I see all these threads with members complaiining about this poll and that poll, and the disrespect, and yada yada yada.....well here is your chance to place LSU in the poll. Where would you put us? I think USC is overrated especially with their problems at WR and O-line, I put them down to #4 on my preseason list. OU I think deservedly gets the #1 nod, with LSU 2nd and GA third.
People just don't get it. That inexperience on the O-line is gonna cost them. It won't be so pretty back there for Mr. Leinhart. Four of the 5 starting lineman have little or no experience. That's too much.
Fair to me would be no lower than 4, no higher than 3. Even with bias I feel LSU does not have enough key offensive players returning to jump OU or USC in the pre-season polls. Georgia/LSU is a tossup but by the same initial logic I can see Georgia being placed ahead. Personally though, I would rank LSU #3 pre-season. Georgia's returning talent is simply not of the same level as an OU or a USC.
in reviewing the polls, its almost impossible to rank teams pre-season due to fact that everything that you can use as information has changed from last season. you can look at schedule and returning starters etc. i would prefer to rank the top 5 after the first week. i could understand how usc, sooners or the tigers could be no. 1. i don't think georgia deserves a no. 1 ranking. yes we have lost some quality players but, we also return some quality players. usc - 1 lsu - 2 sooners - 3 georgia - 4 i recently took a cruise and met a couple of georgia fans and ohio state fans. the bulldog faithful ask how is it going to feel playing the dogs at their place - i asked them was atlanta close enough for a home game? i told them that it would be a tough place to play, but after winning two games from them last year i would not have a problem whipping them b/n the hedges. ohio did congratulate us on our "shared" title, my sweet little wife put in her two cents - didn't we win the same crystal trophy that ya'll won last year? she also stated that we were the only top 5 team to win our conference championship game. and she asked this buckeye fan did ya'll win your championship game this year ? that was pretty much the end of the conversation. GB :champs:
I voted us #4 because I like it there, but we cannot win another NC from that position in a system where the human polls rule. USC has a good team and are head and shoulders above everyone on their schedule, so, in the human poll world, their pre-season ranking will be a self fulfilling prophesy. If they win all their games they will never drop. I really think OU was exposed at the end of last season, but they have a lot of talent and they won't be dropped until the pollsters realize that Stoops is not all that they thought he was (nor is J. White). I like Georgia being ranked ahead of LSU and I also like that all of the media are drooling all over them. That will make LSU look very good when we whip em the 3rd time in a row. Let's just let Nick and his boys do their thing and with a little luck, go up against the condoms in the Orange Bowl. The 2005 preseason will be disgusting because we are going to have media love juice all over our bad selves.
As a true optimist I kept us No. 1. IMO, the 2004 team will be more talented with better depth than the 03 team. If we don't have serious injuries at the wrong time I think we have a good chance to repeat. Our defense and OL brought us the gold last year. In big games, quarterbacking was our weakness last year but the defense brought us through. Hopefully Randall will play as well as Mauck and I think he will. After dominating Georgia and Oklahoma it's hard for me to beleive they have improved enough to take away our championship. Southern Cal is still unproven, IMO.
Anywhere in the top 5 or 6 is fine with me. Deciding who should be where at this point is like splitting hairs and no one ever knows how a team will come together from year to year much less from week to week. Like Saban said, the preseason rankings are really based on last year's team and none of them really matter at this point. Revisit this in week 5.
Seems to me, that since we're the defending National Champions, we're #1 until someone beats us. How bad will it be if USC, OU and LSU go undefeated, and because they were ranked ahead of us pre-season. we don't get to defend our championship. THAT WOULD SUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
