Can Jimmy Clauson have a Brady Quinn like Junior season and lead Notre Dame back to a BCS game?

Looking back at my NBA Mock Drafts I realized something, my rash assumptions in my 5th or 6th versions were actually closer to what happened than the final version. Do you know why? Because instead of listening to everyone else’s “expert” opinion I relied on my own extensive knowledge of sports. Jrue Holiday is a top 10 pick KC and you have him at 17, you’re a fool! Guess what he went at 17! Thabeet won’t go 2 KC, he’s over rated. He was gone at 2! But seriously Jennings is slipping and you have him at 7, get your shit straight KC. Fine, he didn’t go 7, but he went 10! Instead of sticking to my gut assessment I changed my mock to reflect what the experts were saying, and look how that turned out for me. So from now on, regardless of what anyone says in the comments or in their “expert” articles, I’m sticking with my rash observations.

With that in mind, today I am releasing the first 5 teams of my NCAA Football Preseason top 25. It may not be anything like the AP top 25 or the USA Today top 25 but that’s why your reading this blog, because we give you our opinion on sports not the regurgitated version of the bigger publication’s opinion. That’s something I forgot, but I’m back baby!

Prior to today’s article I released the “2009 NCAA Football Position Previews” over the last few months. Take a look at who I expect to be the top players at each position in 2009:

Quarterback
Running Back
Wide Receiver
Offensive/Defensive Line
Linebacker
Defensive Back

Moving on, this year’s top 25 is easy once you get to the top 10 teams, but there are about 30-40 teams that have a legitimate claim to a spot in the 11-25 range. So I spent nearly 5x longer coming up with the order of the teams from 11-25 than the top 10 teams, but as a result I am very confident in my late selections despite those teams being much harder to identify. I’m sure you won’t agree with many of my selections and i’ll probably leave out your school’s team but don’t hate me, leave a comment and i’ll explain why.

So, here is my NCAA Football Preseason Top 25 (25-21)

Just missed the cut (alphabetic order): Michigan State, North Carolina, Nebraska, Oregon State, South Florida, Tennessee

25) Illinois: Last season (5-7)

Team MVP: Isiah “Juice” Williams – Williams needs to improve after an inefficient junior season. Williams is the team leader and Illinois will only go as far as Williams’ play allows. With more maturity and confidence expect Williams to be a Big Ten 3rd team selection. Williams was the key to the Illini rushing attack in ‘07, along with running mate Rashard Mendenhal, that got them to the Rose Bowl. Without Mendenhal, Williams struggled despite a huge statistical spike in his passing numbers. This year Williams will need to recover and lead the Illini back to respectability.

X Factor: Martez Wilson – Wislon was a top rated LB coming out of high school but hasn’t shown it so far. Look for him to have a break out season in his final year in an Illini uniform. Wilson has the power of a lineman with the speed of a linebacker and if he can just master the OLB position he will be a beast. But he hasn’t shown he can play the position in the past so improvement in the offseason is extremely important for him.

New Impact Starter: Ian Thomas – reports are this guy will make Illini fans forget about J Leman. Thomas showed signs of being the next great linebacker at Illinois in the mold of his predecessor Leman or legendary Illini Dick Butkus. If Thomas can live up to the hype he has been getting this offseason and Martez Wilson can finally live up to his hype coming out of highschool the Illini linebacking corps could be the strength of their team.

Biggest Game: vs. MSU @ Home (Oct. 10th) – MSU and Illinois will be fighting for 3rd place in the Big Ten along with Iowa so a victory here is extremely important.

Overview: After a surprising ‘07 Rose Bowl appearance Illinois flopped in ‘08. Illinois obviously missed the services of All-American running back Rashard Mendenhal in their spread option attack. This season with an improved group of running backs, Position Preview #3 WR Benn, and a mature Juice Williams the Illini should bounce back to a successful ‘09 season. Don’t expect another Rose Bowl season but #3 in the Big Ten is attainable.

