Alabama will begin 2013 as No. 1, duh. Who’ll give chase?
Will we see these two teams go at it again this December? Maybe. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
Fort Lauderdale, Fla. – On the morning after securing his fourth BCS championship ring, Nick Saban was asked what he does with his BCS championship rings. Does he wear them all at once? Rotate them by month, by week, by day?
Said Saban: “I just put ‘em on the coffee table for recruits to look at.”
This drew a huge laugh — such a kidder, that Nick! — but it does underscore the problem facing the rest of college football. Success on the field begets success in recruiting, which begets even bigger success on the field, which is how one team in a cutthroat conference has come to claim consecutive BCS titles and three of the past four.
And Alabama now has bigger fish to fry. Only three programs — Notre Dame in the late ’40s, Nebraska in the ’90s and Saban’s Alabama — have taken three (legitimate) national championships in four seasons. No school has ever won three in a row, or four in five seasons. But who’s apt to derail this Bama locomotive?
After his Crimson Tide crushed Notre Dame 42-14 on Monday night, Saban spoke of how difficult this latest journey had been. “We got here by five yards. Georgia was five yards away from scoring (in the SEC Championship game). So it’s a pretty tough league that we play in, and we’re going to have to continue to try to improve as a program to have an opportunity to win the SEC Championship or the national championship ever again because of the competition in our league.”
Then this: “Look, we’re really happy, we’re really pleased, we’re really proud of what we have to do here. We’re going to enjoy it for 24 hours.”
And then back to work. For Alabama, the next game will come Aug. 31 against Virginia Tech in the Georgia Dome. The Tide will enter the Chick-fil-A Kickoff game ranked No. 1, perhaps by unanimous vote. But what teams will be in closest — not to say truly close — pursuit? An early look at the 2013 Top 25.
1. Alabama. Duh.
2. Ohio State. Urban Meyer is the only active coach with even half as many BCS titles as Saban, and the Urbanator just went undefeated in Year 1 at his latest stop. It’s intriguing that Meyer has had two unbeaten seasons, neither at Florida. This tells us what we already knew: He can coach a little, too. And in Braxton Miller, Meyer may have his next Heisman winner. (His first was a guy named Tebow.)
3. Oregon. The most stunning development of the month wasn’t Florida losing the Sugar Bowl to Louisville but Chip Kelly apparently choosing to stay in Eugene. For months his departure to the NFL had been seen as a fait accompli, but he hasn’t gone anywhere yet. Assuming he doesn’t, the offensive onslaught will continue. (Provided the NCAA doesn’t intervene.) Think of sophomore-to-be quarterback Marcus Mariota as the Johnny Football of the Far West.
4. Texas A&M. No team — not even Alabama, which lost at home to the Aggies — was playing better at season’s end, but some remain skeptical. Is Johnny Manziel really that good? Will Johnny Football be the same without left tackle Luke Joeckel, who’s leaving for the NFL? Will the raging Aggies offense rage on without coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, gone to Texas Tech as head coach? Will flavor-of-the-month A&M be the same the second time around the SEC.
5. Georgia. The Bulldogs could play them themselves out of the Top 25 by the end of September — or they could stamp themselves as the biggest threat to Alabama. They open at Clemson, and then they play host to South Carolina and LSU in two of their next three games. The Bulldogs’ defense will be radically reconstituted, but with Aaron Murray’s decision to stay in school the offense should be even better.
6. Clemson. The road to ruin has been paved with rosy forecasts for the orange Tigers, but the Clemson that beat LSU in the Chick-fil-A Bowl really did seem more forceful. (Skill was never an issue.) The runner Andre Ellington departs, but quarterback Tajh Boyd and bookend receivers DeAndre Hopkins and Sammy Watkins return. And Clemson is finally starting to play a little D.
7. Notre Dame. In the aftermath of Monday’s thrashing, SEC zealots were heard to wonder if Notre Dame would even finish in the top half of the only league that matters. Wrong question. The right question: Could any college team have held up against Alabama playing at its absolute zenith? (Answer: No.) Forget 42-14. Do not underestimate the capacity of a famous program that has, after many false starts, gotten it going again. Do not underestimate the recruiting pull of the Fighting Irish.
8. Stanford. Remember when USC was supposed to reclaim the Pac-12 for Troy? That lasted only until the Trojans ran across Stanford, which has weathered the recent losses of coach Jim Harbaugh and quarterback Andrew Luck to remain robust. In David Shaw, the Cardinal has its new Harbaugh; in Kevin Hogan, it has its new Luck. Coming off its first Rose Bowl victory in 40 years, Stanford eyes even bigger prizes.
