Wow, this is awkward. I haven't written for CGB in months -- most days I'm just a lurker, when I even get a chance to log on -- but here I am, back on the front page. What brought me back? One word:
FOOOOTTBAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!
More specifically, with another CFB season brings another season of the Blogpoll, and with it, CGB's weekly Top 25. Being that no games have been played yet, these are all just guesses. I'm of the opinion that a Top 25 poll doesn't make much sense before about week 5, but I don't get to make those sorts of decisions, so here we are.
As always, feel free to disagree with any and all opinions presented below in the comments section. Try, however, to back up your disagreements with factual statements. That no games have been played yet does tend to make this a bit difficult, however ;)
Without further preamble, here's CGB's collective top 25:
1. Alabama
2. Oregon
3. Oklahoma
4. Boise State
5. Wisconsin
We have the same top 4 as the blogpoll in general, with Oregon swapped over Oklahoma. Call it west coast bias. Normally, I tend to discount teams with the sort of off-field distractions that Oregon has suffered from (see Lyles, Will), but the way they've bounced back from previous scandals (Jeremiah Masoli, Blount Force Trauma) suggests that they should have no trouble weathering this storm.
After the jump, the rest of the Top 25.
6. Nebraska
7. Virginia Tech
8. Stanfurd
9. TCU
10. Texas A&M
Yeah, the 'Furd is in our Top 10. I'm disgusted even typing that. Send hate mail to twist - n - hook at gmail dot com. (actually, don't. Twist didn't vote (he claims that he's "too stupid", and I have no idea if that's even a real email address)
11. Oklahoma State
12. LSU
13. Michigan State
14. USC
15. Florida State
Just because they're on probation doesn't mean USC can't be in our top 25. Even if they're just playing for pride this year, I'd be surprised if they didn't win another 8-9 games. Elsewhere, LSU nearly misses the Top 10 despite their starting quarterback being suspended for his involvement in a bar fight -- oh, if only Cal could replace a QB and not miss a beat...
16. South Carolina
17. Arkansas
18. Missouri
19. Ohio State
20. Arizona State
I feel like South Carolina is one of those teams that's always in my preseason top 25, but nowhere to be found 8 weeks later. Meanwhile, Ohio State looks uncomfortably low down here at No. 19 -- another victim of what's been a scandal-ridden summer, even by NCAA football standards. In Arizona State, I see a team that has gone 4-8, 5-7 and 6-6 in the past three years. Maybe there's something there, but I just don't get the preseason hype.
21. Utah
22. Georgia
23. Notre Dame
24. West Virginia
25. Mississippi State
Here we have some other teams, including perennially overrated Georgia and perennially overrated Notre Dame. Utah may be the most interesting team this year, in terms of seeing how they adjust to playing a BCS-level schedule week-in and week-out, but I honestly have no idea if that means they deserve a spot in the Top 25. Do you?