotlsu Founding Member

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    TOP 25: POST-SPRING EDITION

    [​IMG] 1. Ohio State Buckeyes
    OK, so only two defensive starters return. When did Jim Tressel not have a defense? And my, oh, my, that offense.

    [​IMG] 2. Oklahoma Sooners
    You've got to be pretty good to go 8-4 while rebuilding. Quarterback Rhett Bomar comes into his own as a sophomore, and junior tailback Adrian Peterson is healthy.

    [​IMG] 3. West Virginia Mountaineers
    If you think the Mountaineers peaked in the Sugar Bowl, then you'll dismiss them. But they've shown what they can do. West Virginia's biggest obstacle is ego expansion.

    [​IMG] 4. Texas Longhorns
    If they had a QB returning from winning a national championship, they'd definitely be No. 1. If they had a QB who had ever taken a snap, maybe.


    [​IMG] 5. Florida State Seminoles
    There's more returning on defense than the loss of seven starters suggests. This is Bobby Bowden's best team since Chris Weinke -- and Mark Richt -- left.

    [​IMG] 6. USC Trojans
    If John David Booty is healthy, move them up. If he can't play, and Mark Sanchez remains suspended, move them down.

    [​IMG] 7. California Golden Bears
    Marshawn Lynch should be in the same Heisman breath as Peterson. The defense is experienced. If Nate Longshore stays healthy …

    [​IMG] 8. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
    BQ squared. On offense, Brady Quinn is the answer. On defense, the Big Question is stopping the pass. The defense will improve, but not in time to get through every one of the first five games.

    [​IMG] 9. Auburn Tigers
    I like this team. There's a lot of experience on both sides of the ball and a favorable schedule. But the SEC has too much depth to expect a BCS championship game contender.

    [​IMG] 10. Iowa Hawkeyes
    Drew Tate is the best quarterback you're not paying attention to, and the Hawkeyes played better last year than their 7-5 record would indicate.

    [​IMG] 11. Clemson Tigers
    Sophomore tailback James Davis is a star ready to shine. Quarterback Charlie Whitehurst and his 40 starts are gone, but backup Will Proctor is ready to lead.

    [​IMG] 12. Florida Gators
    Higher than I expected, because there's more coming back than I realized. But Chris Leak looks like a spotted tiger in this offense, and no running back has stepped up.

    [​IMG] 13. LSU Tigers
    Lower than I expected, because both lines have to be rebuilt, and because of road games at Auburn, Florida and Tennessee. There's sure a lot of talent on offense, though.

    [​IMG] 14. Oregon Ducks
    The Ducks have plenty to sink their beaks into: road games at Fresno State, Cal and USC. OU comes to Autzen Stadium, which has replaced Husky Stadium as the toughest venue in the Pac-10.

    [​IMG] 15. Nebraska Cornhuskers
    The Huskers were my dark horse last year, and I was nine games early. Zac Taylor found his stroke late in the season. Nebraska can't let what happens at USC, good or bad, dictate the rest of the season.

    [​IMG] 16. Michigan Wolverines
    The Wolverines are my dark horse this season. That's right. This team wasn't all that good last year. But RB Mike Hart is healthy, and I think new coordinator Ron English will fix what ailed the defense.

    [​IMG] 17. Louisville Cardinals
    The Cardinals and West Virginia have reversed roles. It's WVU's turn to deal with expectations. I'd rank the Cardinals higher if I knew for sure that quarterback Brian Brohm will have recovered from knee surgery.

    [​IMG] 18. Miami Hurricanes
    Too low? Shoot, this is a leap of faith. To be honest, I expect this to be a transition year into a new offense with a new offensive coaching staff.

    [​IMG] 19. TCU Horned Frogs
    If the Frogs had more than one returning offensive lineman, they would be in the top 10. All the other pieces are there, and early games against Baylor and Texas Tech will provide schedule cred.

    [​IMG] 20. Boston College Eagles
    A good nucleus of experience, led by the offensive line (74 returning starts) and LB Brian Toal on defense. Strange scheduling: Eagles close at Miami, which means they could play the Canes again nine days later in the ACC title game.

