CFN's True National Title Contenders

[Guest Tigrinum Major]

CFN's Top Ten for 2006

Hot off the presses.

Discuss among yourselves.

SEC Teams:

9. Tennessee    2005 Record: 5-6

Why Tennessee could be the Pre-preseason No. 1: After being 2005’s biggest disappointment, there’s enough talent coming back to hope for a tremendous rebound. The addition of David Cutcliffe as the new offensive coordinator should be the shot in the arm needed to get the passing game going, while Arian Foster appears to be Tennessee’s next NFL great running back. The offensive line, in time, should be fine led by All-America-in-waiting Arron Sears at tackle. NFL ready defensive tackles Justin Harrell and Turk McBride also decided to come back for their senior seasons.

Why Tennessee isn’t the Pre-preseason No. 1: Is Erik Ainge ready to play up to his talent level? With a million-dollar arm and next level skills, Ainge has shown signs of being a star quarterback, but he hasn’t been consistent and hasn’t shown he can lead the team to big wins. The defense loses its top two tacklers, LBs Kevin Simon and Omar Gaither.

What Tennessee needs to do to get to the BCS Championship Bowl: Play like the NFL farm club it is. Few teams can touch the Vols on straight athleticism and next-level caliber talent, so now it’s up to the coaching staff to prove that last year was a total fluke. Playing in the SEC, the intensity level has to be there each and every week. Cal, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, LSU and Arkansas are all on the schedule and all will spend time in the top 25, if not the top 15.

Realistic, feet-on-the-ground, goal to shoot for: SEC champions. The road schedule, considering Tennessee plays in the SEC, isn’t that bad with one killer (at Georgia), two nasty battles (at South Carolina and at Arkansas), and two games that have to be layups if this is a BCS caliber team (at Memphis, at Vanderbilt). This is too tough a schedule to get through unscathed, but 11-1 and an appearance in the SEC championship game would keep it in the BCS Championship Bowl hunt.

The number one thing to work on is: Hanging on to the ball. The addition of “Coach Cut†will turn around the offense, but the Vols can’t win the SEC unless they improve their turnover margin after finishing 95th in the nation by giving it away 27 times with only 20 takeaways.

Biggest offensive loss: QB Rick Clausen

Biggest defensive loss: DT Jesse Mahelona

6. Auburn      2005 Record: 9-3

Why Auburn could be the Pre-preseason No. 1: The best possible thing that could’ve happened to Auburn was the humbling 24-10 Capital One Bowl loss to Wisconsin. The media was making way too much about the Tigers possibly having the SEC’s best team at the end of last year, and the loss to the inferior Badgers showed what happens when overconfidence kicks in. Kenny Irons will be one of the nation’s best running backs, while QB Brandon Cox returns with a year of experience under his belt. The defense will continue to be a killer led by the secondary, which is helped by a sixth year of eligibility for CB David Irons.

Why Auburn isn’t the Pre-preseason No. 1: There’s major work to be done on both lines. Replacing OT Marcus McNeill and pass rushing terror Stanley McClover, even though he was dinged up and didn’t have the year expected of him, will be tougher than expected. While WR Courtney Taylor returns, four of the top six pass catchers are gone.

What Auburn needs to do to get to the BCS Championship Bowl: Beat Alabama and hold serve at home. The schedule is national title perfect with only four road games playing at Mississippi State, at South Carolina, at Ole Miss and at Alabama. The three nasty games (Florida, LSU and Georgia) are at home, as are the sleeper danger games against Washington State and Arkansas.

Realistic, feet-on-the-ground, goal to shoot for: The SEC title. While there are several chances to make a big national splash, will the Tigers get hosed, like they were in 2004, by a horrendous non-conference slate? Washington State is certainly solid, but Tulane, Villanova and Temple might be just enough to drop in the strength of schedule compared to some of the other top teams. Just winning the SEC title would be a major accomplishment, and then everything else could fall into place.

