Klein: College Football Pre-Season Top 10 (10-8)

Over the next three days I will take you through the top-10 college football squads for this upcoming season. For this post you will find teams 10-8 and tomorrow you will find teams 7-5. If you have a team that you like that doesn't make my top-10 then please feel free to comment or e-mail on the post and I would be happy to give you my analysis on your school (No D-3 schools please-haha). Here we go...

10) Penn State Nittany Lions
Joe-Pa is back and hungry for more after a crushing defeat to USC in last years Rose Bowl. With only 11 starters (out of 22) returning they will turn to QB Daryll Clark (2,592-19 TDs passing, 10 TDs rushing) and RB Evan Royster (1,236-12 TDs) to carry the offensive load. After losing accomplished receivers Derrick Williams, Jordan Norwood, and Deon Butler they will turn to young options in Derek Moye and Brett Brackett. Look out for true freshman WR Justin Brown who was a 4-star recruit and looks to make a difference in the air with Clark. The loss of All-American center A.Q. Shipley is a huge blow to the President of the O-line but with a recruiter like Joe-Pa have no fear! On defense, it is clear that the loss of Aaron Maybin hurts their defense a ton but there are two players who are ready to fill his "All-American shoes", LB's Sean Lee and Navorro Bowman. This duo has the capability of being the best backer-tandem in the nation and will hope to contain Big 10 offensive threats such as Terrelle Pryor and Juice Williams. LB Lee sat out the 2008 season and has been itching to get back on the gridiron for months, look for a huge season from him. The Lions lost their entire secondary and that is clearly where teams are going to attack. 4-star CB's Darrell Thomas and Derick Givens look to patch holes in the secondary and make the defense a stronger presence.
Bottom Line: Look for Penn state to make a run at a BCS game but will fall short due to too much youth on defense.
Prediction: Penn State will fall just short of an at-large bid to a BCS game due to a weak out of conference schedule (Akron, Syracuse). You'll be watching them New Year's Day in the Capital One Bowl.

9) Oklahoma State Cowboys
When you have stars like QB Zac Robinson (3,064-25 TDs), RB Kendall Hunter (1,555-16 TDs), and WR Dez Bryant (1,480-19 TDs) it is tough to not get noticed as a top offense in the country. This is a team with plenty of expectations on the offensive side of the ball with each of their studs having promising futures with awards such as the Doak, Biletnikoff, and the coveted Heisman. Robinson and Bryant hooked up 19 times last year in the endzone, they led the nation in connections for TDs. I think you get the picture about their offense but the questionable part is the defense. There isn't much to it...can their defense stick with Big 12 offenses? They don't have the playmakers on their defense to play with those run-and-gun offenses and that is why you should not expect them to stay at the #9 spot for too long into the season. Right now I am cutting the defense some slack but they are only returning 2/4 on the D-line and 1/4 in their secondary. Their linebacking core stayed intact with seniors Andre Sexton, Orie Lemon, and Patrick Lavine. MLB Lemon is ready to go out on top with a strong season as the captain of the defense. Their offense is set but their season will depend
upon their defense, especially their secondary.
Bottom Line: Ok State has the tools on both sides of the ball to stay in BCS contention but ending the season with a game against Big 12 rival Oklahoma will get them an invite to a smaller bowl game. ALSO do not be shocked if you see any of their "Big-3" at the Heisman ceremony in December.
Prediction: They will be playing in the Cotton Bowl against a strong Ole Miss team.

8) Virginia Tech Hokies
Back in '08 Head Coach Frank Beamer led his team to their first ever BCS bowl win by capturing the Orange Bowl against Big East champ, Boston College. QB Tyrod Taylor finally has the starting responsibilities and is ready to continue his hot streak under center. He is ready to be one of the best in the nation as he matures and grows into a true signal caller down in Virginia. RB Darren Evans (1,265-11 TDs) is ready to run behind an athletic offensive line made up of red-shirt frosh's and sophomores. What Taylor is to the offense, DE Jason Worilds is for the defense. This big boy is a play maker who can dominate if he stays 100%. In the secondary they return most starters including hard-hitting S Kam Chancellor who looks to lock down all WRs across the middle. They have enough studs on both sides of the ball to be a presence every game. The team will open up against Alabama (One of the best games on the year) and they will most likely start 0-1. Other than that, they will breeze through a weak ACC.
Bottom Line: The Hokies have potential to do big things in '09. They are a lock for a BCS game because they will win the ACC so expect to see them playing in January.
Prediction: They will win their 2nd Orange Bowl in two years.

Thanks for reading,
Wills