Sports Illustrated's college football writer Andy Staples has come out with his rankings of the top 25 teams in the country, based on what he saw from each team during spring practice. The Oregon Ducks come in at #2 in the nation. According to Staples, the star of the spring was highly-touted Colt Lyerla, of Hillsboro High School fame. So that's good news for the Ducks."With new starters at receiver and on the offensive line, Oregon's offense slowed down a bit in the spring. Oregon's defense, which must replace most of its front seven, didn't seem to take a step back at all. This is probably because of coordinator Nick Aliotti's "line change" substitutions, which allowed the Ducks' backups to play almost as many snaps as the starters. That's good news for Oregon, because we know the offense -- still led by tailback LaMichael James and quarterback Darron Thomas -- will be up to speed by September."
The Oklahoma Sooners (and Landry Jones' mustache) are supposed to be the best team in the country, and they're loaded on paper. The rest of Staples' top 10, in order, is Alabama, LSU, Stanford, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, South Carolina, Florida State and Boise State.
The Oklahoma Sooners (and Landry Jones' mustache) are supposed to be the best team in the country, and they're loaded on paper. The rest of Staples' top 10, in order, is Alabama, LSU, Stanford, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, South Carolina, Florida State and Boise State.
Side note: Eugene Register-Guard columnist George Schroeder wonders if expectations for the Ducks may be getting a little bit too high for the upcoming season. Obviously, the Ducks are worthy of a top 5 ranking to start the season. But there are some weaknesses on this team and they're in a little bit of unchartered territory as well. Everyone is expecting a return trip to the BCS Title Game, but is it going to be that automatic for the Ducks to get back there? It's definitely a valid question to ask.
