gAUlf 1 Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 2015 Preseason Amway Coaches Poll 1. Ohio State (62) - 1598 points 2. TCU (1) - 1487 3. Alabama (1) - 1452 4. Baylor - 1365 5. Oregon - 1260 6. Michigan State - 1230 7. AUBURN - 1103 8. Florida State - 1057 9. Georgia - 1026 10. USC - 1014 11. Notre Dame - 883 12. Clemson - 838 13. LSU - 727 14. UCLA - 697 15. Ole Miss - 668 16. Arizona State - 577 17. Georgia Tech - 573 18. Wisconsin - 470 19. Oklahoma - 407 20. Arkansas - 377 21. Stanford - 365 22. Arizona - 299 23. Missouri - 229 24. Boise State - 190 25. Tennessee - 166 Other teams that received votes: Mississippi State 164; Texas A&M 149; Oklahoma State 89; Virginia Tech 70; Utah 40; Kansas State 37; Louisville 27; Nebraska 27; Minnesota 25; Penn State 20; South Carolina 18; Miami (Fla.) 16; Texas 8; Illinois 7; Duke 6; Air Force 5; Louisiana Tech 5; Marshall 4; Utah State 4; West Virginia 3; North Carolina State 3; Brigham Young 3; Florida 2; Georgia Southern 2; North Carolina 2; Maryland 1; Michigan 1; Kentucky 1; Central Florida 1; Cincinnati 1; Washington 1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keesler 5,923 Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 Arkansas & Tennessee in the top 25? Based on what? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LKEEL75 2,566 Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 The same as any other team in a preseason poll... Pure speculation. I hope we are this good, but only time will tell if CWM can turn this defense around with basically the same personnel that stunk it up the end of last year. Yes I know CL is back, but it is basically the same personnel except now we are even thinner at DB. Just my opinion. Fire away... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McLoofus 35,182 Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 The only team I see below us that I think maybe shouldn't be is UGA, and that's just because they kicked our butts. I realize it's not that simple, but my gut can't let go of 34-7. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triangletiger 1,599 Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 8 SEC teams in the top 25; 10 SEC teams in the top 27. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weegle777 78 Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 Poor Vandy. Only SEC team not to get a vote... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUEngineer2016 407 Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 Arkansas & Tennessee in the top 25? Based on what? Tennessee has tremendous potential this season. Offense: Josh Dobbs is a true dual threat, he's a big body (6'3", 215), and a good passer. They have a lot of good WRs (Pig Howard, Marquez North, Von Pearson) and seem to finally have a running game again, with Hurd providing the power and Kamara providing the speed. Offensively, biggest question is the OL. If they can get good OL play, I think they'll be SEC East champions. Defense: They have an extremely talented DL. Big names like Shy Tuttle and Khalil McKenzie coming in, helping out veterens like Derek Barnett (20.5 TFL and 10.0 sacks last year as a True Freshman). They have a big time LB in Curt Magitt and some playmakers in the back end in Cam Sutton, Brian Randolph, and Todd Kelly Jr. Biggest question on D is whether or not their Freshman can adjust quickly on the DL. If they can, they will wreak havok on QBs. If not, then Barnett will have to do a lot by himself, which means teams can key on him (see Monty last year). I'm actually predicting them to be in the SEC title game. I think they drop one to Bama in a close game, and drop 1 more that they shouldn't (maybe to Oklahoma). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WFE12 9,191 Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 Not a bad spot at all...happy we're ahead of F$U. I wonder if that will still be a rivalry even with winston gone...hmm...Out of that top 4 somebody's got to fall and it's definitely going to be bama Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgufcm 4,096 Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 Well, you also know that TCU and Baylor are almost mutually exclusive. It's a zero-sum game for the Big 12. One team will win and might get in. No one else is getting into the Playoff. Quick impressions: (1) The voting tells a schizo story on the Big 10. Two of the best teams in America but a bad conference. Apparently. (2) No one believes in the ACC. (3) Lots of love for the SEC and the Pac 12. Even so, I'd say Mississippi State is underrated. (4) I don't understand the Notre Dame ranking. I know folks think they're always overrated, but recently, they haven't been ranked that highly. Kelly has been there for five years... one dream season, one 9-win season, three 8-5 years. Their finish a year ago made Auburn look stable (2-5 down the stretch with a few bad losses). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weegle777 78 Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 Perfect position. Close enough to stay in contention for the playoffs, far enough away to piss our players off for being left out of the top five. #StayHungry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUTUmike 79 Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 Quick thoughts: Auburn should be 2-3 spots higher. Alabama should be in the 7-9 range. FSU should be no higher than 12-13. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUbritt 611 Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 Perfect position. Close enough to stay in contention for the playoffs, far enough away to piss our players off for being left out of the top five. #StayHungry It really is perfect. Michigan State and tOSU play each other, as do Baylor and TCU. That's two teams ahead of us who have to lose. Beat Bama (and win the rest of our games), and we'll be top 4 for sure. And, yes, I do realize that the Coaches' Poll doesn't determine who gets into the playoff. Still. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charleston Tiger 134 Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 The same as any other team in a preseason poll... Pure speculation. I hope we are this good, but only time will tell if CWM can turn this defense around with basically the same personnel that stunk it up the end of last year. Yes I know CL is back, but it is basically the same personnel except now we are even thinner at DB. Just my opinion. Fire away... I think the Whitehead suspension did just as much if not more to hurt the D than losing Carl last season, as he was our Senior leadership in the backfield and had the most experience. Having Countess and Matthews back there I think will help to prevent that from being an issue for us again. But yeah, I think the Whitehead situation really lost the defense for the staff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgufcm 4,096 Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 Not related to the ranking, but I keep reading about the secondary being thin... I just don't buy that. Matthews and Ford give us a better set of Safeties than we've had in almost a decade, and Jonathan Jones is legit at CB. That's not depth, but it's more quality than we've had in a while. Depth, to me, is the number of quality players you trust. It's been a while since we started a season feeling salty about three of the four positions in the defensive backfield. Add Countess (a senior with loads of experience), Holsey (same), Ruffin, Roberts (both big-time recruits with a taste of college ball), and a large incoming class. I'd say we're awfully close to having six guys we really trust (Countess, Holsey, and Ruffin are all on the cusp for me). That would be more depth than we've had in a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auburn4ever 1,266 Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 I kinda wish we were not ranked that high. In fact, I like it better when we're ranked 15 or so to start a new season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McLoofus 35,182 Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 I kinda wish we were not ranked that high. In fact, I like it better when we're ranked 15 or so to start a new season. That's a great spot to start the season if you enjoy going undefeated and having nothing to show for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger 8,817 Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 I could get used to AU being this type of underdog to start the season. We need to find a way to get into the top 4 and stay there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johndunc 33 Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 To Tiger: We will! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thaitopher 807 Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 It's good. We want to be ranked high enough to be able to get into the top 4 (with one or two losses), but not so high that the expectations become a burden. Good ranking to start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cole256 17,039 Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 Not related to the ranking, but I keep reading about the secondary being thin... I just don't buy that. Matthews and Ford give us a better set of Safeties than we've had in almost a decade, and Jonathan Jones is legit at CB. That's not depth, but it's more quality than we've had in a while. Depth, to me, is the number of quality players you trust. It's been a while since we started a season feeling salty about three of the four positions in the defensive backfield. Add Countess (a senior with loads of experience), Holsey (same), Ruffin, Roberts (both big-time recruits with a taste of college ball), and a large incoming class. I'd say we're awfully close to having six guys we really trust (Countess, Holsey, and Ruffin are all on the cusp for me). That would be more depth than we've had in a while. Hosely should have just as much if not more trust as anybody on the team Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LKEEL75 2,566 Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 Not related to the ranking, but I keep reading about the secondary being thin... I just don't buy that. Matthews and Ford give us a better set of Safeties than we've had in almost a decade, and Jonathan Jones is legit at CB. That's not depth, but it's more quality than we've had in a while. Depth, to me, is the number of quality players you trust. It's been a while since we started a season feeling salty about three of the four positions in the defensive backfield. Add Countess (a senior with loads of experience), Holsey (same), Ruffin, Roberts (both big-time recruits with a taste of college ball), and a large incoming class. I'd say we're awfully close to having six guys we really trust (Countess, Holsey, and Ruffin are all on the cusp for me). That would be more depth than we've had in a while. To me the 'depth' is crucial in the SEC. Guys are bound to get dinged up and need to sit some. If you don't have a 2nd string that is as competitive as your first then you have depth issues. The problem for AU this yr is that after the 1st string comes out, who comes in? A bunch of freshmen? I don't care how good you are, a freshman will make a freshman mistake and you are just hoping it is not at the wrong point in a game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom1ni0n 51 Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Coaches still giving Gus benefit of the doubt despite the late season meltdown. Definite gains in the respect department. Meanwhile, Mullen awakens alongside Dak in the Rodney Dangerfield Zone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUTigers910 45 Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Not related to the ranking, but I keep reading about the secondary being thin... I just don't buy that. Matthews and Ford give us a better set of Safeties than we've had in almost a decade, and Jonathan Jones is legit at CB. That's not depth, but it's more quality than we've had in a while. Depth, to me, is the number of quality players you trust. It's been a while since we started a season feeling salty about three of the four positions in the defensive backfield. Add Countess (a senior with loads of experience), Holsey (same), Ruffin, Roberts (both big-time recruits with a taste of college ball), and a large incoming class. I'd say we're awfully close to having six guys we really trust (Countess, Holsey, and Ruffin are all on the cusp for me). That would be more depth than we've had in a while. To me the 'depth' is crucial in the SEC. Guys are bound to get dinged up and need to sit some. If you don't have a 2nd string that is as competitive as your first then you have depth issues. The problem for AU this yr is that after the 1st string comes out, who comes in? A bunch of freshmen? I don't care how good you are, a freshman will make a freshman mistake and you are just hoping it is not at the wrong point in a game. Coaches still giving Gus benefit of the doubt despite the late season meltdown. Definite gains in the respect department. I believe Ruffin will step up this year at safety.That will give us flexibility with Ford. But I would go as far as to say the key to our season is having a young cornerback step up. I think we will be okay up front, but we need some insurance down the field. That is a good point. This is an indication of how well respected he is as a coach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUTUmike 79 Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Not related to the ranking, but I keep reading about the secondary being thin... I just don't buy that. Matthews and Ford give us a better set of Safeties than we've had in almost a decade, and Jonathan Jones is legit at CB. That's not depth, but it's more quality than we've had in a while. Depth, to me, is the number of quality players you trust. It's been a while since we started a season feeling salty about three of the four positions in the defensive backfield. Add Countess (a senior with loads of experience), Holsey (same), Ruffin, Roberts (both big-time recruits with a taste of college ball), and a large incoming class. I'd say we're awfully close to having six guys we really trust (Countess, Holsey, and Ruffin are all on the cusp for me). That would be more depth than we've had in a while. Great post. I agree completely. There aren't many championship-quality teams out there that don't rely on a few freshman every year to plug some gaps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dual-Threat Rigby 8,641 Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 I'd like this...gives us reasons to want to improve and prove that we're better than Alabama. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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