Legitimate National Title Contenders

[PurplePride92]

I think Jameis becomes too much of a distraction during the season and it begins to become a weight on a team filled with guys who didn't have a ton of collegiate success before last season and might not know how to handle it once they become the hunted.

 

No doubt, FSU has a ton of talent, but I could see someone like Florida or NC State having a relatively awful year but beating them on a night where they just can't seem to do anything wrong and the Noles can't get out of their own way.

 

I can also see teams with solid coaches having a year of Jameis' tape to study over the summer and finding increasingly sophisticated ways of game planning.

 

I don't think it's outside the realm of possibility that one team presses him and ends up making him try to do too much instead of just taking what he's given in a way that ends up getting them beat. What I'm trying to say is that, as his star grows, I really wonder if Winston would be satisfied with handing the ball off all night and not getting his own stats even if it meant grinding out a win. If I'm a team with a puncher's chance and I think I can pull it off, why not try and let someone else besides him beat me and see if he's satisfied with that as the game wears on.

 

If they can get past Oklahoma State in week 1 they'll have plenty of time to fine tune themselves to go against Notre Dame, Louisville, Miami and Florida. Those 5 games are the ones I'll be keeping a close eye to.

 

No worries about Jameis being a distraction. This is college not the NFL. FSU can hide Jameis from the world if they really want to.

[JokersWild24]

If they can get past Oklahoma State in week 1 they'll have plenty of time to fine tune themselves to go against Notre Dame, Louisville, Miami and Florida. Those 5 games are the ones I'll be keeping a close eye to.

 

No worries about Jameis being a distraction. This is college not the NFL. FSU can hide Jameis from the world if they really want to.

 

 

No offense PP92 and you know I got nothin' but love for you, but they ain't doing too good at that right now. I think Jameis has a hard time staying out of Jameis' own way this season, especially if the pressure starts mounting again.

 

He handled it last year, but nothing was expected of him then. Now, from a standpoint of his product on the field, he has nowhere to go but down. If they are undefeated come midseason, he's probably going to start understanding what Steve Spurrier meant when he was speaking about his final days coaching at Florida when he said "it's a relief when we win and a disappointment when we lose".

 

No doubt, Florida State has tons of talent, but to whom much is given, much is expected.

[RockinGa]

I don't get the love for Oklahoma right now. They always find a game they should win but don't.

[Getslow]

4) A wild card....Miami (why not?! There is always a sleeper. The U wins the ACC w/ one loss?! I like Al Golden and from what I've seen, it won't surprise me to see the U come back to glory when it's least expected).

 

Interesting. You're not the first person I've seen mention Miami as a sleeper. I just don't see it.

 

They have a few talented players but a pretty unimpressive coaching staff. They look to be starting a true freshman at QB and the not-Jameis-Winstons are a lot more common than the Jameis Winstons. They also got absolutely clobbered by the only four good teams they played all last season.

 

I look through their 2014 schedule and see at Louisville, at Virginia Tech, at Nebraska, home to Cincinnati, home to Florida State and I don't see playoff there.

[Jumper_Dad]

Oklahoma is Georgia...they CAN beat anyone in the country...but they always lose a game they can't afford to lose!

[JokersWild24]

I don't get the love for Oklahoma right now. They always find a game they should win but don't.

 

If I hadn't tuned in to see how they did Bama in their bowl game, I wouldn't either. I've never seen a Nick Saban Alabama team get done the way they did though.

 

Just to put it in perspective, here's a depth chart for Oklahoma last season:

 

QB #1 - Trevor Knight - Returns for So. season (not draft eligible)

RB #1 - Brennan Clay - Denver Broncos

RB #2 - Damien Williams - Miami Dolphins

RB #3 - Roy Finch - New England Patriots

RB #4 - Keith Ford - Returns for So. season (not draft eligible)

FB #1 - Trey Millard - San Francisco 49ers (Rd. 7, Pick 245)

WR #1 - Jalen Saunders - Drafted By: New York Jets (Rd. 4, Pick 104)

WR #2 - Sterling Shepard - Returns for So. season (not draft eligible)

WR #3 - Lacoltan Bester - Houston Texans (played 2 seasons at OU)

WR #4 - Jaz Reynolds - Tennessee Titans

WR #5 - Duron Neal - Returns for Jr. season

 

Those are just the skill positions, but I think you can get the idea.

