#19 Mississippi State

2010 Recap

Dan Mullen

Dan Mullen is the hottest thing to hit Starkville since well...lets just say its been awhile.  With all the hype of Dan Mullen and all his early successes at Mississippi State the Bulldogs surprised some in 2010. Despite being slated in the terrific SEC West the Bulldogs finished the season 9-4 (4-4 in SEC games), finishing the season with the thrashing of Michigan in the Gator Bowl (52-14).

Why all the success for the Bulldogs? Dan Mullen for one, and the combination of Chris Relf and Vick Ballard. Although Relf never put up tremendous numbers passing, Mississippi State finishing with the nations 86th ranked passing attack he managed the game to the satisfaction of Dan Mullen. Ballard on the other hand led the nations 16th ranked rushing attack the team averaging over 214 yards per game.

Recruiting
The key positions of need for the Bulldogs to succeed in 2011 are undoubtedly along the defensive line and primarily at the linebacker position. Mississippi State lost all of its starters from the 2010 core and must replace them if they want to surpass their 9 win total from a year ago.

Brandon Maye

Did they do that in their 2011 recruiting class? Yes and no. Not only did the Bulldogs received a commitment from Shaquille Perry the nations 45th ranked outside linebacker prospect who looks like a redshirt possibility, but they also received a commitment from Clemson linebacker transfer Brandon Maye.  Maye started 33 games while at Clemson and totaled 233 tackles and a single season record 5 forced fumbles in 2009.

Outside of Maye the only player of the 2011 class (according to rankings) with a shot at playing time is Tupelo, Mississippi standout P.J. Jones. Jones a defensive tackle prospect ranked as the nations 21st prospect at his position arrives this fall and will compete with returning starters Josh Boyd and Fletcher Cox along the bulldog front four.



2011 Season Prediction

Chris Relf

Dont expect much help from the incoming freshman in 2011, with that said this Mississippi State team is a very risky #19 in our polls. It is just as likely that they finish 9-3 or 10-2 at best as a disappointing 6-6. Such is the life in the SEC. Clearly we believe that Mississippi State will build off of the successes of 2010 and with the return of Chris Relf and Vick Ballard the Bulldogs should prove a stout opponent in the SEC West. And with the recent release of NCAA sanctions against LSU who knows how the Tigers will react from the news, an early season loss to Oregon and a week three loss to Mississippi State could be very likely.  If the question marks at linebacker and left tackle can be answered and prove serviceable expect the Bulldogs to compete with Alabama and LSU for the SEC West title.The Bulldogs get powerhouses LSU, South Carolina and Alabama all at home, expect the bulldogs to surprise one of the three and finish the season 9-3.

2011 Season Schedule
Sep. 1 - @Memphis
Sep. 10 - @Auburn
Sep. 15 - LSU
Sep. 24 - Louisiana Tech
Oct. 1 - @Georgia
Oct. 8 - @UAB
Oct. 15 - South Carolina
Oct. 29 - @Kentucky
Nov. 5 - Tennessee Martin
Nov. 12 - Alabama
Nov. 19 - @Arkansas
Nov. 26 - Ole Miss

Recruiting Spotlight: Ty Montgomery

Ht. 6'0"
Wt. 200
40. 4.5
Shuttle. 4.55
Verticle. 30 inches

Offers
Stanford (Committed)
Mississippi State
Baylor
California
Georgia
UCLA

#20 Stanford Cardinal

2010 RecapSometimes it's better to be lucky than good. Sometimes it's just better to have Luck. Coming off of a 2009 season which featured the budding star, Andrew Luck, the Standford fanbase watched the sophomore eagerly to see which direction his career would turn. As it happens Luck went from a budding college football star to the best quarterback in all of college football.

