LVSC Oddsmaker Preseason Top 30 College Football Poll

I’ve been waiting for Las Vegas Sports Consultants to throw out its first preseason poll.  It’s been published today and here’s what it looks like:

LVSC Rank	Team	Rating	Final LVSC 2007 Rank	Notes
1	Southern Cal	112.9	1	Will O-line be ready for Buckeyes.
2	Ohio State	111.2	6	Sept 13th at USC will be their biggest test.
3	Oklahoma	109.7	5	Playing their A-game each week will lead them to Jan 8th.
4	Missouri	109.5	7	Everyone knows the offense, however the D could be special.
5	Florida	109.4	8	Can anyone stop the Gators offense???
6	West Virginia	108.6	3	Offense dominates again. D- Coorindinator Casteel retained.
7	Georgia	108.5	4	Suspensions may hurt cohesion later in season.
8	Texas	107.4	11	A top 10 offense, their weakness is in the secondary.
9	Texas Tech	107.0	15	At long last stability at QB in Lubbock. D also solid.
10	Clemson	106.8	15	Needs to avoid annual hiccup, but are loaded at skill positions.
11	Brigham Young	105.5	13	Cougars capable of big year and BCS appearance.
12	Kansas	105.3	9	Jayhawks will not sneak up on anyone. Great Linebackers!
13	Penn State	104.9	18	Lions quietly have won 9+ L3Y. Lost 2 DT to susp.
14	South Carolina	104.2	NR	Spurrier’s D is loaded with 3rd yr starters. QB controversy???
15	LSU	104.1	2	Reloads on a yearly basis. Quarterback a big question mark.
16	Oregon	104.0	NR	QB Roper fits O-Coorindinator Kelly’s offense. Solid all around.
17	Texas Christian	103.8	NR	Attention AP Voters!!! TCU 30-8 last 3 yrs & getting better.
18	Auburn	103.7	25	Brutal SEC schedule plus a trip to West Virginia.
19	South Florida	103.6	27	If QB Grothe stays healthy, Bulls have a chance at the BCS.
20	Wisconsin	103.1	20	Badgers always play to the level opposition.
21	California	102.7	24	Well coached. Reloading on offense. Moving to 3-4 on D!
21	Virginia Tech	102.7	10	Hokies looking for playmakers on both sides of the ball.
21	Tennessee	102.7	17	New up-tempo offense will take time to learn.
24	Arizona	101.6	20	New offense has been a roaring success. Tuitama will go wild.
25	Cincinnati	100.9	19	HC Brian Kelly was a great hire. New QB must fit system.
26	Rutgers	100.5	NR	Rice is gone, however Schiano is still a Jersey Boy…
27	Arizona State	100.4	20	O-Line must improve. QB Carpenter back for senior year.
28	Oklahoma State	100.1	NR	New season same story. Solid offense – weak defense.
29	Boston College	100.0	14	Too many losses on Offense. D will be even stingier.
30	Oregon State	99.9	20	HC Riley is 7-0 in bowls games. 4-0 as HC and 3-0 as OC.

Georgia at #7 doesn’t bother me nearly as much as South Carolina at #14, one spot ahead of LSU.  Make sure you read the comments for each school.  All I can figure is that somebody smells a sucker or two in the Columbia faithful.  Put your money down!

In general, it looks like Vegas is more down on the SEC than the AP voters and coaches are.  And awfully high on the Big XII.

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Only 74 more days of not being in their heads.

Per Tony Barnhart this morning:

Does Florida have Georgia on their minds?: It sure seems that way. At least that is what Cameron Newton, Florida’s backup quarterback, told me. Newton, from College Park (Westlake H.S.) has a lot of friends on the Georgia team.

“Man, they (Georgia) have opened something up,” Newton said, obviously referring to last year’s en masse charge of the end zone by the Georgia team. “It’s going to be a fun game this year. I know coach (Urban) Meyer wants it bad. And our players want it bad. They are predicting that it’s going to be the game of the year.”

What’ll she wear to Senior Day?

Remember this?

… One miserable experience ruined the Bowmans’ impression of Georgia, and it all stemmed from the color orange. Chances are, they won’t be wearing red and black any time soon.

