My Top 25...

... and why yours is wrong.

1. Ohio State
Yeah, nine gone from their defense, blah, blah, blah. Offense returns all they need to outscore people until the D adjusts. Their game in Austin could launch Troy Smith's Heisman run.

2. Auburn
The Tigers will benefit from only two games not in Mississippi or Alabama. WR Courtney Taylor will provide the difference between a good year and one ending in the Arizona desert.

3. West Virginia
The Mountaineers will be underdogs only on November 2nd when they travel to Louisville.

4. Texas
If defense truly wins championships then the Longhorns should return. Something tells me Vince Young was a huge reason that will be missed. No team was more happy to hear about Rhett Bomar than UT.

5. Southern California
The Trojans have a ton of talent recruited and stock piled. The problem is that all the ESPN players are gone. Getting D. Jarrett back was a help and not a shock, either.

6. Notre Dame
The Irish will be the ESPN darlings to my dismay. The defense will improve, however, its what lies behind the best 22 that Weis can put on the field that have me thinking BCS rather than BCS championship.

7. LSU
You will find no more talented team than the Tigers, however you will find no tougher schedule than what the Tigers must face.

8. Florida State
Bowden's last shot at glory because the 2007 Seminoles face a murderous schedule with only five home games. Drew Weatherford will not be Chris Rix.

9. Louisville
Sexy games at home with Miami and West Virginia but the snarky games on the road - Kansas State and Pittsburgh - could keep U of L away again from the BCS race.

10. Florida
Loaded Gators will face the Bataan Death March in mid-season. Mark them down as the pre-season #1 in 2007.

11. California
The Bears are my first reach but I will be a genius if they leave Knoxville with a win.

12. Georgia
Quarterback controversy will plague the season and keep the Dawgs out of the SEC title hunt. UGA has won the most games since 2000 without a national title.

Here is the major dividing line:

13. Clemson
5th year QB stepping in for his turn. Tough games at Florida State and Boston College early, along with a trip to Blacksburg. 9-3 still could get you 13th.

14. Michigan
We just can't keep Michigan from getting highly ranked even though you know they aren't going to do much on the national scene. They'll beat who they should, lose to who they should.

15. Miami, FL
The house is cleaned with the assistants gone and Willie Williams roaming the earth. Four Canes are suspended for the Florida State game so that is trouble. Miami is not the Miami you remember. The killer D is still there, but the offense is MIA.

16. Iowa
Drew Tate comes back for the last go around. Sigh. Ferentz is a genius who can't get his Hawkeyes back to the BCS since 2001. They haven't won a Big Ten title outright and they have yet to get past this plateau. They're perfectly ranked.

17. Texas Tech
One of these years the Red Raiders have to put it all together and make some noise in the south of the Big 12. They're waiting for their first wins against Oklahoma and Texas. (Last year's was a bit frought with controversy.)

18. Oklahoma
Bomar being gone puts them here. AP will get his yards, but the eight-man fronts will prevent OU winning too many shootouts.

19. Virginia Tech
No spotlight in Blacksburg is exactly how Beamer likes it. His team will be anonymous and at their most dangerous. The anonymity gets them 19th, the lack of distraction could spell B-C-S.

20. Texas Christian
Team #1 in the small conference BCS chase. I know nothing else about them other than the magazines. Same as about a billion other websites and blogs out there.

21. Arizona State
Offense is top notch. Defense isn't but you can't ignore a 17-2 TD-INT ratio for your starting QB. They can prove it in a hurry winning at Colorado on Sept. 16th.

22. Penn State
Ohio State graduates a ton on one side of the ball and I have them winning the NC. Penn State graduates a bit more and I don't trust them. Maybe its the fact that before last year the Lions had gone three years with no bowl. Was '05 a fluke? Let's find out.

23. Nebraska
Reports are good out of Lincoln that the passing revolution has taken hold. Their late wins over Colorado and Michigan springboarded the Huskers and will provide swagger. USC on the 16th could send all that crashing down or prove to the world that the Huskers are working their way back.

24. Alabama
Schedule gets the Tide seven wins. A little magic can get them nine. Anything more will not happen.

25. Boston College
They'll beat Duke.