Andrew Luck

The Stanford Cardinal started the 2010 season 4-0 with resounding wins over UCLA, Wake Forest, and Notre Dame. The redhot start framed a top tier matchup against PAC 10 rival Oregon. Stanford lost the game 52-31. Oregon would then tear through the PAC 10 going undefeated and earning a spot in the BCS National Championship Game. Following the loss to Oregon, Stanford themselves finished the season undefeated and finished second in the conference. With a regular season record of 11-1 and a BCS ranking of fourth the Cardinal was guaranteed a BCS bowl appearance and were slated in the Discover Orange Bowl against ACC Champion Virginia Tech.

Under the nation's watchful eye Andrew Luck did not disappoint. He threw for 287 yds and 4 TD'S in a 40-12 rout of the Hokies. The 2010 season was considered an overachievement for the Cardinal praising Luck and outstanding head coach Jim Harbaugh for the successes.

Offseason and Recruiting
For all the success Stanford experienced in the 2010 season it seemed the offseason would provide just as many hurdles. With the success of Andrew Luck in his sophomore campaign it was not only all but guaranteed that he would enter the NFL draft and but also be the first overall pick. Amidst the prospect of losing their prized star Stanford lost their head coach to the NFL ranks. Jim Harbaugh accepted a five years $25 million dollar contract with the San Fransisco 49ers. But with the loss of their head coach came a surprising twist. Andrew Luck decided to forego the NFL draft and return to Stanford for his junior season. Step back from the ledge Cardinal fans there is hope yet left in Palo Alto. Athletic director Bob Bowlsby replaced Harbaugh from within with the hire of Offensive coordinator David Shaw.

Ty Montgomery

Although Harbaugh left the Cardinal he left them one gift a top 25 recruiting class. It is no mystery academic standards at Stanford inhibit the Cardinal from recruiting with the best of the best and yet Stanford finished in February with the 22nd ranked class according to Rivals.com. The first thing you notice when looking at Stanford's class is that they were not frightened away from crossing the California border and recruiting prospects from across the country. Tucker, GA standout James Vaughters headlines the class as the top ranked prospect. Spokane, WA's Charlie Hopkins (DE), and Ft. Lauderdale, FL's Wayne Lyons (DB) also rounded out the defensive side of the class.

The hidden gem of the class seems to be Dallas St. Mark's Ty Montgomery. Montgomery was considerd the 30th best receiver in the 2011 class and yet the tape seems to tell a different tale. True he played in a diluted pool of talent which would allow for greater success on his part but his level of athleticism and hands seem to translate brilliantly into Shaw's Stanford scheme. He may not be a starter in year one but with the losses of two of Stanford's starting receivers the oppurtunity to be a go to target from the Heisman frontrunner is readily available.

2011 Season Prediction

David Shaw

Had Luck not returned to Stanford they would not have been ranked in the top 25. But with his return they suddenly find themselves in the 20th spot of the CTSports rankings. There will be an adjustment period to life under new head coach David Shaw but that period should be minimal. The players are familiar with his coaching style and most importantly Andrew Luck is comfortable with him. The Cardinal will find the 2011 season with the PAC 12 much stronger than the year prior. They get Oregon at home but are asked to go to Los Angeles to face USC. CTSports predicts Stanford to finish 9-3 and third in the conference.

Stanford 2011 Schedule
Sep. 3 - San Jose State
Sep. 10 - @Duke
Sep. 17 - @Arizona
Oct. 1 - UCLA
Oct. 8 - Colorado
Oct. 15 - @Washington State
Oct. 22 - Washington
Oct. 29 - @USC
Nov. 5 - @Oregon State
Nov. 12 - Oregon
Nov. 19 - California
Nov. 26 - Notre Dame

#21 Florida Gators

2010 Recap

John Brantley

Under Tim Tebow the Florida Gators were perennial National Title Contenders. Under John Brantley (Tebow's successor) the Gators were an average football team. Period. Going into 2010 the program and Gator fan base had high hopes for Brantley after shining in the spring game but it didn't take long for Gator fans to realize the drop off from Tebow was precipitous. The Gators barely managed a victory over Miami of Ohio in their season opener. Against the Red Hawks everything that could go wrong went wrong highlighted by a horrendous display of offensive fundamentals. The Gators proceeded to scrape by against weaker foes and began its downward spiral when it lost to Alabama, Mississippi State, and South Carolina in back to back to back weeks. The Gators finished the season 8-5 with a win over Penn State in the Outback Bowl.


