Top 25 poll released -- quick thoughts

The USA Today preseason coach's poll is out. Because I love public ridicule, I've decided to post my first impressions of the top 10. Please note these are my FIRST IMPRESSIONS and they are not intended to serve as official predictions. Also, calling this post poorly researched would be highly inaccurate, as such a label would imply that I did ANY research. (Beyond, of course, my already dogeared copy of Phil Steele and the incomparable work of SMQ.)

Without further ado:

1. Georgia -- This seems about right. No one had a stronger close to the 2007 season, although in retrospect it would have been nice to see them play a better foe (Southern Cal?) in their bowl game. Either way, they make sense in this spot for the preseason, but the Bulldogs will have to prove it by navigating a BRUTAL stretch of games -- all away from home -- late in the year. Also, this adds a bizarre twist to the surprising SEC poll. More on this in a moment.

2. Southern Cal -- Whether this pick is spot-on or way-to-high will hinge on the Trojan's offense. We know about the D. It's going to be scary. That's not hyperbole -- Rey Maualuga or Taylor Mays might actually crush the ribcage of an opponent this year. Repent now. Will USC's offense be consistent enough to avoid one of their trademark letdown games against a far inferior Pac-10 opponent? Mr. Sanchez, we await your answer. Oh, and they play a pretty big game or something early in the season.

3. Ohio State -- Again, this one could swing wildly, but this time it's based on the aforementioned big game. The Buckeyes' roadtrip to face USC in Los Angeles will almost certainly have a major hand in determining this year's BCS Championship matchup. Win and the Buckeyes have nothing but green in between them and 12-0. Lose and the Big 10 suffers another (perhaps crippling?) blow.

4. Oklahoma -- Nothing wrong with this pick. The Sooners are loaded and will play chic underdog pick Texas Tech at home, thus avoiding the bi-annual nightmare trip to Lubbock. How far Sam Bradford progresses at quarterback, especially with some attrition in the receiving corps, could dictate whether the Sooners are in the title hunt or (yet again) an also-ran.

5. Florida -- The Gators are the number one team in the SEC preseason poll -- ahead of Georgia -- but are four spots back of the Bulldogs in the national coach's poll. Yes, yes. Two completely different sets of voters, but amusing nonetheless. The schedule sets up well for Florida, especially if it can survive its early-season trip to Tennessee, but the young defense must be vastly improved for the Gators to make a title run. Tebow, after all, doesn't play on the defensive line (though he totally could, natch).

6. LSU -- High. Way, way high. LSU (much like Florida last year) gets a top-ten nod following a national title. With Ryan Perilloux? Sure. Without him, the defense -- including the nation's deepest, most talented defensive line -- will need to be Hurculean to keep the Tigers in the top-10. Also, don't count out Andrew Hatch just yet. Yes, he's a Harvard transfer, but he originally was headed to BYU (great QB school) before a rather strange set of circumstances brought him to the Ivy League. Still, the new signalcaller will receive a trial by fire -- always a dicey proposition in the nation's toughest conference.

7. Missouri -- Ooooh, shiny things! Chase Daniel. Jeremy Maclin. Points! Points! Points! Make no mistake -- Mizzou is going to be very fun to watch. Daniel and Maclin return but leading rusher Tony Temple does not -- a glaring absence that should not be overlooked. The Tigers should be the cream of the Big 12 North, but a trip to Austin to face Texas and the season-opening Braggin' Rights game against Illinois present formidable challenges. That's not to mention Mizzou's annual habit (broken last year) of dropping a game it really, really should have won. (Otherwise known as "Pulling a Pinkel.")

8. West Virginia -- Did you realize that Rich Rodriguez is no longer coaching the Mountaineers? He absconded so well that I barely even noticed. You could fault the voters for also ignoring this fact and putting the 'Eers so high. But I won't. Why? Well for one, they should again be the class of the Big East. Also, Pat White. He's apparently a human born on this planet, but I wouldn't be at all surprised to discover that he's actually an alien sent to us by a distant civilization to teach us the beauty of the spread-option offense.

9. Clemson -- If ever there were a time for the Tigers to live up to expectations, this is it. Playing in the tepid ACC, they should ride roughshod over most of their opponents. James Davis and C.J. Spiller are as talented as any running back tandem in the country, but Clemson will be matching up against its own history as much as any opposing team. I like the looks of this team and I think they will make the *yawn* ACC title game, but doing so at a robust 11-1/10-2 as opposed to a disappointing 9-3/8-4 will leave no room for losses to inferior foes.

10. Texas -- A sleeping giant, perhaps? Certainly one of the nation's top-teams in terms of overall talent, the Longhorns add some spice to their defense with new coordinator Will "Boom Motherf***er" Muschamp. UT could be poised to grab the Big 12 South title if Oklahoma falters and Texas Tech fails to live up to its pre-season hype. Tech's defense remains a mystery at this point, so the Red River Shootout may yet continue its recent tradition of being the de-facto South Division chamionship game. I also feel that the real Colt McCoy will stand up this year -- the junior quarterback will either become a steady, talented presence or remain maddeningly inconsistent.