Early ESPN top 25

[SCCat]

This top 25 is...wow. Five PAC South teams in the top 22!

http://espn.go.com/college-football/sto ... 5-rankings

Respect for the PAC. Check.

Respect for the PAC South. Check

Respect for Arizona. Check.

I think they're a little presumptive on USC (and by extension Sarkisian), but we'll see. Could be the same for Bama; losing 9 of your starters on offense is a problem, just as returning seven of your starters from that defense is a problem. Notre Dame takes their habitually too high spot at 12. Florida State's O is gutted (3 returning starters). It will be interesting to see if Arkansas (#21; 2-6 in SEC) and Tenessee (#23; 3-5 in SEC) deserve the respect they're getting.

[dc4azcats]

That can't be right? 12th ranked!! I was told that we're a 7-5 team and a lucky one at that.

[Jefe]

5 in the top 15, wow

[Kiyama]

Awesome!! RichRod is getting more respect in the media.

[catinfl]

If Neuhisel (sp?) is the starter for UCLA next year they're in trouble. Assianti Woulard will probably be the starter and there has been some buzz around him. Rosen is also a candidate.

Asu has Berco. I hate Berco with a passion. He looks like a dick, his twitter is very dickish, and he plays for the biggest dick in college football, but from the limited I've seen he likes to sling it and while that may work a lot it will lead to a lot of INT's. asu's wide receivers are suspect and they lost two starting OT's. They lost Hardison who was their best player on the defense. I think they'll be good, but not good enough to win the south.

USC returns Kessler, but Sark is also the coach so ehh.

Utah basically lost their whole coaching staff and it's not a given Whiitingham will be back. Their mediocre QB's are back and I think their running back is coming back also. Will be a tough out.

Colorado will upset someone this year and I'm praying it's not us. Their offense is pretty good and they were really close in a lot of games this year.

Here's how I see the south playing out.
1. USC (4-1) loss to UCLA
2. UA (4-1) loss to USC
3. UCLA (3-2) losses to both UA and asu
3. ASU (3-2) Losses to UA and USC
5. Utah (1-4) losses to UA, USC, asu, and UCLA
6. Rado. (1-4) beats one person in the south IDK who.

[threenumberones]

Actually 6 in the list. And 83% of the PAC 12 South in the top 22. Whaaaa? I can see a lot of dense southern boys scratching their heads at that one. Kind of screams lazy reporting tho, I mean the likelihood of that happening again is low.

Whatever, we'll take it when we can get it!

[Bruins01]

If Neuhisel (sp?) is the starter for UCLA next year they're in trouble. Assianti Woulard will probably be the starter and there has been some buzz around him. Rosen is also a candidate.

There is no way in hell Neuheisel will be starting at UCLA unless Rosen is injured.

[catinfl]

If Neuhisel (sp?) is the starter for UCLA next year they're in trouble. Assianti Woulard will probably be the starter and there has been some buzz around him. Rosen is also a candidate.

There is no way in hell Neuheisel will be starting at UCLA unless Rosen is injured.

What about Wouldard? If I remember correctly Bug was saying he was talented, but just couldn't grasp the playbook yet.

[Bruins01]

If Neuhisel (sp?) is the starter for UCLA next year they're in trouble. Assianti Woulard will probably be the starter and there has been some buzz around him. Rosen is also a candidate.

There is no way in hell Neuheisel will be starting at UCLA unless Rosen is injured.

What about Wouldard? If I remember correctly Bug was saying he was talented, but just couldn't grasp the playbook yet.

My guess is that Woulard would only start if Rosen is out for a long period of time. He has a higher ceiling than Neuheisel. But if Rosen gets hurt during a game or has to miss one game, Jerry would fill in for him.

[azcat49]

Our schedule makes it tough with roadies to USC, Furd, UDub and ASSU. I think going 2-2 there is standard and we will ahve to go 3-1 for a chance to win the south. Of course we have played pretty well in road games under RR and we will have some big game experience at key spots.

Just can't wait for 2015 football season

[ANGCatFan]

Here is Jon Wilner's too early top 25. He has usually under-rated the Cats so I am shocked to see his list us at #10.

