Klein: College Football Pre-Season Top 10 (7-5)

7) LSU Tigers
In late November of last year highly touted true freshman QB Jordan Jefferson took over the reigns under center for the Tigers. In two starts (one of them being a bowl game against Georgia Tech) he threw for 419 yards, four touchdowns, ran for one touchdown, and only threw one interception. This young man is a stud! Imagine JaMarcus Russell with a little less arm strength and a lot more mobility. Jefferson and Coach Les Miles are ready to take LSU deep into the SEC and hopefully play Florida in the Georgia Dome in December for the conference title. The only negative I see here is that he has only played against one SEC opponent, so things may start off a bit bumpy for him in the fall. With three players on their offense being named to the Pre-Season All SEC team, Jefferson will have options. Junior TE Richard Dickson (324 yards-5 TDs), arguably the best tight end in the SEC, hopes to compliment WR Brandon LaFell (929 yards-8 TDs) in the aerial attack for the Tigers. The problem is that behind these two offensive threats there really is nothing. The lack of depth at the wide out position may pose some problems for the Tigers. True freshman WR Rueben Randle will be a solid option for them once he gets settled in but that will not be for a while. In the trenches they have All-American OT Ciron Black to anchor the line but the other four guys are young and inexperienced. Look for Jefferson to be doing a lot of scrambling. Defenses must be on their toes at all times when playing LSU because of their explosive junior RB Charles Scott (1,174 yards-18 TDs). The dual threat of Jefferson and Scott in the backfield will wear out SEC defenses and win most of their games in the 4th quarter. Don’t forget about junior “flex player” Trindon Holliday. This 5’5” speedster will remind you of Percy Harvin this year when returning kicks and catching balls out of the backfield. On the other side of the pigskin they lost All-American DE Tyson Jackson and DT Ricky Jean-Francois up front but their defensive depth has left them with tools to work with. New defensive coordinator, John Chavis, plays with an attitude and that is a great trait for an SEC defense. Look for their secondary to be in the top-3 in the SEC with S Chad Jones, once converted cornerback, back to where he belongs at free safety. On the D-line look for DT Drake Nevis to clog the gaps just as Glenn Dorsey did during his days in the Bayou.
Bottom Line: One of the best defenses in the nation will carry the Tigers through the season along with a ground game that will be hard to stop.
Prediction: You will see them playing in the Fiesta Bowl against another BCS at-large bid.

6) USC Trojans
The Trojans have gone 82-9 while under Pete Carroll the last seven years. Once again, USC will be the class of the Pac-10 and they will win the conference title (nothing new here). Don't expect them to be perfect in the conference, though, their youth will catch up to them in several games. Questions need to be answered at positions such as quarterback, cornerback, and the front seven of the defense. While the defensive line and linebackers should be fine due to the program’s great recruiting, each position should be revamped. You always worry though when you have a first year starter managing your offense. Sophomore Aaron Corp will be leading the offense this year…until he messes up. True-freshman QB Matt Barkley will be the most talked about backup in the country and will have people waiting for Corp to give the starting job to him. This offense will be centered on their offensive line, which is clearly the best in the nation. Seniors Charles Brown, Jeff Byers, and Nick Howell will do the job up front. It will be hard to miss offensive threat WR Damian Williams (869 yards-9 TDs) on the field due to his versatility and explosion after the catch. In the backfield they will have RBs Stafon Johnson (705 yards-5 TDs) and Joe McKnight (659 yards-2 TDs) ready to explode each week. It is always dangerous when you have the best offensive line in the NCAA and two running backs that run very differently yet compliment each other so well. One defense look out for the new linebackers in town. Chris Galippo, Michael Morgan, and Malcolm Smith will look to fill the shoes of professionals Cushing, Maualuga, and Matthews. Although this year they may not be at the “USC Linebacker” standard, they will be there in 2010. Their defense will not be lights out this year but there is one player on it who will make plenty of noise, S Taylor Mays. This Jewish hard-hitter is ready to make a name for himself and lead this team to another BCS win. Make sure to keep an eye on Mays when it comes time for the NFL Draft. There is one game that will define the season for this Trojan squad, Week 3 against Ohio State. They will face off up in Columbus for a night game in the ‘Shoe in the out of conference game of the year. This game will be a tough one for Corp and the Trojans because of the atmosphere in Ohio Stadium. Look for them to edge out OSU with better coaching and more talent. If they win that game do not be surprised to see them playing on January 7th in Pasadena for the National Championship instead of January 1st in Pasadena for the Rose Bowl.
Bottom Line: USC will depend upon their running game to carry the offense and do not be shocked if you see Matt Barkley as the starting quarterback come January.
Prediction: I think they notch a W in Columbus in September but they are on a sidetracked road to the Rose Bowl due to an in-conference loss.


