5. Oklahoma
What to like:
Landry Jones to Ryan Broyles will be the most lethal downfield threat in all of college football.
What to hate:
Mossis Madu replaced DeMarco Murray in the backfield. The Sooners figure to be the preseason No. 1 in the AP poll, but Bob Stoops’ team looks a lot like those that lost those three BCS title games.
4. Texas A&M
What to like:
The Aggies closed the regular season as hot as any team and probably would have won the Big 12 South had Mike Sherman inserted Ryan Tannehill at QB earlier in the season.
What to hate:
Butkus Award winner Von Miller leaves, and A&M’s inability to perform on the big stage leaves plenty of room for doubt.
3. Ohio State
What to like:
Terrelle Pryor and his fellow suspended entrepreneurs won’t prevent this team from starting 5-0. The experienced Buckeyes should run away with the Big Ten if the Sweatervest coaches like he did in the Sugar Bowl.
What to hate:
Pryor has been a total disappointment in three years in Columbus.
2. Oregon
What to like:
Darron Thomas and LaMichael James are back, so expect another fall of 50-point performances from Chip Kelly’s spread offense.
What to hate:
The Ducks lose their best playmaker on defense in Casey Matthews, plus they won’t get any bigger in the trenches which could spell doom against USC and Stanford.
1. Alabama
What to like:
This defense will be just as good as it was during the 2009 title run. If you have any doubts just look at the shellacking they gave Michigan State on New Year’s Day.
What to hate:
The Tide loses Greg McElroy, Mark Ingram and Julio Jones, so it’s up to A.J. McCarron to manage the offense in a brutal SEC.