Off-season and Recruiting

Will Muschamp

The Florida Gators received a mild shock with the second retirement of Urban Meyer in two years. Unlike his previous retirement and subsequent return the year before Urban Meyer has vowed to leave on his own accord voicing a desire to spend more time with his family. Meyer has since taken a position as an analyst among the ranks at ESPN.

Enter Will Muschamp. Former defensive coordinator and designated head coach in waiting at Texas Will Muschamp surprised all accepting the offer from the Florida Gators. Muschamp who grew up in Florida was a natural selection for the position despite his inexperience as a head coach. He quickly filled the vacant positions on the coaching staff with Charlie Weis (Former Notre Dame head coach and Kansas City Chiefs Offensive Coordinator) and Dan Quinn as defensive coordinator (Seattle Seahawks defensive line coach 09-10).

With the coaching staff in place Muschamp turned his efforts towards maintaining Urban Meyer's recruits and adding a few of his own to the 2011 recruiting class.

Jeff Driskel

Arguably one of the most important recruits Florida landed in the 2011 class is the nations #1 pro-style quarterback Jeff Driskel. The Oviedo, Florida star should prove to be the programs next starting quarterback possibly as soon as the 2011 season depending on how long the leash has been led for current starting quarterback John Brantley. Considering the hire of Charlie Weis who has always been known to favor a pro style offense it would be no surprise to see the coaching staff invest the future of the program in Driskel. Although Will Muschamp has all ready made it clear that incumbent John Brantley will be the starter for the 2011 season.


2011 Season Prediction
Like the Texas Longhorns the Gators are coming off a disappointing season followed by a massive turnover in coaches. The Gators season hinges on success from the quarterback position, whether it will be John Brantley or one of the other quarterbacks in the stable - including Jeff Driskel. Brantley will likely see success with the help of Charlie Weis who will install an offense much more geared towards Brantley's talents. The rest of the offense is stacked with athletes. The only question mark lies at the offensive line.

The Gators only return three starters on defense. Normally that would be considered bad news and while it is not ideal the players returning are all elite talents. The rest of the unit will hinge on the young and extremely deep pool of talent the Gators possess. Ronald Powell, Dominique Easley and Shariff Floyd all of whom were considered premier national prospects of the 2010 class.

CTSports predicts the Gators to finish the season with a record of 8-4. The reason they are placed here in the polls as opposed to teams ranked with a similar record is because the ceiling for this group is quite high. If all the chips fall into place the Gators could find themselves in Atlanta for the SEC Championship game.

2011 Schedule
Sep. 3 - Florida Atlantic
Sep. 10 - UAB
Sep. 17 - Tennessee
Sep. 24 - @Kentucky
Oct. 1 - Alabama
Oct. 8 - @LSU
Oct. 15 - @Auburn
Oct. 29 - Georgia
Nov. 5 - Vanderbilt
Nov. 12 - @South Carolina
Nov. 19 - Furman
Nov. 26 - Florida State

#22 West Virginia Mountaineers

2010 Recap

Bill Stewart

The Mountaineers started the 2010 season 3-0 with wins over Coastal Carolina, Marshall, and Maryland and departed for Death Valley confident of their skills and yet widely considered to be the underdog against LSU. The Mountaineers lost in a close contest 14-20 and rebounded with wins over UNLV and South Florida. West Virginia finished the regular season 9-3 and were crowned champions of the Big East. The Mountaineers lost an uncompetitive game against North Carolina State in the Champs Sports Bowl.

Recruiting and Offseason
2011 arrived and midway through the summer has all ready proved a drastic challenge for the West Virginia Athletic Department.