The number one thing to work on is: Turnover margin. Considering the speedy, big-hitting defense, the turnover margin was relatively lousy with only 15 takeaways and 18 turnovers. In a league where the little things mean everything, a few turnovers here and there could be the difference between the SEC title and the Capital One Bowl.

Biggest offensive loss: OT Marcus McNeill

Biggest defensive loss: DE Stanley McClover

4. LSU    2005 Record: 11-2

Why LSU could be the Pre-preseason No. 1: All the concerns and worries about Les Miles have to be gone now. Not only did Miles finish with an 11-2 record, by far the best record in recent LSU history outside of the 2004 national title season, he did it with all the distractions around the program thanks to Hurricane Katrina. Oh yeah, and the team is, once again, really, really, really good with RB Alley Broussard returning from injury, the best, and fastest, receiving corps in America, and a quarterback situation that roughly 110 other teams would die for with JaMarcus Russell returning from injury, Matt Flynn a proven winner, and Ryan Perrilloux a superstar just waiting to bust out. The return of LaRon Landry at safety, when he could’ve been an early round draft pick, is a big boost to what should be a strong secondary.

Why LSU isn’t the Pre-preseason No. 1: All-America defensive tackles Claude Wroten and Kyle Williams were killers and won’t easily be replaced. The loss of sack machine Melvin Oliver off the line isn’t a plus. The offensive line has to undergo an almost complete overhaul.

What LSU needs to do to get to the BCS Championship Bowl: Survive the SEC. The first five games of the season (UL Lafayette, Arizona, Northern Illinois, Tulane, and Mississippi State) is perfect to get all the pieces in place, but then things turn brutal with road trips ahead at Florida, Auburn, Tennessee and Arkansas, along with a home date against Alabama to worry about.

Realistic, feet-on-the-ground, goal to shoot for: The SEC title. With the SEC road slate the Tigers have to deal with, kiss all BCS Championship Bowl dreams bye-bye. Even so, this is one of the nation’s best teams with enough talent to not only get back to the SEC championship game, but to also win it.

The number one thing to work on is: Kickoff returns and turnover margin. The Tigers were 12th in the nation in punt returns thanks to Skyler Green, but they struggled on kickoff returns averaging 17.04 yards per try. Considering the speed and talent on the defense, it’s a big shocking that they only forced 14 turnovers.

Biggest offensive loss: OT Andrew Whitworth

Biggest defensive loss: DTs Claude Wroten and Kyle Williams

2. Florida    2005 Record: 9-3

Why Florida could be the Pre-preseason No. 1: It’s year two of the Urban Meyer era, and if recent history means anything, that means it’s time for the program to become a monster again. He turned the offense into a killer in his second year at Bowling Green and Utah, and he should do the same at Florida with QB Chris Leak working with a tremendous backfield with DeShawn Wynn, Kestahn Moore, and Markus Manson. While the offense will get all the pub, the defense will carry the team early on with most of the front seven returning and Reggie Lewis and Reggie Nelson back in the secondary. By all accounts, this years recruiting class is either at or near the top spot with several new players ready to provide instant depth.

Why Florida isn’t the Pre-preseason No. 1: The offense isn’t expected to be an issue as the season goes on, but it might be early on until the offensive line can get its feet wet. Four starters are gone from the Outback Bowl squad including anchor Mike Degory. The receiving corps, even with Dallas Baker back, could also use some freshening up after losing top receiver Chad Jackson.

What Florida needs to do to get to the BCS Championship Bowl: Get the offense rocking and rolling right away. With the SEC opener at Tennessee coming up on September 16th, that gives Meyer two games to get everything in place with home dates against Southern Miss and UCF. The defense will be more than fine, but the offense has to be a 35-point-per-game juggernaut to navigate its way through a nasty schedule.

Realistic, feet-on-the-ground, goal to shoot for: SEC champions. The Gators will have the talent to get to Tempe, but will likely fall short thanks to road trips to Tennessee, Auburn and Florida State along with the Cocktail Party vs. Georgia. Considering the Gators lost three of their four true road games last year, Meyer has to figure out something different when his team gets away from The Swamp. If that wasn’t bad enough, Alabama and LSU come to Gainesville.