    [​IMG] 21. Penn State Nittany Lions
    The Nittany Lions will fall off from 11-1, but there's still a lot of skill on offense, and there's still Puz to anchor a young defense. Penn State fans need to be patient with quarterback Anthony Morelli.

    [​IMG] 22. Georgia Bulldogs
    The SEC East is as tough as ever, and the Bulldogs have less coming back than the rest of the Top 25. Can Joe Tereshinski III run the offense well enough early enough?

    [​IMG] 23. UTEP Miners
    Quarterback Jordan Palmer has the eye of NFL scouts and the defense returns almost intact (which may be a good thing). Texas Tech comes to El Paso early, which could boost UTEP into a higher ranking. Four road games in five weeks will be rough.

    [​IMG] 24. Virginia Tech Hokies
    The Hokies lost almost as much (12 starters) as Georgia, and Frank Beamer has four new coaches. But with this schedule, the Hokies could be mediocre and go 8-4.

    [​IMG] 25. Texas Tech Red Raiders
    Hold on to your Stetson: The Red Raiders won't have a fifth-year senior at quarterback. Graham Harrell is only a sophomore, but he's got the arm, the brains and a veteran cast around him.
     
  2. tiger777

    tiger777 Founding Member

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    way to low and im not wearing blinders.
     
  3. saltyone

    saltyone So Mote It Be

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    :po: :angry: :cuss: :mad: :angryfire :cuss: :angry: :angryfire
     
  4. T-Time

    T-Time Never Satisfied

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    what a horrible poll, oklahoma at 2 haha

    lsu behind iowa, clemson, cal, oklahoma, florida state, and florida is nuts, they should be 7 at worst.

    georgia at 22 is nuts, they'll finish in the top 15 probably like always
     
  5. Contained Chaos

    Contained Chaos Don't we all?

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    I will say this. To me, Troy Smith is the best QB in the country coming into this season. He'svery on the ground and in the air. Saw that guy make so ridiculous plays last year.
     
  6. TigerKid05

    TigerKid05 Say Whaa!?!?

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    *sigh*...whats new
     
  7. youcandoit1687

    youcandoit1687 Founding Member

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    i guess their justification is the whole week to week in the SEc wear and tear. but look at us last year, we won, what?, nine straight, mostly in the SEC, in a row week-to-week. give us that one weeks rest before tennesse and i think we do some special things with the regular season. the tough games will be auburn although we play them in week 3 which i say is advantage us and florida which will be the 6th game of the season and sixth in a row. hopefully alabama will not be much of a challenge after tennessee beacuse that could make be a difficult two games in a row. 13th is way too low, that is 3-4 loss territory, very unlikely that we lose three games. i say the most we lose is 2. something in this order... florida, auburn, tennessee, and alabama as of now. that florida is assuming that urban gets it to click, if not drop them to second or even third
     
  8. CParso

    CParso Founding Member

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    Watch and see. Oklahoma will win the Big XII and go to a BCS bowl.

    I hate the Clemson & Florida St picks, but Iowa, Cal, OU, and possibly UF are all good picks as top 10 teams.

    As it mentions, Georgia lost more than any other team in the top 25. They will have a down year and I think they'll be a top 25 team, but not 15.
     
  9. CParso

    CParso Founding Member

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    Considering the losses we took on the lines, the still relative unproveness of Miles, and our tough road schedule - being ranked 13th in the nation is not an insult. Granted, I think we should be a preseason top 10 team, but this isn't the media having some bias against us. Three losses is a very real possability for us next year.
     
  10. MikeDTiger

    MikeDTiger Geaux Tigers!!!

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    I don’t know if y’all remember last year, but ESPN’s Pat Forde had us at 11 and every other preseason poll had us in the top 10. Maisel had us at 18. I’m not one to go off on the media hates us rants, but it really does seem that Maisel doesn’t have much respect for LSU’s football team.

    2005 Preseason Consensus Poll

    Maybe he's doing his poll not on talent, but projecting where we finish the season. The tough road schedule is something to think about. Still, in this case I'll go for the Maisel hates us conspiracy theory :thumb:
     

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