Phil Steele's early top 25

4Q Basket Case said:

While I also think our #2 overall ranking is generous given our multiple questions, there is an internal inconsistency. We're #2, the barn is #4, but they pick the barn #1 in the SEC-W.

Don't know how to reconcile that.

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One is phill steeles's projected ap top 25. The other is a Saturday down south article by Jon cooper (never heard of him) who is predicting the sec west.

Phil Steele frequently picks FSU as #1. He's something of a homer from Florida but this year with FSU coming off the NC, I'll give him a break this time. Bama at 2 is a bit steep - should be around #3-#5. Auburn should definitely not be at #4. They will NOT repeat or even come within a game of repeating their 2013 season. Oregon has become like USC of preseason rankings past. They are always penciled in the top 3 no matter what. I wonder with these preseason rankings (and in Spring at that) what basis are they using to rank the teams? Is this the ranking they expect 2014/15 season to end with? or as of now (when there hasn't been a game since Jan.)? These rankings coming out now are pretty useless.

Auburn is returning fifteen starters, eight on offense. Their offense will be good. My suspicion is that their defense will continue to be mediocre and it will bite them in the behind a couple of times this year.

I think our folks need to accept this is probably - PROBABLY - our version of a rebuilding year. I hope not, but replacing McCarron is going to be incredibly difficult. We will likely lose a couple of games we should not, but it depends. After all - the last two first-year QBs we had both won national championships that first year.

I think we're top ten material but this is going to be a (by our standards) difficult year. We do not have the 2011 defense as far as we know.

theballguy said:

Phil Steele frequently picks FSU as #1. He's something of a homer from Florida but this year with FSU coming off the NC, I'll give him a break this time. Bama at 2 is a bit steep - should be around #3-#5. Auburn should definitely not be at #4. They will NOT repeat or even come within a game of repeating their 2013 season. Oregon has become like USC of preseason rankings past. They are always penciled in the top 3 no matter what. I wonder with these preseason rankings (and in Spring at that) what basis are they using to rank the teams? Is this the ranking they expect 2014/15 season to end with? or as of now (when there hasn't been a game since Jan.)? These rankings coming out now are pretty useless.

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In fairness to Phil, these rankings are not his rankings for next year, they are just his prediction of the AP Top 25 preseason poll. He's usually very accurate in predicting the preseason poll. And that would explain why Notre Dame is ranked so high.

RollTide1224 said:

One is phill steeles's projected ap top 25. The other is a Saturday down south article by Jon cooper (never heard of him) who is predicting the sec west.

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the comments section was hilarious. those starkvegas and ole sis fans are always good for a laugh.

selmaborntidefan said:

Auburn is returning fifteen starters, eight on offense. Their offense will be good. My suspicion is that their defense will continue to be mediocre and it will bite them in the behind a couple of times this year.

I think our folks need to accept this is probably - PROBABLY - our version of a rebuilding year. I hope not, but replacing McCarron is going to be incredibly difficult. We will likely lose a couple of games we should not, but it depends. After all - the last two first-year QBs we had both won national championships that first year.

I think we're top ten material but this is going to be a (by our standards) difficult year. We do not have the 2011 defense as far as we know.

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This is exactly how I feel Selma and I have already braced for it. I think we will be about 9-3 in the regular season and then hopefully win the bowl game to finish 10-3 with about a Top 11-15 final ranking. #2 is waaaaaayyyy overrated. I won't even say who I think wins the west...I just can't...Let's just say I'll be rooting for LSU to do it instead if we can't.

tusks_n_raider said:

This is exactly how I feel Selma and I have already braced for it. I think we will be about 9-3 in the regular season and then hopefully win the bowl game to finish 10-3 with about a Top 11-15 final ranking. #2 is waaaaaayyyy overrated. I won't even say who I think wins the west...I just can't...Let's just say I'll be rooting for LSU to do it instead if we can't.

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I think that`s pretty realistic considering the question marks. Lots of talent, lots of it young. BUT, you never know... IF the OL gels and we get some penetration from the DL, who knows?

Look, anything can happen. I obviously HOPE we go unbeaten and win the whole sh-bang. But this is eerily like 1976, the one year during the 1970s when we lost more than two games because we'd just been on a great run. The GOOD news is that we then went on another great run, winning two and getting robbed of a third.

I think every Tide fan in the world would tolerate a three-loss year this year if it meant two more titles in the next four years.