The number one thing to work on is: QB Chris Leak. Now that Meyer will have more time on his hands since he doesn’t have to send his daily text messages of love to superstar quarterback recruit Tim Tebow, he can fully focus on figuring out how Leak fits into the offense. Tebow is the perfect player for Meyer’s spread attack, but any and all national title hopes are kaput if a true freshman has to navigate this schedule. Leak is a fantastic talent, but he’s not a runner. That’s O.K. as long as the offense is still producing. If Leak struggles out of the gate, the Tebow whispers will get louder and louder.

Biggest offensive loss: WR Chad Jackson

Biggest defensive loss: CB Dee Webb

[vatz22au 142]

I still think LSU will be too inconsistent next year....it'll hurt them on that brutal road schedule.

[sogaaufan 27]

Its great to see CFN giving the SEC so much love. That said, I think AU should be at number 2, Florida should be 4, LSU at 6, UGA at 9, and Tenn shouldn't be there.

[AUslug 1]

Whew, should be a tough race in the . It seems that almost all of the teams are playing at least one BCS OOC team.

Auburn- Wazzu

Alabama- Duke

Ark- USC

Vandy- Mich.

UT- Cal

UGA- Col. and GaTech

USC- Clemson

UF- FSU

I can't think of any more, please feel free to fill in the rest if anyone knows it.

[ValleyTiger 2,894]

CFN hit the nail on the head dealing with turnovers. Irons and company need to work on hands. Someone tell the Gandy/Brock duo to work on fundamental tackling. A beefer D-Line shouldn't hurt in '06. Heads and balls(no pun intended) should roll with Tray roaming.

[c-zoner 0]

I dont think Mclover is going to be that hard to replace. He was healthy some games, and he was hurt some games, and our sacks were still pretty consitant through out the season if you dont count the and games where we had none. Our whole defense just whipped Alabama, 11 sacks dont happen often

stats

[c-zoner 0]

also, even though his pass rushing skills were great, his run stoping skills were less than spcetacular. We really need more of a balanced DE in the

[WeagleDMS 0]

also, even though his pass rushing skills were great, his run stoping skills were less than spcetacular.  We really need more of a balanced DE in the 

214441[/snapback]

Groves and Gunn should do just fine. Run defense should improve without McClover.

[Texan4Auburn 1,626]

McClover had a tendency to overrun the play badly. Wish he would have stuck around, would have loved to seen him as a Sr with more time learning to read and play disciplined. We will still miss him, especially in the passing situations.

[c-zoner 0]

yeah, he was a playmaker, you allways want play makers on the field at all times. But Groves and Gunn are just as good im my opinion, and they are more balenced.

What do you guys think about our recievers next year? Taylor and Prechae will be good for us, but who do you see stepping up and making an impact besides those two?

[Fluffed 0]

If we can sign Hawthorne, I'd give him the nod to start. Him and Chris Slaughter.

They'll be our new Obo and Aro

[c-zoner 0]

If we can sign Hawthorne, I'd give him the nod to start. Him and Chris Slaughter.

They'll be our new Obo and Aro

214492[/snapback]

Thats what im thinkin, im just allways scared starting freshmen, they make alot of mistakes. (although i dont have much room to talk, i couldnt even come close to playing for Auburn) But i guess if your gunna start a freshman WR is the best position cause theres not as much pressure as the other positions.

[auwallace 6]

If we can sign Hawthorne, I'd give him the nod to start. Him and Chris Slaughter.

They'll be our new Obo and Aro

214492[/snapback]

you guys are nuts if you think two true freshman are gonna come in and play over courtney taylor and prechae rodriguez, they will snag some pt but i expect to see a lot of taylor, rodriguez, and dunn, also rodrigues smith a bit

[SouthLink02 8]

Tennessee being that high is laughable.

[WarTiger 3,914]

Tennessee being that high is laughable.

