College Football Elite Eight (Post-Spring)

College Football, Football, Major Sports

Posted by Obiora, May 9, 2008 - 9:06 am

Spring practices have come and gone so it’s time for another (still) ridiculously early college football Elite Eight list. In response to the BCS conferences shutting down a Plus-One format (read: 4-team playoff), I’m changing the format for this list a little bit. The top 4 teams in this list will make be those who would make the aforementioned playoff. You also must have won your conference title. But the list as a whole must conform to the standard of at least one BCS conference team making the BCS bowls.

1. Ohio State Buckeyes (previous rank: #2)

You hate this ranking. I hate this ranking. Everybody hates this ranking! But OSU looked stellar during the spring and there were few (if any) holes to plug. Obviously the anticipated arrival of Terrelle Pryor is cause for excitement in Columbus but his role on such a loaded team will be in the margins. Beanie Wells is at or near the top of my pre-season Heisman balloting at the moment.

2. USC Trojans (previous rank: #3)

One of the biggest stories this spring was the emergence of QB Mark Sanchez for USC. It had been thought (and posited in an earlier column) that the ground game would have to cover USC till the new starting QB settled in. Looks like the air attack will be just fine for the Trojans.

3. Oklahoma Sooners (previous rank: #1)

There’s nothing that Oklahoma did wrong to drop from the top spot. But like a team on the bye, they didn’t generate a huge amount of buzz. Linebacker play continues to be an issue for this team because of its youth but the youngsters should mature quickly this year.

4. Georgia Bulldogs (previous rank: #8)

I still can’t kick the feeling that the Bulldogs won’t be able to pull it out, just as they haven’t for several years under Mark Richt, which is why they only moved up to #4 instead of #2 or #3. But it’s impossible to ignore a team that played well down the stretch and returns so much talent. QB Matt Stafford had a great spring and is being mentioned in the Heisman pre-season watch lists. The receiving corps is looking strong which should give RB Knowshon Moreno some much appreciated running room. Personally, I think Moreno should be higher in the Heisman watch than Stafford though.

5. Florida Gators (previous rank: #4)

Same ol’ story for the Gators. Tim Tebow lights it up, the running game isn’t sorted out and the defense is young. USC transfer Emmanuel Moody may have all the talent but he was much too inconsistent to grab the reigns for Urban Meyer. One can only hope that WR/RB/GOD Percy Harvin heals up from his injury in time for training camp.

6. Missouri Tigers (previous rank: NR)

Word out of Columbia is that the Tigers’ offense is shaping up to be more explosive than last year. More explosive? If the Tigers maintain last year’s high form, QB Chase Daniel should at least get an invite to the Downtown Athletic Club.

7. West Virginia Mountaineers (previous rank: #6)

The story out of Morgantown (besides the continued hatred of Rich Rodriguez) is head coach Bill Stewart’s attempts to actually limit the running of QB Pat White. It makes sense though because when White has gotten banged up near the end of the season, the Mountaineers have faded. Everyone witnessed what a healthy Pat White can do against Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. If RB Noel Devine can help keep White healthy, the Mountaineers will have a strong shot at the national title.

8. Clemson Tigers (previous rank: 7)

Concerns abound over the Tigers’ inability to solidify their line play this spring, which could make it hard for all that skill-position talent to thrive. I have bigger concerns over their inability to play well in crunch time, period. Still, Clemson is the best of a relatively mediocre ACC bunch.

Didn’t do enough lobbying - Texas. If this list is to approximate an eight-team BCS-type playoff then at least one team from each BCS conference must get in to the field. That leaves Texas on the outs because Clemson has to get in. Plus, I’m still concerned about Longhorns QB Colt McCoy.

Knocking on the door: Texas, LSU, BYU, Wisconsin, Virginia Tech, South Florida, Kansas

Photo Credit: Jeff Mills/Icon SMI

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