9. South Carolina. Jadeveon Clowney might or might not win the 2013 Heisman Trophy, but barring injury he’ll be the nation’s best player. Steve Spurrier has proved he can win without the great back Marcus Lattimore, gone from Columbia after a second knee injury, and the Gamecocks stunned Clemson in Death Valley without injured quarterback Connor Shaw. But in 2013 Carolina will play Georgia in Athens, and the Bulldogs are past due in that game.
10. Florida. The bloom came off a return-to-glory season in that Sugar Bowl — even Gators fan Chipper Jones Tweeted his displeasure — and now Florida faces tough questions. Can its pedestrian offense, ranked 103rd among 120 FBS teams, improve enough to play for championships? This is no trifling matter, given that the Gators’ defense is losing seven starters. And, in case you missed it, the Georgia alum Will Muschamp has yet to beat his alma mater.
And the rest: 11. Louisville. 12. Florida State. 13. Boise State. 14. Oklahoma. 15. TCU. 16. Vanderbilt. 17. LSU. 18. Northern Illinois. 19. Oregon State. 20. Kansas State. 21. Oklahoma State. 22. Miami. 23. Georgia Tech. 24. Nebraska. 25. UCLA.
By Mark Bradley
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264 comments Add your comment
Destin Dawg
January 8th, 2013
3:20 pm
But S.C. and LSU are SEC games and are in Athens !! Go Dawgs !!
Flo- Ri - Duh
January 8th, 2013
3:20 pm
T’eo makes my 1st string all dud team. ESPN created the myth that is T’eo. To small, to slow – 3rd round maybe. Jarvis Jones got screwed in the awards ceremonies. Just wait and see where T’eo gets drafted and where Jones gets drafted. Jones in the top 5 – 8 and T’eo 3rd round.
Nate
January 8th, 2013
3:20 pm
You need to flip 10 and 11 in your rankings. Florida’s lack of offense got exposed in the Sugar Bowl I don’t care what anyone says. And Louisville will have a very weak schedule next year. With a top ten ranking to start the season they will have a good shot to run the table and finish top two.
DERP
January 8th, 2013
3:21 pm
ND can’t be ranked anywhere until somebody finds the keys to their team bus still parked down there in Miami. There are all eagerly awaiting to play Bama for THIS years championship.
We r getting ahead of ourselves, aint we Mark?
Saban's OVERRATED
January 8th, 2013
3:23 pm
Saban is way overrated. Until he goes to a team/school/nfl franchise that has no history of winning, he hasn’t proven anything. Winning in football at Bama is like winning in basketball at Duke or Kentucky. If you’re a medicore coach, the program will sell itself. Spurrier is a much more accomplished coach. He has taken two programs that had no history of winning, and moved them into elite status. The Gators and Cocks used to be annually medicore. Now look at where they are. Even when RON ZOOK was at UF he had great recruiting classes. Why do you think that was? A guy named Spurrier had built a reputation there. Watch when Spurrier leaves South Carolina. They will still be relevant, and a great program. Saban has won his championships, but they were at schools that had a history of success and winning, which proves nothing about him as far as his greatness. Bear Bryant was a great coach. Steve Spurrier is a great coach.
Flo- Ri - Duh
January 8th, 2013
3:24 pm
Coach of the year should be Charlie Strong at Louisville. He did more with less than anyone in the country. Brains behind Urban Meyer’s success – Charlie Strong.
Paul in NH
January 8th, 2013
3:24 pm
JB
January 8th, 2013
3:09 pm
Teams above that Mason Dixon line, year in and year out, will never be better than a Southern team.
—–
Really??? Michigan will never be better than Ole Miss? OSU will never be better than Vandy? Nebraska will never be better than Miss State? ND will never be better than UK?
Paul in NH
January 8th, 2013
3:26 pm
“Brains behind Urban Meyer’s success – Charlie Strong.”
Somehow Urban Meyer managed to have 2 unbeaten seasons without Charlie Strong.
Flo- Ri - Duh
January 8th, 2013
3:27 pm
Biggest surprise of the year : Texas A&M and Johnny Manziel – 2nd biggest surprise is UGA’s OL and their running game. 3rd biggest surprise is UGA’s inconsistent defense against the run.
Flo- Ri - Duh
January 8th, 2013
3:29 pm
Charlie Strong recruited the players Urban Meyer won with – case closed.
Wet Willie...keep on smiling
January 8th, 2013
3:32 pm
Floriduh…..Alabama will have our best offense in 2013. The addition of OJ Howard at H-Back along with Cooper,Norwood,Chris Black,and Chris Jones will make it impossible for teams to put 8 men in the Box. You should have gotten Bama this year for you will have no shot in 2013. Nick Saban has the roster at Bama locked and loaded and is about to have the #1 or top 5 class (again) signed.