 

 

Lots of Texas kids on that roster. They've locked up most of the northern part of Texas while UT has hit their skid. They have large parts of the Dallas, North, and East Texas areas as their territories, and are one of those schools who do a good job at picking up whoever they want from their own state. Oklahoma City isn't small, and while they still have to split some kids with Oklahoma State, they aren't hurting for recruits, especially while Adrian Peterson is one of the top players in the NFL.

 

Another thing that doesn't hurt their recruiting is the way they are coming into San Antonio (which is the 7th most populous city in the U.S.) and getting some kids. Their QB, Trevor Knight, came on late last season as a freshman and is supposed to be one of the bigger recruits to come out of the area in any sport in quite awhile. I also got to see one of their current RB's play a playoff game in the San Antonio area during his senior year, and he was UNREAL, even for a Texas high school playoff football game in one of the bigger school divisions. Kid carried the ball 3 times all night and basically went for TD's of 40, 50, and 70 yards before they were up huge and benched him. Those weren't scrubs he was making look like that either.

 

Those are just their skill positions that I've listed above. They only had 4 players drafted last year, and while there wasn't tons of top end talent, they had lots of depth. Plenty of their kids are getting looks as undrafted free agents (8 to be exact). Any team that is considered young and on the upswing, and still doesn't meet their usual total for draftees but ends up getting 12 players into camp is going to be a force, especially as long as they keep owning the Midwest with Texas down and Texas A&M in the SEC.

[RockinGa]

Oklahoma is Georgia...they CAN beat anyone in the country...but they always lose a game they can't afford to lose!

 

True enough. If UGA can get by USCe and/or AU they'll have a shot.

[JokersWild24]

True enough. If UGA can get by USCe and/or AU they'll have a shot.

 

True story on the Oklahoma:Georgia comparison, but I think that their recruiting has been up the upswing lately more than some may realize, especially with Texas being so down and A&M joining the SEC.

 

I definitely see the validity in the comparison though.

[Jumper_Dad]

Phil Steele Final Four Projections:

 

1)Florida St vs 4)Ohio St

2)Alabama vs 3)Oklahoma

[PurplePride92]

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No offense PP92 and you know I got nothin' but love for you, but they ain't doing too good at that right now. I think Jameis has a hard time staying out of Jameis' own way this season, especially if the pressure starts mounting again.

 

He handled it last year, but nothing was expected of him then. Now, from a standpoint of his product on the field, he has nowhere to go but down. If they are undefeated come midseason, he's probably going to start understanding what Steve Spurrier meant when he was speaking about his final days coaching at Florida when he said "it's a relief when we win and a disappointment when we lose".

 

No doubt, Florida State has tons of talent, but to whom much is given, much is expected.

 

 

I'm only talking about keeping him from the media. FSU can control that. If he can't speak to the media he is less of a distraction.

[PurplePride92]

I don't get the love for Oklahoma right now. They always find a game they should win but don't.

 

And they do this more than FSU does.

[KY Thorobred]

Alabama

Oregon

Oklahoma

LSU

[SLINK]

I am listing 10 contenders for four spots.

1. Florida St.

2. Alabama

3. LSU

4. Auburn

5. Oklahoma

6. Ohio St.

7. Michigan St.

8. Stanford

9. Oregon

10. My USC Trojans provided they stay relatively healthy, unlike last year. A little more depth, 71 scholarships vs. the 62 last year.

[Harry Doyle]

Interesting. You're not the first person I've seen mention Miami as a sleeper. I just don't see it.

 

They have a few talented players but a pretty unimpressive coaching staff. They look to be starting a true freshman at QB and the not-Jameis-Winstons are a lot more common than the Jameis Winstons. They also got absolutely clobbered by the only four good teams they played all last season.

 

I look through their 2014 schedule and see at Louisville, at Virginia Tech, at Nebraska, home to Cincinnati, home to Florida State and I don't see playoff there.

 

Great points.

 

I am basing this off nothing more than their athleticism. And, I think the ACC is as wide open as a conference as there is...that's the other reason.

 

As far as their coaching staff, I really don't know that much about them except Golden. I've watched a few things on him/them in the last year, either those kids are bluff masters or they are 200% sold on the Kool - aid he is pouring.

 

...it just feels like they are about due to make their next 3-4 year run where they are in the mix of things; and, it won't shock me one bit to seem them knock off all or all but one of those.

 

Call me crazy

[Harry Doyle]

^^Their hardest game w/out a doubt is the Thursday night game vs VT in Blacksburg. You're automatically down a TD after the Thunder Chickens come out to Enter Sandman.