Offical 2005 NCAA Football Thread

[Guest Morecello]

Conference alignment for 2005-06

Teams new to each conference are in bold.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Boston College

Clemson

Duke

Florida State

Georgia Tech

Maryland

Miami

North Carolina

North Carolina State

Virginia

Virginia Tech

Wake Forest

Big East

Cincinnati

Connecticut

Louisville

Pittsburgh

Rutgers

South Florida

Syracuse

West Virginia

Big Ten

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Michigan

Michigan State

Minnesota

Northwestern

Ohio State

Penn State

Purdue

Wisconsin

Big 12

Baylor

Colorado

Iowa State

Kansas

Kansas State

Missouri

Nebraska

Oklahoma

Oklahoma State

Texas

Texas A&M

Texas Tech

Conference USA

Alabama-Birmingham

Central Florida

East Carolina

Houston

Marshall

Memphis

Rice

SMU

Southern Miss

Tulane

Tulsa

UTEP

Mid-American Conference

Akron

Ball State

Bowling Green

Buffalo

Central Michigan

Eastern Michigan

Kent State

Miami

Northern Illinois

Ohio

Toledo

Western Michigan

Mountain West Conference

Air Force

BYU

Colorado State

New Mexico

San Diego State

TCU

UNLV

Utah

Wyoming

PAC-10

Arizona

Arizona State

California

Oregon

Oregon State

Southern California

Stanford

UCLA

Washington

Washington State

Southeastern Conference

Alabama

Arkansas

Auburn

Florida

Georgia

Kentucky

LSU

Mississippi

Mississippi State

South Carolina

Tennessee

Vanderbilt

Sun Belt

Arkansas State

Florida Atlantic

Florida International

Louisiana-Lafayette

Louisiana-Monroe

Middle Tennessee

North Texas

Troy

Western Athletic Conference

Boise State

Fresno State

Hawaii

Idaho

Louisiana Tech

Nevada

New Mexico State

San Jose State

Utah State

Independents

Army

Navy

Notre Dame

Temple

[Guest Morecello]

2005 USA Today Coaches Poll

No.	Team	Record	Points	Previous

1.  Southern Cal (60)	13-0	1,547	1

2.  Texas (2)	11-1	1,405	4

3.  Tennessee  10-3	1,259	15

4.  Michigan	9-3	1,242	12

5.  Oklahoma	12-1	1,223	3

6.  LSU	9-3	1,109	16

7.  Virginia Tech	10-3	1,090	10

8.  Miami (Fla.)	9-3	1,080	11

9.  Ohio State	8-4	1,033	19

10.  Iowa	10-2	1,014	8

11.  Florida	7-5	910	25

12.  Florida State	9-3	879	14

13.  Georgia	10-2	838	6

14.  Louisville	11-1	758	7

15.  Auburn	13-0	723	2

16.  Purdue	7-5	616	NR

17.  Texas A&M	7-5	366	NR

18.  Arizona State	9-3	304	20

19.  Boise State	11-1	303	13

20.  California	10-2	293	9

21.  Texas Tech	8-4	247	17

22.  Boston College	9-3	237	21

23.  Virginia	8-4	210	23

24.  Alabama	6-6	194	NR

25.  Pittsburgh	8-4	193	NR


Others receiving votes Fresno State 188; Oregon 145; Utah 103; Georgia Tech 88; Wisconsin 79; North Carolina State 69; Bowling Green 63; Penn State 44; Colorado 40; Minnesota 34; UCLA 24; Texas-El Paso 22; Nebraska 21; Kansas State 20; South Carolina 16; Notre Dame 13; West Virginia 12; Wyoming 12; Clemson 9; New Mexico 9; Arizona 8; Northern Illinois 8; Southern Mississippi 7; Toledo 7; Washington State 7; Iowa State 6; Michigan State 6; Memphis 5; Washington 4; Miami (Ohio) 3; Maryland 2; UAB 1; Duke 1; Kansas 1.

I'm really surprised Duke got a vote.

Edited August 13, 2005 by Morecello

[Magus978]

Duke?!? Kansas?!? What the hell are these coaches smoking?

Not surprised to see USC #1. Barring any major chokejobs, they'll stay there the entire year. I can't see them losing to anyone.

[gunnar hendershow]

I never put money on threepeats regardless of the team, but USC is last year's team plus some more talent. Texas is the only thing that could possibly stand in their way. I'm rooting for them though.

This year is funny since Maryland only got 2 votes (It must be insulting to know that Duke and Kansas almost got as many votes as you) nobody in the area has any interest in this college football's season. Being a USC fan however, I'm totally psyched for the season.

[GhostMachine]

I never give any credence to pre-season rankings. They don't mean squat.

I'm surprised to see the Vols ranked as high as they are. I expected them to be in the top ten. But not third.

[oldskool]

Congratulations Utah on a major bowl game as well as a victory; have 90 votes less than the team you beat

[gunnar hendershow]

Congratulations Utah on a major bowl game as well as a victory; have 90 votes less than the team you beat

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Well they did lose their coach and quarterback.

[oldskool]

It's still asinine. They're the first mid-major conference school to PLAY in a major bowl, and even though they WON it, not only are they not starting the season in the top 25, Pitt starts out 25th! I don't care who you lose, you win a major bowl, you should at LEAST be ranked higher than the team you beat in said bowl, end of story.