214513[/snapback]

I agree....almost as laughable as Florida being as high as they are... What have they shown to warrant that kind of ranking?

[SouthLink02 8]

Florida has been pegged as a Top 5 team according to some since 2002.

[AUloggerhead 2,246]

Whew, should be a tough race in the  . It seems that almost all of the teams are playing at least one BCS OOC team. ...

Alabama- Duke

...I can't think of any more, please feel free to fill in the rest if anyone knows it.

214408[/snapback]

You're kidding, right? Duke has about as much chance of seeing a BCS Bowl invite as does W. Kentucky.

[Guest Tigrinum Major]

Whew, should be a tough race in the  . It seems that almost all of the teams are playing at least one BCS OOC team. ...

Alabama- Duke

...I can't think of any more, please feel free to fill in the rest if anyone knows it.

214408[/snapback]

You're kidding, right? Duke has about as much chance of seeing a BCS Bowl invite as does W. Kentucky.

214524[/snapback]

The contention is that they play in an automatic BCS conference, which somehow lends credibility to their program.

Personally, playing a USM or Troy State is more prestigious in my eyes than playing a Duke or Vandy. Now if differential equations competitions counted as much as field goals...

[Raven_tiger 5]

and the loss to the inferior Badgers showed what happens when overconfidence kicks in.

Really??? I thought thought that the Badgers should have been ranked in the top 5. Plus, it was only a postseason game...

[WarTim 3,456]

Ahhh, The ever present voice of negativity.

p.s. Yo' Raven, How bad will the Seahawks MANHANDLE your steelers?

[Raven_tiger 5]

Ahhh, The ever present voice of negativity.

p.s. Yo' Raven, How bad will the Seahawks MANHANDLE your steelers?    

214577[/snapback]

Manhandle??? Fresh from a private viewing of Brokeback Mountain???

[WarTim 3,456]

Ahhh, The ever present voice of negativity.

p.s. Yo' Raven, How bad will the Seahawks MANHANDLE your steelers?    

214577[/snapback]

Manhandle??? Fresh from a private viewing of Brokeback Mountain???

214703[/snapback]

No need to watch that movie. (Which I will never do.) We can all just wait 'till YOU give your review.

p.s. Did you have a bit part or were you mearly an "extra"?

[Raven_tiger 5]

Ahhh, The ever present voice of negativity.

p.s. Yo' Raven, How bad will the Seahawks MANHANDLE your steelers?    

214577[/snapback]

Manhandle??? Fresh from a private viewing of Brokeback Mountain???

214703[/snapback]

No need to watch that movie. (Which I will never do.) We can all just wait 'till YOU give your review.

p.s. Did you have a bit part or were you mearly an "extra"?

214735[/snapback]

"Fear the Thumb"... a Brokeback phrase???

[c-zoner 0]

If we can sign Hawthorne, I'd give him the nod to start. Him and Chris Slaughter.

They'll be our new Obo and Aro

214492[/snapback]

you guys are nuts if you think two true freshman are gonna come in and play over courtney taylor and prechae rodriguez, they will snag some pt but i expect to see a lot of taylor, rodriguez, and dunn, also rodrigues smith a bit

214501[/snapback]

theres more than one WR spot on the field, and if Hawthorne (if he comes to auburn) practices hard enough and impressess the coaches enough, he has the size to start.

[WeagleDMS 0]

If we can sign Hawthorne, I'd give him the nod to start. Him and Chris Slaughter.

They'll be our new Obo and Aro

214492[/snapback]

you guys are nuts if you think two true freshman are gonna come in and play over courtney taylor and prechae rodriguez, they will snag some pt but i expect to see a lot of taylor, rodriguez, and dunn, also rodrigues smith a bit

214501[/snapback]

theres more than one WR spot on the field, and if Hawthorne (if he comes to auburn) practices hard enough and impressess the coaches enough, he has the size to start.

214815[/snapback]

If he plays well an adapts to speed, scheme, etc. He will probably be in the #3 spot.