23. Utah: Would be higher if not for the coaching staff upheaval The running game should be first class once again.

20. Stanford: Ranking based on quarterback Kevin Hogan returning to school, where he’ll have a veteran line and array of playmakers. The defense gets hit hard by attrition at every level, especially on the line. If no Hogan, then no top 25.

18. Arizona State: The departure of Taylor Kelly would be a body blow if not for the experience Mike Bercovici gained while Kelly was hurt. The defense should be one of the Pac-12′s best.

14. UCLA: Thought the Bruins had found whatever it was they were lacking. Then they flopped against Stanford, leaving me skeptical of their prospects for a truly elite season in ’15 even though Jim Mora has recruited well enough to offset the departure of Brett Hundley.

10. Arizona. Why can’t the Wildcats repeat their success? Anu Solomon won’t be a rookie, there’s plenty of skill-position talent, and Scooby Wright returns to lead what should be an improved defense.

9. Oregon: A year from now, we could have an even greater appreciation for Marcus Mariota (not to mention Hroniss Grasu and Jake Fisher). The Ducks have enough returnees to contend for the top 10, but it all starts with the quarterback.

4. Louisiana State: Would be a candidate for No. 2 if the Hat had a proven quarterback. That’s a giant issue for ’15, obviously, but Leonard Fournette, the OL and a maturing defense should carry the Tigers. And based on the every-four-years cycle, it’s time: The Tigers played for the title in the ’07 and ’11 seasons.

3. TCU: Should have the best offense in the country with QB Trevone Boykin back, but the attrition on defense is significant and the Horned Frogs will have to handle the role of favorite in the Big 12.

2. USC: Yep, the Trojans and Steve Sarkisian are slotted second. In the country. But here’s the thing about the 7-win Sark tag he got in Seattle: He’s not in Seattle. He’s got the underrated Cody Kessler, more than enough talent at the skill positions and one of the best offensive lines in the nation. As for the defense … did I mention Kessler and that OL? As for the lack of discipline … did I mention Kessler and that OL?

1. Ohio State: Given how they ended the season, and how they have recruited the past three seasons, and how few legit challengers there are in the Big Ten, and how Urban Meyer won’t tolerate a sense of satisfaction … the Buckeyes deserve the No. 1 spot. Maybe they could deal a few of those QBs for a big-play receiver to replace Devin Smith.

[SCCat]

I'd mentioned in other threads how it might be time for Stoops to consider a change of scenery (to wit: he should consider the Florida job) not because his seat was hot (he had massive job security), but because sometimes things get to a point where even very talented people need to change things up a bit.

I mention this in this thread because I just read a Grantland article on Bob Stoops ( http://grantland.com/the-triangle/bob-s ... offseason/ ) that said the Sooners might not be ranked in the preseason poll next year. I thought this couldn't possibly be true so I came back here to look at this early ESPN top 25 and sure enough, no Sooners. (although they do appear at #21 in Wilner's early top 25).

[ANGCatFan]

Here is Athlon Sports with their PAC-12 South breakdown for 2015. They pick ASSu and the 2 SoCal schools ahead of the Wildcats and this is their UofA breakdown:

4. Arizona

Wildcats' Spring Priorities

1. Find two tackles and a pivot
Center Steven Gurrola started 13 games last year. Mickey Baucus and Fabbians Ebbele both started all 14 games at left and right tackle respectively. All three are gone and Rich Rodriguez is charged with rebuilding his offensive line. Not one player returns to the line that started all 14 games last year up front. Cayman Bundrage started 12 games at left guard and Jacob Alsadek started 11 times on the right side.

2. Plug holes in the secondary
Arizona uses a lot of defensive backs in its 3-3-5 alignment. But this group must replace a trio of safeties who totaled 284 tackles last year as well as the top cornerback. There are plenty of bodies coming back to Tucson but someone needs to step into a leadership role. William Parks could be that guy, as he is the most experienced returning defensive back.

3. Keep the young stars on offense focused

It was almost too easy for Arizona’s offense last year. Anu Solomon, Nick Wilson and Cayleb Jones formed an incredible trio of young offensive stars. But this group struggled to reach the finish line and was handled easily in the Pac-12 title game. Repeating as division champs won’t be nearly as easy, especially behind a rebuilt O-line. This group must stay focused and hungry or it could fall three or four spots in the standings.