Football season kicks off in 14 days, and while most of you are anxiously awaiting the start of the London Era (see, right) and seeing what a return to the tight end era and a switch to a 4-3 defense will bring to Cavalier Country, we must also take the time to recognize that there are, in fact, other football programs out there competing. Each week, StreakingtheLawn will participating in the BlogPoll, a poll hosted by SB Nation and run by Brian from MGoBlog, a Michigan blog. It features over 100 unabashedly biased bloggers ranking which teams they think are the Top 25. After the jump, you’ll find my contribution this week – yes, Boston College made my cut.
<!-- SB Nation BlogPoll Top 25 Ballot -->
Streaking the Lawn Ballot - Week 1
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama Crimson Tide | -- |
| 2 | Ohio St. Buckeyes | -- |
| 3 | Texas Longhorns | -- |
| 4 | Boise St. Broncos | -- |
| 5 | Florida Gators | -- |
| 6 | TCU Horned Frogs | -- |
| 7 | Oklahoma Sooners | -- |
| 8 | Virginia Tech Hokies | -- |
| 9 | Iowa Hawkeyes | -- |
| 10 | Nebraska Cornhuskers | -- |
| 11 | Oregon Ducks | -- |
| 12 | USC Trojans | -- |
| 13 | Wisconsin Badgers | -- |
| 14 | Miami Hurricanes | -- |
| 15 | Pittsburgh Panthers | -- |
| 16 | LSU Tigers | -- |
| 17 | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets | -- |
| 18 | Penn St. Nittany Lions | -- |
| 19 | Arkansas Razorbacks | -- |
| 20 | North Carolina Tar Heels | -- |
| 21 | Georgia Bulldogs | -- |
| 22 | Auburn Tigers | -- |
| 23 | Oregon St. Beavers | -- |
| 24 | Florida St. Seminoles | -- |
| 25 | Boston College Eagles | -- |
SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings "
I generally have an anti-ACC bias. But in this week’s ballot, it would seem that I’ve got a pretty strong ACC bias here, as I have six ACC teams showing up – the same number as the SEC. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think the ACC is particularly a powerhouse (though this certainly seems to be a better crop this year than in the past few years). The SEC’s teams are at the top (Alabama, Texas, Florida), while most of the ACC’s are cluttered in the 20s (North Carolina, Florida State, Boston College).
Did I say Boston College? You bet your Eagle arse I did. I think BC stands a strong chance at a 10-win season, with their ACC road games being NC State, FSU, Wake, and Duke. BC should be able to win all four of those – I have very little faith in FSU and honestly, the only reason they show up in my Top 25 this week is because I’ve fallen victim to FSU’s CP7 campaign. BC’s out of conference schedule include Weber State and Kent State, both of whom should be cakewalks, and a half-respectable Notre Dame. That shouldn’t present too big of a challenge for this BC team who went 8-5 last season in Frank Spaziani’s first season with the Eagles and who has 14 returning starters. Still, Notre Dame-BC has a bit of a rivalry twinge to it, so it should be an exciting matchup. In any event, BC may not necessarily be a Top 25 team right now, but I think they deserve a shout-out, and so that’s how I’m using my vote this week. I am also pretty confident that come December, we’ll see these guys in the final Top 25.
Aside from this, I don’t think there should be too many surprises in my vote this week. Carolina’s a little bit lower than mainstream media, but let’s be honest – we’re going to all be surprised if they finish within the Top 20… they may not even be ranked at all.
Disagree with me? Who’s in and who’s out on your ballot? I welcome your comments.