Oklahoma State Offensive coordinator Dana Holgerson, who drew rave reviews in his first season as the Cowboy's offensive coordinator, was named offensive coordinator and Head coach in waiting for the Mountaineer program. All was a buzz around the addition of Holgerson to the West Virginia program until the accusations and rumors began to swirl about Blacksburg. Rumor had it that then head coach Bill Stewart had spread rumors of his own attempting to incite anti-Holgerson feelings in the Blacksburg community and in the media. After all was said and done Stewart is out and Holgerson is the man one year earlier than expected.

Andrew Buie

The West Virginia Mountaineers are one of those teams that will often hit or miss on the national elite talent in recruiting and maintains its bread and butter off of white collar football players who are molded into four year starters. The 2011 class was no different. The class was headlined by Jacksonville, Florida, running back Andrew Buie. The Trinity Christian prospect will have a chance to play early although incumbents Shawne Alston and Daquan Hargrett are slated ahead of him currently and could prove difficult to unseat. Considering Holgerson's aggressive and unique offense Buie could figure to be a role player at least in his freshman campaign. 

Geno Smith

2011 Season Prediction 
The season undoubtedly hinges on how well the team will gel around new head coach Dana Holgerson. It is just as likely that the team would find conflict in the ascension of Holgerson as it is they would rally and yet again find themselves a top the Big East standings. CTSports believes the latter will prove true.

The reason for that is Geno Smith and 11 returning starters from the West Virginia 2010 season. Smith (pictured left) was the leading quarterback in the Big East finishing #1 in passing efficiency and #2 in total offense (229.2 ypg).

It is no secret that the Big East has never recovered from the loss of Miami from the conference. Ever since Miami's departure West Virginia has proved a staple atop the top of the conference and CTSports predicts that yet again the Mountaineers will be crowned champions of the Big East going 10-2 with losses to LSU and USF, who only missed being ranked in our top 25 by the slightest of margins.


2011 Schedule
Sep. 4 - Marshall
Sep. 10  - Norfolk State
Sep. 17 - @Maryland
Sep. 24 - LSU   
Oct. 1 - Bowling Green      
Oct. 8 - Connecticut
Oct. 21 - @Syracuse 
Oct. 29 - @Rutgers
Nov. 5 - Louisville     
Nov. 12 -  @Cincinatti
Nov. 25 - Pittsburgh  
Dec. 1 - @South Florida

#23 Missouri Tigers

2010 Recap

Blaine Gabbert

Mr. Blaine Gabbert was the man in 2010 and under his leadership the Missouri Tigers began the year on fire. Defeating eventual Big XII Co-champions Texas A&M and then #3 Oklahoma. The Tigers then lost back to back games to Nebraska and Texas Tech and lost their third game of the season to Iowa in the Insight Bowl.

The 2010 season was widely considered a season of ups and downs, of successes (wins against Oklahoma and Texas A&M) and failures (losses against Nebraska and Texas Tech). The departure of Blaine Gabbert a year early to the NFL proves to be a key question mark heading into the 2011 season.

Recruiting

Sheldon Richardson

Unlike the powerhouses of the college landscape Missouri has not been given great access to the vault of high school athletes. That is not to say that the Tigers have not turned in successful recruiting classes or secured pledges from the country's finest - it has always been quantity rather than quantity as the primary problem facing Missouri recruiting. The 2011 recruiting class was headlined by Visalia, California Defensive Tackle, Sheldon Richardson. Richardson a junior college transfer proves to be an instant staple in the Missouri defense, although incumbents Terrell Resono, Dominique Hamilton, and Jimmy Burge will prove difficult to push for playing time. Other than Richardson the Missouri recruiting class is thin in nearly all positions of need. No player outside of Richardson was ranked among the nations top 250 prospects. Time will tell how well this recruiting class actually is but according to sources Missouri must do better in its 2012 class to hope to continue its growth among the Big XII elite.

2011 Season Prediction
Had Blaine Gabbert returned for his senior season Missouri would have been a lock for a top ten team and possibly as high as a top five national title contender. But with Gabbert's early departure the Tigers take a drastic step back. Outside of the quarterback position the Tigers return 9 starters on offense from the 2010 team including last years leading receiver T.J. Moe, and 6 starters on defense.