5) Ohio State Buckeyes
Last season QB Terrelle Pryor (1,311 yards-12 TDs passing, 631-6 TDs rushing) took over the starting position when Todd Boeckman had a poor outing against out-of-conference foe, USC. Since that night, Pryor has shown the nation what he is capable of on the field and how he can lead this Buckeye squad to a future championship. The Bucks fell short of a Fiesta Bowl win against Texas last year when giving up a last second touchdown but the team showed what was to come in 2009. Pryor enters this season with vengeance and hopes to shock the nation with a Heisman trophy and BCS Title. "If I was you I would bet $1,000 on me winning the Heisman," Pryor said to me at school this past year. I think he has a shot but a player like Tebow is most likely to edge him out. It was clear last year that Pryor could run the ball in '08 but his passing was extremely questionable with only 165 pass attempts on the season. You can only wonder if Tressel was able to trust him or not. I think that will change this year. The Buckeyes air game was ranked 105th in the nation last year and that will not cut it this year during a BCS Title run. To change all of this, Pryor has gone out this off season to improve his arm and that was clearly shown in the spring game where he went 13-of-18 for 191 yards, two scores and no interceptions. Aside from Pryor there are a few questions on offense including the replacement of Beanie Wells at the tailback position. RB Dan “Boom” Herron (439 yards-6 TDs) will be the starter in the backfield and hopes to use his 4.5 40-speed to lead the OSU ground game while teaming up with RB Brandon Saine (65 yards-1 TD). Look out for sophomore WR DeVier Posey (47 yards-1 TD) to have a breakout season and be named 1st team Big-Ten at the end of the season. His glimpses of greatness in ’08 have foreshadowed a 2009 that looks very bright for the young star. Junior WR Dane Sanzenbacher (272-1 TD) will be the small, speedy receiver that Pryor needs when he needs to get a deep ball out. The lack of depth and abundance of youth at the wide out position will hurt the Bucks in late game situations. The O-line looks stronger than last year with the emergence of C Mike Brewster and T J.B. Shugarts. These two sophomores should anchor an offensive line that will be creating holes for Pryor and Herron. Keep an eye out for true freshman WR Duron Carter, the son of Buckeye legend Cris Carter, whose height and speed will be a force on the OSU offense for years to come. The losses of Malcolm Jenkins and James Laurinaitis on defense are obviously huge blows to the team but there are plenty of players who will be given opportunities to replace them. MLB Austin Spitler will look to emerge as a presence on the defense by filling in for ‘Naitis. Look out for true freshman LB Dorian Bell to be a force along with young gun LB Etienne Sabino. Sabino showed signs of greatness and is making a name for himself as an athletic playmaker on defense. Up front on the D-line the Bucks’ lost absolutely nothing. They got back DE Doug Worthington from injury and they hope for him to team up for DT Dexter Latimore to wreck havoc in the trenches. Last season, the Bucks’ losses had a lot to do with the fact that they failed to apply pressure on opposing quarterbacks so that needs to be a change in their defensive gameplan. A major weakness for their defense is the lack of depth in their secondary. The loss of Jenkins and Donald Washington leaves them with CB Chimdi Checkwa and CB Andre Amos covering some of the best receivers in the Big-10. If their defense can apply pressure on quarterbacks then that will take a lot of the pressure off the secondary. S Kurt Coleman who is going to be one of the top players in the conference this year and he will be covering the areas over the top where Checkwa or Amos are short to. On special teams, WR/KR Ray Small (2 TD returns) will be a monster threat in C-Bus this season as he looks to start fresh after a rough season off the field during his 2008 campaign. Their biggest games of the year are home vs. USC and away vs. Penn State. The Buckeyes fell to both of these squads in the '08 season but look for them to stay close with PSU in Happy Valley and notch a win but drop one to USC for the second year in a row. I think the difference maker in the USC game will be the young OSU defense not being able to stop the USC ground game. Their season depends on that game and they are in the same situation as USC with the Rose Bowl and BCS Championship game. Basically, if OSU beats USC and stays healthy, you will see them in the Title game.
Bottom Line: If Pryor can keep his composure in the passing game then Ohio State will have a very strong 2009 season.
Prediction: Their young and inexperienced defense will leave them with a shot at a Rose Bowl title and rematch against USC in Pasadena.