24) Clemson Last season (7-6)

Team MVP: CJ Spiller – After two straight disappointing seasons Spiller has reportedly been working harder than ever this offseason. CJ’s two disappointing seasons followed a stellar freshman season, making up one half of “Thunder and Lightning” with James Davis that was one of the best rushing commitees in the nation. With Davis now in the NFL the backfield is all his, so a 1,200 yard season isn’t out of the question for the speedy back. If he wants a season like that he will need to make sure he prepares for the season, another fast start with a mediocre finish would tarnish Spillers legacy at Clemson. Spiller is the Position Preview’s most improved running back.

X Factor: Willy Korn – Korn is the difference between a sub .500 team and a top 25 team. Korn doesn’t even need to live up to his lofty high school status, just hand the ball off to Spiller and manage the game with an efficient passing game. Korn still hasn’t secured the #1 quarterback spot on the Tigers roster but if he does he needs to improve on his consistency.

New Impact Starter: DeAndre McDaniel – McDaniel takes over for Michael Hamlin, the Tigers longtime leader in the secondary and ACC First Team selection. McDaniel was the #4 overall prep school recruit in ‘07 so he is the most qualified to take over that role. If he can be half the player Hamlin was the Tigers defense should be okay. The one thing that McDaniels and the secondary can count on is the amazing pass rush from Ricky Sapp and Da’Quan Bowers, which will make things a lot easier for them next year.

Biggest Game: vs. Boston College @ Home (Sept. 19th) – the winner will most likely win the ACC Atlantic title and play in the ACC Championship game against Virginia Tech.

Overview: Clemson once again failed to live up to lofty media expectations last year. As a result their head coach, Bowden, was fired midseason and replaced him with Dabo Swinney as the interim coach. Swinney is now the head coach and looks to live up to the expectations this year (good thing they are a little lower). The defense should be the teams strength with Sapp and Bowers making up one of the best DE tandems in the nation. If Korn, or whoever wins the starting job, can be effective as the signal caller you can count on Spiller and the offense being explosive this year.

23) California Last season (9-4)

Team MVP: Jahvid Best – Best is easily the best (no pun intended) running back in the nation that is returning to college. I mean the guy averaged 8.1 yards per carry, 8.1! With the mind set of pound the ball, average 3.3 yards a carry and you will get a first down every time, then Best is every coaches dream come true. Essentially a first down after one carry. Best had seven runs longer than 60 yards, three 80+, and had three games in which he rushed for 200+ yards (200, 201, 311) which is a Cal record. The one concern about Best is that a significant part of the offensive line is gone so the success of the new starters will greatly effect Best’s chances of winning the Heisman this year.

X Factor: Kevin Riley – The up and down career of Nate Longshore is finally a thing of the past, now Kevin Riley is “the guy”, but can he deliver what Cal needs? Last year Riley split time with Longshore, passing for 1,360 yards and 14 touchdowns along with 6 interceptions and 117.8 passer rating. Not bad but not exactly indicative of a starting quarterback you can trust. If the Bears are to be successful Riley NEEDS to improve and supply a semi reliable passing game.

New Impact Starter: Mike Mohamed – Mohamed came to Cal a 187 pound middle linebacker, in a position where the average player is 220 pounds it’s an understatment to say that Mohamed needed to add a little weight. Now a junior, Mohamed added 50 pounds over the last 3 years and is now 237 pounds and looking like the next great linebacker at Cal. Mohamed needs to contribute right away after the departure of 3 of Cal’s linebackers, including All Pac-10 player Zach Follet.

Biggest Game: vs. Oregon @ Away (Sept. 26th) – chances are good that USC works through the Pac-10 like a hot knife through butter again, so Cal will be fighting for #2 in the Pac 10. Oregon and Cal are #2 and #3 in most experts Pac-10 picks so this game is extremely important in the Pac-10 race. If USC does end up slipping up the winner of this game might even take the Pac-10 crown from the long time champs.

Overview: Cal enters the season with several questions. Jahvid Best is the real deal at running back and the defensive line and backfield return almost all of last years starters, but the rest of the team is a question mark for now. Three of the four Cal linebackers graduated so replacements need to step up and the passing game is a huge question mark. Riley has been inconsistent at best and the returning wide receivers are average in every way (speed, hands, size). Jeff Tedford is known to get the best out of his quarterbacks (Akili Smith, Joey Harrington, Kyle Boller) so hopefully he can do magic with Kevin Riley. If Riley is even just average Cal will be top 10 team, but until he can prove that they are just #23.

