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And Nevada's ranking probably has more to do with us coming out flat than with a true worry about Nevada.

1. Nevada
2. Michigan

The two worst teams in the country last season. A service academy now two years separated from their outlier head coach. A school that switched head coaches, has had terrible recruiting the past few years, and recently kicked out their starting QB.

I'm all for "any given Saturday", but those four teams should be pretty terrible in '09. I don't think Charlie could survive losing to any of them.

1. USC
2. MSU
3. Pitt
4. UM
5. BC

So are we saying that Purdue, Washington, Washington State, and Navy should be "in the bag"?

They and most of their fans can eat shit and die

BC and MSU will both remain in my "tough" category because of history.

I just think that BC is going to have a down year because of talent loss, and I think that now, 2 coaches removed from their "base," they might operate a bit differently.

Still, even in a down year, they'll be up for ND.

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earn high difficult spots on the schedule because of history as much as anything else. I've written in wrongheaded wins against both of those teams enough times to learn that I'm not reaching for that snake again.

And, in an entirely logically inconsistent fashion, Michigan isn't in my Top 5 because if you saw the team without a logo, you'd think it was going to be a walk. People fear just because it's an away game at Michigan, but there's not a whole lot of meat to that sandwich just yet.

Can they beat us? Of course. Will they move the ball? Yes. Should we hang at least 40 on them. Absolutely.

Redshirt all 20 guys coming in every year. Four years later, turn out a new class of 15-20 5th year seniors who win with physical maturity and time-in-system experience.

... but yes, Jag's recruiting did suck.

assuming Forcier doesn't get killed, of course. But we get them at the perfect time. A true freshman making his second start against a Tenuta defense could end up looking a whole lot like Jones vs. Georgia Tech. Plus they have major, major issues on defense, to the point that not only is an early enrollee already starting at safety, but Michigan insiders are saying he's already the best safety by a wide margin. Good luck stopping Floyd, Tate and Rudolph with that.

Not much respect for the Victors?

I'll have to look it up, but when what's-his-face got fired for interviewing elsewhere, I remember looking at the roster, what he's recruited, and adding it up to "not a bad time to jump ship."

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1. SoCal
2. MSU
3. UConn
4. BC
5. Michigan

Some of this is coming off stuff I've read of other spring practices. I get the feeling Pitt's going to have a "rebuilding year" off their "high" of last year. Michigan goes in there if for no other reason than it's in Ann Arbor and everone else on the schedule blows. I really feel like UConn has a coaching staff that'll be talked about a lot over the next decade. I don't really particularly like Edsall (based purely on what I see on TV), but when I watch that team I see a pretty well-coached set of guys who probably had limited D1 scholarship options. If ND is finally, truly "well coached" on the OL and DL, we'll clobber them. If ND continues the same follies of the last couple of seasons, ND will lose that game.

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MSU lost its best player, but retains its talented head coach. That beats out a team that lost a lot of talent and is working out a new HC (BC), and a team that also lost its best player, but has a coach of "questionable" ability (Pitt). Nevada is a small-time program with a weirdo system that they run well, which makes them terrifying.

There wasn't a more valuable player to his team last year. It'll also be interesting to see how their new QB does. But Dantonio is certainly doing good things there

I think losing McCoy will hurt Pitt quite a bit, and I think MSU is really on the rise under Dantonio.

do you really feel? Quit holding back, you're amoung friends...

1. USC
2. Michigan State
3. Boston College
4. Pitt
5. Nevada

I can go on for hours about how much I hate those low class f*cksticks.

hype that game with every bit of my being.

Little brother status or no, I'm sick as hell of losing to BC.

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Depending on the previous weekend we could be variably deflated, or so sky-high we don't take it seriously.

1. USC
2. Boston College (only because it's the week after USC).
3. @ Pittsburgh
4. Michigan State
5. @ Stanford

What do you think our 5 toughest games will be this year? Care to rank them in order?

My assessment:

1. USC
2. Michigan State
3. Boston College
4. @ Pitt
5. @ Michigan