“It’s Michael’s choice whether he wants to go to Georgia or not, but he won’t get any encouragement from me at all,” she said.

Oh well.  That’s that.

Sort of.  Maybe.  Maybe not.

Ridgeland wide receiver Michael Bowman wants to be commitment No. 14 for Georgia’s 2009 class.

And Bowman says the Bulldogs have promised an offer, providing he improves his test scores.

“If Georgia offered me today, I would commit,” Bowman said. “I’ve talked and visited with other schools, but Georgia has always been No. 1 with me. I’ve never changed my mind about that. I’ve felt that way since the first time I went there.”

I hope he gets what he wants, because there ought to be some great moments from momma down the road if he does.  Not to mention the fact that the kid is talented.

Ten questions

… for which I don’t have any simple answers.

• If Kirk Herbstreit had been just a leetle more persuasive a couple of years ago such that Michigan had played Ohio State for the MNC, would Urban Meyer be perceived as a genius today?
• In the Big XII, does the quarterback make the defense, or does the defense make the quarterback?
• What’s the over/under on the number of years in a row that pundits will ask if this is the year Tommy Bowden gets Clemson over the hump in the ACC?
• If it’s a given that a certain defense will improve in 2008 because it can’t be any worse than it was in 2007, why isn’t it a given that a certain offense will decline in 2008 because it was so good in 2007?
• Exactly what has Ron Prince accomplished to justify a contract extension?
• Do Auburn offensive linemen get bonus points for being as big a bunch of assholes with their own teammates as they do with other schools?
• In the wake of Sturdivant’s injury, how many Dawg fans are going to go out and buy Michael Lewis’ The Blind Side?
• How many voters in the Coaches Poll put in even one quarter of the effort Kyle King does in assembling his Blog Poll ballot?
• Why do we love funky names lists so much?
• Is New Mexico State the place where overrated defensive coordinators’ reputations go to die?

Just asking…

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BONUS QUESTION: This isn’t mine, but it’s so good I want to add it to the list.  Jody asks about preseason poll decisions:

…if you bump a team down because they have a difficult schedule, do you then not drop them when they lose?  I mean, if you dropped them preseason because you expect them to lose, then when they fulfill your expectations you shouldn’t penalize them again, correct?

Got to get better in a little while…

Another “has to get better” sighting for you – and, no, it’s not the Gator pass defense.  For once.

This time it’s Dennis Dodd’s opinion about the Arizona State offensive line.

Coach Dennis Erickson has the most equipped program. Coming off a 10-win season, he has 16 returning starters, including the Pac-10’s best quarterback (Rudy Carpenter), a tailback with heart (Keegan Herring) and an offensive line that has to get better (55 sacks, second most in the country).

“We had some veterans who had a little bit of trouble adjusting to what we were doing,” Erickson said. “We, maybe, put too many protections in. We’ll simplify our protections. We’ll be quicker (throwing the ball).”

Remember now, this is the team that’s replacing most of its starting offensive line and tight end.  Here’s how The Quad summarized the situation:

There are questions up front on offense, as the team must replace Pollak at center and the right tackle tandem of Julius Orieukwu and Zach Krula. With Fanaika and the junior Shawn Lauvao penciled in at guard, that spot seems to be in good shape, but the tackle position took a hit after the would-be junior Richard Tuitu’u, the proposed starter at right tackle, chose to leave the team. That leaves the redshirt freshman Adam Tello as the starter at right tackle, though the team may think about moving the backup left tackles Tom Njunge and Mike Marcisz over to augment depth on the right side. At center, the redshirt freshman Garth Gerhart and the junior Thomas Altieri are locked up in a tight battle for the open spot, with the pair alternating time practicing with the starters. While Altieri looked like the man to beat for the starting job, he has been battling injuries in fall camp, giving Gerhart an opportunity to show what he can bring to the table. I’m really looking forward to what the sophomore Jon Hargis can do at left tackle. A member of the Pac-10 all-freshman team – as a defensive tackle – last fall, Hargis was moved over to offense…

Correct me if I’m wrong, but it looks like the Sun Devils will have newbies at both offensive tackle positions.  Please don’t get me started on that.  But they have to be better, right?