22) West Virginia Last season (9-4)

Team MVP: Noel Devine – Devine is the most explosive player in the country and is the Position Preview’s #3 running back. Before he was even in college he was one of the most hyped players in the nation. Now at West Virginia he has flourished in the spread offense which highlights his speed and negates his lack of size (5′8 175 lbs.). With White now graduated it is on Devine’s shoulders to keep WVU among the best rushing teams in the nation.

X Factor: Bill Stewart – The head coach did an okay job replacing ex-legend and currently the most hated man on campus, Rich Rod. However, if the Mountaineers are going to succeed in life after Pat White Stewart is the key. It’s on Stewart’s shoulders to coach up a decent recruiting class into the national contender that the folks in Morgantown are now accustomed to.

New Impact Starter: Jarrett Brown – Pat White was the best quarterback that has ever played in a WVU uniform. 4 bowl wins, 6,049 passing yards, 56 passing touchdowns, 4,480 rushing yards, and 47 rushing touchdowns is hard to replace but Jarrett Brown will do a good job in his absence. Brown has been solid in the games that he replaced White and has 3 years of experience in the current system so it is not as if he is coming in without experience. Brown will not be White but if he is even close WVU could be a lot better than 22.

Biggest Game: vs. Cincinnati @ Away (Nov. 13th) – this game WILL decide the Big East title. By November Brown should be comfortable in the starting role making for a competitive game.

Overview: This is not the WVU that was one game away from the national title or the team that beat Georgia in the Sugar Bowl when no one thought they had a chance. That was Rich Rod, Slaton, and White’s team. This is the new look WVU. The big names on defense and the school’s best quarterback ever are gone but the replacements aren’t bad themselves. Alot of the success relies on Devine’s ability to take a leadership role on the team. If Devine can step up WVU could be a top 15 team easily.

21) Notre Dame Last season (7-6)

Team MVP: Jimmy Clausen – Clausen was the #1 recruit of the ‘07 recuiting class and entered Notre Dame as the most hyped player to arrive in South Bend in a long time. Clausen took the post at QB after Brady Quinn graduated and left for the NFL. Quinn lead the team to 2 BCS Bowl games in his Junior and Senior seasons at Notre Dame but never won. Last year Clausen started to show us why he was the #1 recruit throwing for 3,172 yards and 25 touchdowns. If Clausen can bring Notre Dame back to a BCS game he would be a hero. Win one and he’d be a legend.

X Factor: Notre Dame’s Defense – Notre Dame lost a lot of close games 1) because their offense made mistakes late and 2) their defense couldn’t protect late leads. The offense progressed over the course the season but the defense still needs to improve. The team is very talented and has the players in place to be a top 50 defense if they can execute. If the defense improves Notre Dame is BCS Bowl bound, if not another 7 or 8 win season is in the cards.

New Impact Starter: Brian Smith – Mainstay Maurice Crum is gone, but in steps Brian Smith the talented Junior from Kansas. Smith has put on over 20 pounds since he arrived on campus and is now at 245, which is perfect for MLB in Notre Dame’s defensive scheme. Smith has the potential to be as good if not better than Crum was at Notre Dame. He is a little on the slow side (4.72 forty) but makes up for that in excellent vision and reaction. He won’t be in the Butkus hunt but he is the steady force on defense that Notre Dame needs.

Biggest Game: vs. USC @ Home (Oct. 17th) – The rivalry continues, this year in North Bend. This is a big one for the Irish, if they win they are almost assured a BCS Bowl, lose and they could be in for a slide with 3 of the next 4 against tough opponents (BC, Navy, Pitt).

Overview: This is a make or break season for Clausen and Weis. If they make a BCS Bowl then all will be forgiven and they are heroes of South Bend again. Lose and their days are numbered. Clausen has the arm and talented wide recievers to make a scary passing offense but the defense must step up if they are going to win. Notre Dame could sky rocket to the top 10 or plummet, I say its closer to the former than the latter.

- KC Roberts