Pre-season Poll - Who will be ranked in the Top Ten?

[CATLAX MAN]

Why is everyone so positive that Florida State and Oregon are not permanent top 5 teams?

They haven't been in the Top 5 yet, so how can they be permanent Top 5 teams? That doesn't make them bad teams, but they are not yet in the CSU, SSU, UCSB, BYU & Michigan league yet. When they can sustain a level of excellence over a long period of time like those other teams have already established, then you might have a case. IMHO, neither team is there yet.

[DanGenck]

Why is everyone so positive that Florida State and Oregon are not permanent top 5 teams? Both have done what nobody else has...go from very weak teams to very strong teams in only 2 years. With that progreesion, why wouldn't those two teams get better again this year? I know this is hard to take for the west coasters- but I think the days of MDIA west coast dominance are over. Rome was not built over-night, but it wasn't even built as fast as these two programs. FSU will be incredibly stacked this year, both offensively and defensively. They have also added valuable knowledge amongst the coaching staff. I cannot speak for Oregon- but I would expect a similar situation. Heres to a good year.

Also- Florida State and Oregon have some of the best facilities in the MDIA. From a recruiting standpoint, FSU and Oregon should always be strong because of their playing venues...

[Scrape Mode]

Oregon doesn't exactly play in Autzen Stadium. They are able to use the football weight room though, if only for 4 hours a week...

[usdlax8]

after having seen many of the top teams perform in mn i would have to say one of the most important factors that attribute to a top team's success is their regular season schedule. if you look at sonoma, ucsb, csu, byu, or michigan you see that they do their best to get the toughest competition to play against all season long. this gives teams motivation to work hard day-in and day-out on the practice field, in the gym or running sprints. even the up and coming teams that are always big contenders (ie ucsd and utah to name a few) play all season long against the best teams resulting in very valuable game experience that carries on to the next tough team/game. also it is a trend that these teams are products of the rmlc and wcll (with the exception of michigan). florida state is good but can they stand up to the big guns even if they have an amazing team? we will just have to see, all we know is what happened last year when they played against sonoma state.

[Danny Hogan]

all we know is what happened last year when they played against sonoma state.

also know they had to beat the #1 seed in order to get to play sonoma state.

[SElaxalum]

People are a little unrealistic here. FSU did loose badly to Sonoma, but as Danny said did beat BYU. They earned their spot in the top 5 and should be theirs to loose. Rumors have their schedule consisiting of playing 3 D2 programs and a rematch against BYU. Time will tell.

[CATLAX MAN]

They're not being unrealistic at all. Let's look at it a different way. If, as you say, FSU is in the Top 5, then which of the teams that are traditionally in the Top 5 (CSU, BYU, UCSB, SSU, Michigan) falls out? FSU does not have the track record that any of these teams have.

[SElaxalum]

BYU doesnt deserve to start in the top 5 this season. With your rationale teams like Penn state and Nebraska should always start in the top in college footbal because of their "track record." If you go by recent win/loss statistics BYU is out of the top 5. If they recover tis year as expected, they will have no problems working their way back up. Also, there is a case to be made for UCSB moving down, with tremendous losses to graduation, who knows if they can regain that chemistry.

Top 10

1. Sonoma
2. CSU
3. Michigan
4. UCSB
5. FSU
6. Oregon
7. BYU
8. Colorado
9. UCSD
10. Virginia Tech

[DG]

BYU doesnt deserve to start in the top 5 this season. With your rationale teams like Penn state and Nebraska should always start in the top in college footbal because of their "track record." If you go by recent win/loss statistics BYU is out of the top 5. If they recover tis year as expected, they will have no problems working their way back up. Also, there is a case to be made for UCSB moving down, with tremendous losses to graduation, who knows if they can regain that chemistry.

Top 10

1. Sonoma
2. CSU
3. Michigan
4. UCSB
5. FSU
6. Oregon
7. BYU
8. Colorado
9. UCSD
10. Virginia Tech

Putting Oregon and FSU at #5 and #6 is because of their wins vs BYU in last year's tournament. You are using their "track record", if you will. I don't know where FSU or Oregon belong, and don't believe that anyone else does. What I do know is that last weekent BYU beat CU, and lost to CSU in a one goal game. Granted, fall ball doesn't mean a whole lot, but it at least gives me a small measuring stick for the progress of different teams. One thing I can say for sure is that the lineup for BYU, CU and CSU will be different in the spring when real games start. I know BYU will be adding some guys that could start.

