Season 142 - Preseason Rankings
With recruiting just about to get rolling, it seemed like it was about time to take a stab at the teams that should make some noise in the upcoming season. For my first post, I figured it was smart to make these predictions as early as possible so all would be forgotten by the time the trophy is handed out a month from now.
So without further ado, here is my take on the top 10 teams going into this season...
#1 - Long Island
My favorite to win it all this season is bigpoppa85. His QB is the top rated GUESS QB, and it isn't even close. Long Island is stacked on both sides of the ball, with the DL his relative weakness (relative being the key). Bigpoppa85 will light you up on offense and shut you down on defense. After making the title game in the last 4 seasons and only bringing home the hardware once, I think his luck is about to change.
#2 - Texas A&M Commerce
If akua29 is letting me post on his site, I should have probably put him #1, but I'm going to go ahead and test my limits from day 1. Texas A&M Commerce has the best skill position group according to GUESS, but his QB is ranked #22, which could be the difference in winning it all or coming up just short. With 3 titles in the last 7 seasons, its a pretty safe bet that his squad will be in the mix at the end.
#3 - Morehouse
The WIS programmers don't agree with me on this pick, but I'm going out on a limb anyway. It appears that sportsdouche has crafted his squad over time to make a run this season. He has 19 seniors, 25 juniors, 5 sophomores, and 1 scholarship to offer. QB is his relative weak spot, but this squad is solid everywhere else. Despite only making it to the second round last season and failing to make the playoffs in either season before that, Morehouse is stocked and reloaded for a couple of deep runs.
#4 - Cheyney
Cheyney had a run of bad luck last season, losing 5 games and exiting the playoffs in the first round after 3 consecutive trips to the quarterfinals. Based off my numbers, I rank their OL as the top squad this season, and his QB is the #3 QB. With no real holes, I expect waregl72 to bounce back from his early exit last season to make some noise late in the playoffs.
#5 - Saint Joseph's
Fla_dave has built his squad back up after a few rebuilding years and made it to the quarterfinals last season. He could be poised to make the next step with the #2 ranked RB and the #2 TE. Their only relative weak spot is at QB, but it may not matter if his talented playmakers at WR can make plays for him.
#6 - Virginia St.
This is another safe bet as lsteenberg's squad has finished in the WIS Top 10 in all 4 seasons he's been at the helm. Virginia St. is strong at RB and WR, but doesn't appear to be strong enough in the trenches to break the top 5 of my rankings. With 17 Juniors, it's a good chance that this squad will be among the favorites next season, but they still have the talent to go all the way this season with a little luck.
#7 - Humboldt St.
My arch-enemy out west, jaylien1 has made it to at least the quarterfinals in 6 of his 7 seasons at Humboldt St. With the #3 RB and the #2 OL, he has what I would consider to be the most potent rushing attack in D2 this season. The big question mark is at QB where he will start a RS-Jr. The only thing keeping Humboldt out of the top 4 is their youth. With only 20 upperclassmen, jaylien1's squad is the youngest squad in my top 10, which doesn't bode well for me in the coming seasons.
#8 - Bloomsburg
WIS really doesn't agree with this, as Bloomsburg is tied for preseason #1 in the Press and Coaches Rankings. Jms245 had a magical run to the top last season, which was very impressive when you consider he took over a Sim team 10 seasons ago that had been Sim managed for 30 seasons in a row prior to that. Bloomsburg is strong at QB, but their LB's and DB's look to be just outside of elite levels (if one is to trust GUESS ratings). They also lost 16 seniors from last season's team and only have 23 upperclassmen this season. With his newly acquired championship vision, jms245 is sure to be a force in the coming seasons.
#9 - West Chester
West Chester is another team that is talented in the trenches on both side of the ball, but doesn't have the flashy running back or receivers that some of the other upper echelon teams have. Then again, most football purists would tell you that the game is won in the trenches, so maybe the guys with all the stats are overrated. What is not debatable is the success 2000champou has had in this league, with regular trips to the 3rd and 4th rounds of the playoffs.
#10 - Southern Connecticut
The last team to sneak in the top 10 is bce98a's squad. By the numbers, Southern Connecticut's offense may not quite be ready to break any records, but their linebacker group rates as the #2 group and their DB's rank #7. I know from experience that even the most potent offenses can be brought to its knees with a talented back 7, and I wouldn't be surprised if bce98a leads his squad to a deep playoff run by keeping the other team's punter busy.
My apologies to Winona State and Valdosta State who both made the cut in game but didn't quite sneak in here. Winona State will have to wait until the playoffs to prove me wrong. Omcs1981, on the other hand, has thrown caution to the wind, scheduling two huge OOC matchups against Morehouse and Virginia State in games 3 and 4. If he wins those two games, he will catapult up to one of the favorites to win it all.