Kamara to Bama. Bama has more competition at practice than Notre Dame presented.
If any of you Bama fans are still in Miami then tell Eddie Lacey his Mom called and wanted him to stop running and get home. Lou Holtz wanted all the Catholics to know it’s safe to comeout for the Bama team has left for T-town. Roll Tide
Nick sent Notre Dame a big message…took Bama to South Beach and put them up at the Fontainebleau while Elite Notre Dame stayed at the Motel 6 up the road. He then beats the living sheet out of you before the Pope(his Mercedes is made in T-town(Vance) and millions more. WARNING….STAY AWAY FROM THOSE MOBILE HOMERS GOLDEN DOMERS!
JB
January 8th, 2013
3:32 pm
Muschamp is struggling trying to covert that Urban Meyer hip hop mess spread roster to power football. That Florida roster was loaded with arena type players. Florida is still far away. Muschamp is on borrowed time.
Paul in NH
January 8th, 2013
3:33 pm
Flo- Ri – Duh
January 8th, 2013
3:29 pm
Charlie Strong recruited the players Urban Meyer won with – case closed
—-
Who knew that while Charlie Strong was coaching Louisville he was secretly recruiting players for OSU? Even more miraculous was how Strong got players to go to Utah in 2003 while he was coaching defensive ends at Florida.
JON
January 8th, 2013
3:35 pm
Say It Again Bama – Your the kind of bamatard that likes to keep on sticking the knife in but that is ok since most of us dawg fans hurt since we know we came so close but give kudos to bama for getting the job done. I am happy for you since Bama winning may be the high point of your existance, but just make sure when you go get your new championship t-shirt and hat, that you save enough money to pay your TV rent, trailer rent, and buy gas for your 84 camaro.
Paul in NH
January 8th, 2013
3:37 pm
Flo- Ri – Duh
January 8th, 2013
3:29 pm
Charlie Strong recruited the players Urban Meyer won with – case closed.
—–
How the heck did Strong recruit those players for an unbeaten Utah team or an unbeaten OSU team when he was coaching elsewhere?
Flo- Ri - Duh
January 8th, 2013
3:39 pm
UGA played about as well as they could against Bama . . Murray ran up 400 + yards without Bennett or Marlon Brown – two future NFL WRs.
sflanagan21
January 8th, 2013
3:41 pm
Bama
A&M
Oregon
UGA
Stanford
SC
Clemson
Louisville
Florida
Ohio St
No freaking way is ND a top ten team today and NO way they are a top 15 team next year! Call it like it is people, Bama could have put up 63 easily and ND could not have stopped it! Ohio St is also over rated and they will also be exposed next year by an SEC team! What really sucks is that all the powerhouse SEC teams eliminate each other from NC contention through out the season and 9 out of 10 times in the SEC CG.
GO DAWGS
The Hammer
January 8th, 2013
3:42 pm
Where’s Louisville on this list? Didn’t they whip the dogsht out of Florida or did I imagine the whole Sugar Bowl?
JB
January 8th, 2013
3:42 pm
Boy, ND is in denial. Reading the quotes on yahoo sports out of their locker room. Said they just had an off night……Yea, right. Bama OL pushing their defensive front to the concession stand every play was a bad night..LOL. It wasn’t even close……and Bama would beat them next week also…..anywhere.
Flo- Ri - Duh
January 8th, 2013
3:43 pm
Utah & Ohio State – come on! Ohio State would have lost to half the teams in the SEC this year. Don’t recall Utah winning the national championship with the schedule they had either. Did not say Meyer is awful – Strong took him up to SEC level with his recruiting and HIS defense.
Buckeye
January 8th, 2013
3:48 pm
Brads,
You are correct.
Ohio State will contend.
dogs will be 1-3 out of the gate.
Let me be the first in 2013 to say “Fire Mark Richt”
Flo- Ri - Duh
January 8th, 2013
3:50 pm
Meyer QUIT and that’s a fact. He QUIT on Florida. Said he was retiring. Does he look retired to you? Now he is down there trying to plunder their talent. Reminds me a lot of Saban when it comes to saying one thing and doing another. Saban QUIT on the Dolphins. Said right there on TV he wasn’t going to quit the Dolphins for Alabama. Not that maybe he wasn’t going to leave – said flat out he wasn’t going to leave. Two days later – he rabbits. Saban is loyal to Saban and Meyer is loyal to Meyer. they have that in common. At least Richt has the morals to do what he says he is going to do.