James Franklin

The success of the 2011 season invariably hinges on the play of the replacement quarterback. At this point in the summer it fails to be seen who that will be but smart money at this juncture is on Sophomore James Franklin who played sparingly in 2010. And with the transfer of Tyler Gabbert (Blaine Gabbert's younger brother) to Louisville the quarterback position is likely Franklins to lose. If the Tigers rally around Franklin and play at their highest level which the team showed flashes of last season it is not unlikely that the Tigers will compete for the Big XII title. CTSports predicts Missouri to finish 9-3 with losses against Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M.

2011 Schedule
Sep. 3 - Miami (OH)
Sep. 9  - @Arizona State
Sep. 17 - Western Illinois
Sep. 24 - @Oklahoma            
Oct. 8 - @Kansas State
Oct. 15 - Iowa State
Oct. 22 - Oklahoma State   
Oct. 29 - @Texas A&M
Nov. 5 - @Baylor     
Nov. 12 -  Texas 
Nov. 19 - Texas Tech      
Nov. 26 - Kansas (Kansas City, MO)

#24 Ohio State Buckeyes

2010 Recap

Terrelle Pryor

What a year for Ohio State. A Rose Bowl victory over the Oregon Ducks, in which Terrelle Pryor resoundingly lived up to his billing as the nations number one rated prospect coming out of high school earning MVP honors, and followed that up with a 12-1 record and a Sugar Bowl victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks.Then came the allegations and the sanctions. And did they ever come. Mike Adams, Daniel Herron, Devier Posey, Terrelle Pryor and Solomon Thomas all were deemed in violation of NCAA regulations and were sentenced to a five game suspension in the upcoming 2011 season. If that was not enough the surfaced e-mails of head coach Jim Tressel turned the University in on itself. The e-mails documented proof that Tressel not only knew about the benefits the five Ohio State players received but also that he failed to act in accordance with NCAA Compliance officials. In response the NCAA suspended Tressel along with the other five and suspended him for the initial five games of the season. But then in a move that surprised some and none Tressel stepped down and abandoned Ohio State in its hour of greatest need.

Enter 2011 and Terrelle Pryor has declared for the NFL and hopes to be drafted in the NFL's supplemental draft, while the four other Buckeye players still remain suspended for the start of the season. To say the Buckeyes had a turbulent off season is an understatement.

Recruiting

Braxton Miller

The Buckeyes turned in another solid recruiting class finishing with the #11 ranked recruiting class according to Rivals.com. The class was headlined by the #2 ranked player, Richmond, VA linebacker Curtis Grant and Hubert Heights, OH quarterback Braxton Miller. With the sudden departure of Terrelle Pryor this off season Miller ought to be given the opportunity to compete for the starting quarterback position with Joe Bauserman and if the Buckeyes intend to right the ship under interim head coach Luke Fickell, expect Miller to see significant playing time trending towards the back end of the season.


2011 Season Prediction
Why rank the Buckeyes at #24 in the CTSports rankings? Despite the fact that the Buckeyes like many of the other power houses of college football are stocked with premier athletes the turnover of the off season, especially the losses of Terrelle Pryor and head coach Jim Tressel, the allegations, sanctions and general media swarm seem to great to over come. Expect the Buckeyes to start Joe Bauserman at quarterback for the opener against Akron. It would not surprise anyone CTSports if the Buckeyes were 3-2 with losses against Miami (FL) and Michigan State by the time Ohio State finds relief from the four suspended Buckeyes. CTSports predicts the Buckeyes to finish 8-4 with losses against Miami (FL), Michigan State, Nebraska and Michigan.

2011 Schedule
Sep. 3 - Akron
Sep. 10  - Toledo
Sep. 17 - @Miami (FL)
Sep. 24 - Colorado
Oct. 1 - Michigan State            
Oct. 8 - @Nebraska
Oct. 15 - @Illinois    
Oct. 29 - Wisconsin
Nov. 5 - Indiana     
Nov. 12 -  @Purdue   
Nov. 19 - Penn State      
Nov. 26 - @Michigan