The only team I can comfortably put up at the top is Sonoma. I believe that everyone else (including my beloved Cougars) is a crapshoot at this point. But hey, that's why we're discussing it in October...right?

DG

[DG]

after having seen many of the top teams perform in mn i would have to say one of the most important factors that attribute to a top team's success is their regular season schedule. if you look at sonoma, ucsb, csu, byu, or michigan you see that they do their best to get the toughest competition to play against all season long. this gives teams motivation to work hard day-in and day-out on the practice field, in the gym or running sprints. even the up and coming teams that are always big contenders (ie ucsd and utah to name a few) play all season long against the best teams resulting in very valuable game experience that carries on to the next tough team/game. also it is a trend that these teams are products of the rmlc and wcll (with the exception of michigan). florida state is good but can they stand up to the big guns even if they have an amazing team? we will just have to see, all we know is what happened last year when they played against sonoma state.

I missed this one, and would agree with most everything here. Playing in the RMLC and WCLL is a huge advantage for 2 reasons: First, you get to play high quality competition on a regular basis. Second, you get a chance to make up for your mistakes. Say for instance that you were FSU, looking to make a name for yourself. You scheduled a trip to CA to play UCSB and Sonoma, and lost both games badly. In the minds of the pollsters, you are undeserving of a high ranking. However, if you were Sonoma and lost badly to UCSB in the regular season, you would potentially get another crack at them in the WCLL tournament. Unfortunately, FSU wouldn't get that same opportunity until nationals.

DG

[SElaxalum]

DG,

you may be right. But I do think that there are 2-3 more teams now that need to be considered for high rankings. If its continually the same top 5 with solid barriers to entry, what is the point of the league. I know thats how it was for many years, but I dont think its that way anymore. People should be happy for the leveling of the playing field, and not dismiss it so fast.

[CATLAX MAN]

Nobody is dismissing it as a possibility, but the fact remains that there is nothing in the recent past that supports your theory. You seem to be basing your opinion on FSU's upset win over BYU in last year's tourney, but are ignoring their destruction by SSU in that same tournament and regular season losses to UCSB & SSU in which the games were not really close. Additionally, although they came away with a win in the tourney against BYU, their decision making in the final 5 minutes of the game almost cost them the victory. This was indicative of a team that has talent to win, but lacks the experience of playing big time games. That is what sets apart the teams that are traditionally in the Top 5 and those that are knocking on the door. FSU, Oregon, & CU are close but they are not there yet.

[lil lady lax fan]

I've noticed that a number of the up and coming teams like FSU and Oregon have scheduled OOC games more in line with the competition for the top spots. It will be interesting to see how these OOC games play out. Whether they win or lose against the traditional powerhouses is nonsequitor--the fact is they are competing on a higher level. That can only help them in the polls IMHO. Sonoma seems pretty solid in the #1 spot, but I think there will be a lot of up and downs in the polls this year, in both A and B divisions.

With the number of great teams coming to the LA area this spring, I'll be in LAX heaven!! Can't wait to see y'all play!

[Danny Hogan]

They're not being unrealistic at all. Let's look at it a different way. If, as you say, FSU is in the Top 5, then which of the teams that are traditionally in the Top 5 (CSU, BYU, UCSB, SSU, Michigan) falls out? FSU does not have the track record that any of these teams have.

i wasn't necessarily putting them top 5. they and oregon have top 5 potential, they just are not the 'also-rans' that spots 6-8 have traditionally been.

[lil lady lax fan]

They're not being unrealistic at all. Let's look at it a different way. If, as you say, FSU is in the Top 5, then which of the teams that are traditionally in the Top 5 (CSU, BYU, UCSB, SSU, Michigan) falls out? FSU does not have the track record that any of these teams have.

i wasn't necessarily putting them top 5. they and oregon have top 5 potential, they just are not the 'also-rans' that spots 6-8 have traditionally been.

With the level of play exhibited in the last playoffs (both National and Conference) can those spots still be considered 'also-ran' spots? It seems as if those are more the 'wild card' spots-the ones capable of throwing a few surprises into the pot when they are up against the top five.