Buckeye
January 8th, 2013
3:50 pm
Urban’s 2nd class will outrank the dogs.
Not that that matters.
See: Dream Team
T-TOWN DAWG
January 8th, 2013
3:50 pm
I just don’t see how Bama’s offense can be better next year when they are losing 4/5 of the greatest O-Line in college football. Their D will be about the same or a little better, but the O has to take a step back!
GTBob
January 8th, 2013
3:52 pm
Ohio State plays a UGA like schedule next year. It is almost certain they go undefeated. Alabama pretty much only plays Texas A&M and LSU. If they win one of those two games then they will play Ohio St in the title game.
Flo- Ri - Duh
January 8th, 2013
3:52 pm
Buck Teeth – you smell a whole lot like a sock puppet Termite to me. Just be honest and have the guts to say so. Are you ashamed to admit your a Termite?
Mark
January 8th, 2013
3:53 pm
Glad you dropped Oklahoma out of your Top 25 – other than Southern Cal, the Sooners were the most pathetic offensive team among the elite bowls of this season. If Bob Stoops does not find someone to coach offensive football – and Muschamp, too – I don’t see either of them lasting another two seasons at Florida and Oklahoma. And Tech’s future will depend on the DC hire – if not good, it doesn’t matter how many points they score. Personnally, I see another UGA start like the Boise State start in the dome – after that early round with Clemson, LSU and USC, Mark will be on the hot seat again. With summer coming, all the Dawgs won’t be off probation in time to help til game 5.
JB
January 8th, 2013
3:55 pm
I know Bama is not playing Dawgs. Are they playing SC and Florida. You laugh, but not enough is made of that.
Flo- Ri - Duh
January 8th, 2013
3:58 pm
Ohio State plays NOBODY of SEC caliber next year (which is actually this year by the way) and if they were to play Bama or whoever wins the SEC they will get the same results Notre Dame got. Total humiliation. UGA will play Clemson, S.C. and LSU right out of the gate – and all three will ranked in the top 10 to 15. Quit whining about UGA’s schedule. Did your team play anyone of any significance? USC wasn’t even ranked at the end o the season so don’t start on that.
JB
January 8th, 2013
4:01 pm
Yep, Ohio St. will play Bama next year……and get killed. Herbstreit ( sp) will see that Ohio state gets lot’s of hype like ND did. Does Urban look like a DA after predicting a ND win minutes before kickoff.
Flo- Ri - Duh
January 8th, 2013
4:02 pm
J B – you have a point there……. few ever mentioned that with the exception of Teas A&M, Bama never played a decent offense until they played UGA. Even LSU’s pathetic “O” looked good against them.
Techster
January 8th, 2013
4:02 pm
Reading posts from dog fans over the last few weeks convinces me that a lot of them are delusional and dwell in some alternate “reality”…..probably some kind of bipolar disorder resulting from deep seated feelings of inferiority.
JB
January 8th, 2013
4:04 pm
Techster……………reading the Tech blogs the day AFTER beating USC, where would that put Tech.
Paul in NH
January 8th, 2013
4:05 pm
Alabama playes Tennessee and UK from the SEC East.
OOC they play VT and 3 scrubs
http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa-13/sec/2013-alabama-crimson-tide-football-schedule.php
Flo- Ri - Duh
January 8th, 2013
4:06 pm
Techster – do they have a Psych major at Tech now? When are they going to get a big time football coach and let their division II coach go?
Under The Bleachers
January 8th, 2013
4:06 pm
Paul in NH
January 8th, 2013
2:51 pm
Did I read someone say how Vanderbilt could beat anyone in the country outside the SEC? This is the same Vanderbilt who beat exactly 1 FBS school with a winning record – an NCSU team that finished 7-6 and fired its coach before the bowl game.
Same guy said Ole Miss could beat anyone in the country outside the SEC. Texas must be from another planet then, because all they did was beat Ole Miss 66-31 in Oxford.
The SEC is easily the best conference but the delusion of some homers is amazing.
—————————————————————————————————————
I realize that reading in NH may be a lost cause, if you had read the post it was about 2013 and tongue in cheek. But we all know that you are perfect and balanced.
GTBob
January 8th, 2013
4:06 pm
Ohio State plays NOBODY of SEC caliber next year
So Ohio State plays no one as good as Auburn, Tennessee, or Kentucky? Also, I will give UGA credit for their schedule next year. It is certainly tougher than the exhibition schedule they have played the past two seasons.
The Ghost of Wally Butts
January 8th, 2013
4:07 pm
The Aggies should give Bama a real run for their money….provided they can keep Johnny Football out of bars…or fit the practices around his talk show appearances.