[gunnar hendershow]

It's still asinine. They're the first mid-major conference school to PLAY in a major bowl, and even though they WON it, not only are they not starting the season in the top 25, Pitt starts out 25th! I don't care who you lose, you win a major bowl, you should at LEAST be ranked higher than the team you beat in said bowl, end of story.

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Well, if it's any consolation... Boise State is ranked.

[Blitz]

Texas is going to lose two or three games this year. Stupid Oklahoma...

[Guest FlyboyGJ]

Duke got a vote because Steve Spurrier always votes for them in the pre-season poll ( he used to coach there)

[TheSqauredCircleMessiah]

It's still asinine. They're the first mid-major conference school to PLAY in a major bowl, and even though they WON it, not only are they not starting the season in the top 25, Pitt starts out 25th! I don't care who you lose, you win a major bowl, you should at LEAST be ranked higher than the team you beat in said bowl, end of story.

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[Trey]

LSU is the only team that has nearly as much talent as USC, but unless there is a big surprise at their quarterback position, I don't see anyone challenging USC.

[livid]

LSU is the only team that has nearly as much talent as USC, but unless there is a big surprise at their quarterback position, I don't see anyone challenging USC.

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[ACCBiggz]

I wish pre-season rankings didn't exsist... if they didn't Auburn would have gotten their chance last year.

USC takes some hits with Chow leaving as well as defense, They will defend their ONE TIME national championship, looking to go back-to-back.(LSU won the BCS, and the NCAA and coaches agreed that's what would determine champions, therefore... USC did not win in 03)

Also, Florida State was just removed from the hostile name list, even though it didn't effect football.

Edited August 23, 2005 by ACCBiggz

[Typical Phenom]

All this talk about talent and who's better than who, blah blah blah. Nobody brings up the changes to the BCS? The fact that there's now a human committee factor? As a long time supporter of the BCS, I'll reserve my comments but definately open that up for discussion. As far as the year goes, lemme summarize like this....

Heisman: Vince Young

Runner Up: Reggie Bush

Texas will beat Michigan in the national title game. Only reason I've got the Wolverines there is because I believe they'll go undefeated and I can't really say that about any other team. USC will lose to either Cal or Arizona and Tennessee's not going to run through the SEC without at least one loss.

And yes Biggzay, I agree, there should be no pre-season rankings.

Edit: Not sure why I quoted Biggz.

Edited August 23, 2005 by Typical Phenom

[TheSqauredCircleMessiah]

You want to talk about talent on offense? Then you talk about the Michigan Wolverines.

You got your Chad Henne at Quarterback. 2,743 Yards, 25 TDs, and 60% completion percentage. You got your Michael Hart at Tailback. Hart, rushed for 1,455 yards. Keep in mind, that in his first two games, he rushed for 37 yards on 8 carries. So he averaged 140.8 yards over his final 10 games. Mind you, Henne & Hart were both true freshman.

[Typical Phenom]

You want to talk about talent on offense?  Then you talk about the Michigan Wolverines.

You got your Chad Henne at Quarterback.  2,743 Yards, 25 TDs, and 60% completion percentage.  You got your Michael Hart at Tailback.  Hart, rushed for 1,455 yards.  Keep in mind, that in his first two games, he rushed for 37 yards on 8 carries.  So he averaged 140.8 yards over his final 10 games.  Mind you, Henne & Hart were both true freshman.

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[TheSqauredCircleMessiah]

Were gonna win every game 50-48

[Guest Morecello]

South Carolina hit with probation

Columbia, SC (Sports Network) - South Carolina received an extra year of probation as the result of NCAA sanctions for rules violations within the football program.

In July, the university recommended a two-year probation after admitting to 10 NCAA violations during a period from 1999-2002 when Lou Holtz was head coach. The NCAA decided an extra probationary year was necessary, but did not ban the school from bowl games or television appearances.

"Today's announcement by the NCAA brings closure to this situation," said athletic director Eric Hyman in a release by the school. "We want to learn from what has transpired and, as we move forward, will work to ensure that our athletics department embodies the values and ethics that higher education represents."

Holtz coached for six seasons at South Carolina before retiring after last season, and was replaced by Steve Spurrier.

"We are satisfied with the results," Spurrier stated in a release. "We appreciate the NCAA basically agreeing with our proposal."

In July, South Carolina proposed that the NCAA Committee on Infractions also impose a limit of 50 on the number of permissible expense paid campus visits in the sport of football for both the 2005-06 and 2006-07 academic years. It would represent a reduction of six from the legislatively allowed maximum of 56 per year. The school also proposed a limitation of two fewer total financial aid awards in the sport of football than otherwise permitted by NCAA legislation for both the 2006-07 and 2007-08 academic years.

In its report, the school noted during the summer of 2001, the former senior associate athletics director for academic support services arranged for impermissible tutoring assistance for football prospective student-athletes. Another violation brought to light allowed a student-athlete to be reinstated from academic suspension by an academic dean at the beginning of the spring semester of 2002 contrary to the school's reinstatement policies. As a result, that player competed in 12 contests in 2002 while ineligible. Another violation regarded offseason workouts.

08/24 23:40:41 ET