The one positive on this is the fact that we seemingly "underachieved" in 2010 and "overachieved" in 2011. But I seriously doubt we deserve to start as high as number two. The Barn game will not be a picnic this year - they have most of the "Lucky 22" back. The unsettling problem for Auburn is their defense.

I expect Dan Mullen to have his best year at MSU this year, too. MSU returns 17 starters - including, most importantly - the quarterback plus all their tough games are at home. While I'm not dumb enough to project them as the SEC West champion, they CAN cause problems. (I should say MOST tough games are at home - they play us in BDS and Ole Miss in Oxford). They could conceivably be 9-3, better with a little luck.

Ole Miss has a QB returning but have you seen their October schedule? Us, AT aTm, Vols, AT LSU, and then host Auburn. They might well we 0-5 after that gauntlet.

LSU returns seven defensive starters from a 9-3 team. But if you were to ask me the prohibitive "favorite" for the SEC going into this year, I'd say it's probably South Carolina. They've learned Spurrier's system and just completed their best year ever. They have three straight 11-win seasons. Only Tennessee and Vandy are replacing more starters than we are.

This will be CNS's toughest coaching year since 2010. Good talent all around but we still have IMO, the "all we have to do is show up" mindset which will cost us a few games. Sometimes maybe too much talent can hurt you? We shall see.

If our offense improves like I think it will the defense will be good enough for a title run. Our weakest for the last few years with the talent we had is our offense. Just look at the au game when we only needed feet and could not get it. I hope Kiffen keeps all of us guessing what the next play will be.

Phil evidently missed the sugar bowl. How does he put us ahead of OU?

I definitely think we deserve top 10 consideration but #2 seems a bit too high to me, considering that we will be breaking in a new qb and numerous other players at other positions.


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think Auburn should've been ranked #5 because of their schedule and they haven't had great spring with their offense.

This is what he thinks that we will be ranked in the first poll, not his ranking. But I still think #2 is where we should be.

I don't care as long as we don't start out at #1. The kiss of death.

theballguy said:

Phil Steele frequently picks FSU as #1. He's something of a homer from Florida but this year with FSU coming off the NC, I'll give him a break this time. Bama at 2 is a bit steep - should be around #3-#5. Auburn should definitely not be at #4. They will NOT repeat or even come within a game of repeating their 2013 season. Oregon has become like USC of preseason rankings past. They are always penciled in the top 3 no matter what. I wonder with these preseason rankings (and in Spring at that) what basis are they using to rank the teams? Is this the ranking they expect 2014/15 season to end with? or as of now (when there hasn't been a game since Jan.)? These rankings coming out now are pretty useless.

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Guessing is easy and no one expects you to be right all the time. FSU and aubarn should be #1 and #2 because that is the way they finished last year, Okla #3 and Bama about #6. How's that for putting the target on some one elses back?

Steele released his projected final rankings today on ESPN. He has Alabama finishing #2 behind Florida State. Link

As far as the schedule goes, the path is not as clear-cut as the Seminoles', with road games at LSU and Ole Miss (both of which rank in my preseason top 20). The Crimson Tide do get Auburn at home on Nov. 29 and will be playing with revenge, but then would have the SEC Championship game the following week. Still, there is no better coach in the country than Saban and he is in his preferred spot this year with the talent to win it all.

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selmaborntidefan said:

Auburn is returning fifteen starters, eight on offense. Their offense will be good. My suspicion is that their defense will continue to be mediocre and it will bite them in the behind a couple of times this year.

I think our folks need to accept this is probably - PROBABLY - our version of a rebuilding year. I hope not, but replacing McCarron is going to be incredibly difficult. We will likely lose a couple of games we should not, but it depends. After all - the last two first-year QBs we had both won national championships that first year.

I think we're top ten material but this is going to be a (by our standards) difficult year. We do not have the 2011 defense as far as we know.

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Selma, they may return 8 starters on offense, but they lost 3 important starters that made that offense go ( Robinson, Mason, Prosch). Gus might be able to find adequate replacements for them, but IMO it won't be easy.

sanjosecrimson said:

Selma, they may return 8 starters on offense, but they lost 3 important starters that made that offense go ( Robinson, Mason, Prosch). Gus might be able to find adequate replacements for them, but IMO it won't be easy.

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You are correct. I remember when S. Alexander and Samuels graduated and they were the leaders. The next year with almost everybody back except them, the wheels fell off.