Bama’s potential weakness is their QB’s current woman – Ms. Alabama – as Mick told Rocky “Stay away from that Dame – Women weaken legs”.
JB
January 8th, 2013
4:07 pm
Damn Bob, did the school bus break down. You are late.
ramguy68
January 8th, 2013
4:08 pm
I think Texas A&M is getting too much of rating…..especially if they lose both of those tackles. They aren’t going to sneak up on anyone. They play LSU and Fla on the road and Bama has two weeks to prepare for them.
Flo- Ri - Duh
January 8th, 2013
4:09 pm
Watching the talking heads at ESPN is for losers. Notre Dame never was in the game and they are about 3 more top 5 recruiting classes away from having the talent to compete. By then their head coach will be long gone.
Moist Dawg
January 8th, 2013
4:10 pm
CMR needs to put clemson and south carolina on notice. UGA is coming for them and their children and Dabo is going to be facing an AMurraygency. I think it would be a smart move to go have a picutre taken in front of the state capital with CMR and Murray planting the UGA flag right on there lawn. Show stupid spurrier and disgusting dabo who is boss and make them scared before the game.
GTBob
January 8th, 2013
4:10 pm
When are they going to get a big time football coach and let their division II coach go?
Do you have some suggestions for coaches that we can afford and that would be able to overcome all of the difficulties at Tech?
KJ
January 8th, 2013
4:11 pm
I really hope lolOSU gets to the title game next year. If one of Alabama/UGA/A&M face them, it’ll be the same result as this year, and we get to laugh at those delusional effsticks once again.
GTBob
January 8th, 2013
4:12 pm
Damn Bob, did the school bus break down. You are late.
Yeah, been busy today. Ill try to catch up.
JB
January 8th, 2013
4:14 pm
Bob.. Gailey is available. Get him and Giff back to stock the team with D1 players again….and then hire a D1 coach.
Under The Bleachers
January 8th, 2013
4:14 pm
Flo- Ri – Duh
January 8th, 2013
2:55 pm
Bleachers – YES I know Bama is three deep with talent…… if Fluker goes they will only have ONE returning starter on the OL. Thing about OL is that experience counts and all of these guys leaving on Bama’s OL had multiple years starting. LSU’s offense hasn’t been good in a while and now they are losing their DL and have a QB that I have little confidence in. Florida will take a step or two back on defense but the offense has to be better – doesn’t it? Not sure S.C. should be ranked so high as they are losing talent also and their heart and soul, Lattimore, is gone. Texas A&M will probably lose at least three starting OL to the NFL. I see UGA winning the east again and Bama or Texas A&M the west. Still waiting to see what UGA’s NT Geathers is going to do – return or early to the NFL. That will be a key to the defense.
__________________________________
K-JO and Steen return as well as a center who truly is a better center than Jones( not lineman but center) K-Jo’s older brother will play beside him at Guard and the Tackle postion is deep deep and will be adding two JC players who were 4 star players out of high school.
LSU is still deep on Offense, and their line should be back in form for 2013, their qb who you know better than I will need to pick up his game or it will be a very long year for LSU. Their running backs are very very good big backs. The Defense is going to be an issue with all those Juniors hitting the gate to the NFL, but their talent level is still one of the best in the league.
UGA will need a few weeks to get their defense in order, but their offense will have to slow down in scoring so fast( to keep their defense off the field) and control the ball better or UGA may have to score 50 points a game ( which they probably can) in order to win those big games. By the time LSU comes to town UGA should have a handle on their defense and you and I both know that the line of scrimmage is where those big games are won and lost.
Florida is the one who I just do not see going 1 loss again in the regular season, they will have to find a qb who can throw and a running back with some real power and speed.
Good Luck to you.
Flo- Ri - Duh
January 8th, 2013
4:15 pm
I can see ESPN’s top 20 for next season now. #1 Bama #2 Ohio State #3 Notre Dame #4 USC # 5 Florida. # 6 blah #7 blah #8 blah #9 blah #10 and more blah blah blah!
GTBob
January 8th, 2013
4:16 pm
If one of Alabama/UGA/A&M face them, it’ll be the same result as this year, and we get to laugh at those delusional effsticks once again.
I am fairly certain at this point that SEC fans would be ok with college football completely collapsing economically if it means they can brag a little more on online message boards.
JB
January 8th, 2013
4:17 pm
With Kelly jumping ship at Tech. ( and yes, Johnson might have told him he ain’t the man) I’m hearing more and more that what Groh said about Johnson is true. It’s just fits his public MO. We’ll see who he hire at DC. Tells us a lot.