Reaction to Coaches’ Poll: The National Title Contenders

It’s one thing to hate about the BCS’ two-team playoff format and preseason polls that factor into the formula – all teams at the top just have to play survival as all other teams have to play catch-up and hope for losses between now and December. Sometimes, losses don’t happen – no one was able shake Texas or USC from the top spots in the 2005 seasons, therefore anything outside those two teams were rather irrelevant.

But let’s move on from the legitimacy of the system; there’s only two years left before it turns into an actual playoff format, and all that can be done now is project and preview how these top teams fair in the polls. The USA Today Coaches’ Poll was released first, and counts for one-third of the BCS formula (the other two factors being the Harris Bowl and computer’s BCS poll).

Let’s begin:

1) Louisiana State Tigers

They didn’t receive the most first-place votes, but acquired 1,403 accumulated points from all voters. That was enough for the Tigers reach number one after a bad showing at last year’s BCS championship against Alabama. Washington will head into “Death Valley” for the most notable non-conference game on September 8th, but things really begin with their SEC opener at Auburn on September 22nd. The game against Alabama is set for November 3rd (already in primetime on CBS), which is right now the biggest Saturday of the season (you’ll find out why as we go on).

2) Alabama Crimson Tide

Finishing just four points behind their SEC opponent, they had the most first-place votes (20) with a lot of replacements as starters. But it’s a culture of “reloading, not rebuilding” and not many people view that as drawbacks for this program. The most interesting non-conference matchup will be their opener against Michigan and the best conference game (outside of LSU) might be at Arkansas on September 15th.

Since the top two feature a unique situation of meeting each other in the regular season, another team from below could likely find their way in the top two spots. Here are biggest contenders on that list:

• USC – In my opinion, should be ranked as the best team out there. They have 19 returning starters, including a Heisman-contending quarterback (Matt Barkley) and a pair of receivers (Marqise Lee and Robert Woods) that will dominate many defenses. Oregon’s their biggest test on November 3rd.
• Oklahoma – Ranked fourth and favored to win the Big 12, at West Virginia on November 17th looks to be a tough test for the Sooners this season. Don’t forget the regular season finale at TCU as well December 1st.
• Oregon – The non-conference season doesn’t show many highlights except knowing that Fresno State was really good in 2007 (and to be fair, many years of Pat Hill’s coaching tenure). USC looms in the first Saturday of November.
• Georgia – Yup. Because they don’t have to play LSU or Alabama in the regular season, they could jump into a top spot if the dominoes fall correctly.
• Florida State – The question will be how hard is that schedule? After you get past the weak three-pack start, then it’s a home game against Clemson, five of seven games will be on the road after that, and hosting Florida. Those road games include South Florida, Miami, and Virginia Tech. If they make it through all of that undefeated, they deserve being contenders for the championship game.