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By Mike Rose
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Wednesday, August 17, 2005
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Top 10 Teams To Back ATS In 2005
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1) FLORIDA (7-5; 7-4 ATS) O:7 D:8
The Gators suffered a strange 2004 season to say the least.
They experienced the highest of highs by beating the Seminoles
in Tallahassee for the first time since ’86, but offset that
excitement with last minute losses to Mississippi State and
LSU. The main reason the Gators will be a team to back in ’05
is simply due to their new head coach. Urban Meyer has had
nothing but success in his short career, and none more so
than last season when he coached a Mt. West school (Utah)
to an undefeated season and got them invited to a BCS Bowl.
He’s a no nonsense type of guy, and instills the character
and skills that has this program destined for a National
Championship within the next few years.
2) ALABAMA (6-6; 6-4 ATS) O:7 D:9
If this squad is able to avoid the injuries that have
hampered it over the last few years, the Crimson Tide’s
a bona fide National Championship contender. They’re now
entering the third year of HC Mike Shula’s regime, and
many of the players on the roster have had plenty of reps
due to those numerous injuries as stated before. They
return 16 starters on both sides of the ball, and boast
a very talented signal caller, QB Brodie Croyle, who
could have a gigantic season with a solid O-Line and
talented skill players surrounding him. The defense
was flat out nasty a year ago and I expect it to be
even better this time around. Be on the lookout whenever
the Tide’s installed as home pups this year. They have
the fangs to bite in a big way.
3) IOWA (10-2; 7-3-1 ATS) O:7 D:5
The Hawkeyes wrapped up their 2004 season in dramatic
fashion as they upended Nick Saban’s LSU Tigers in the
Capital One Bowl on the very last play of the game to
improve HC Kirk Ferentz’s Bowl record to 3-1 SU in
his seven year’s at Iowa. The Iowa program has been
nothing but fantastic under the current regime, and
it should continue its success in ’05. The offense
will be much more potent this time around as QB Drew
Tate was still able to fire 20 TDs with no semblance
of a running game whatsoever due in large part to a
heaping load if injuries in the backfield. The
defense loses some major players up front, but the
back 7 is as good as anyone’s in the country. Iowa
owns an 18-game winning streak at home, so be sure
to back the Hawkeyes if ever installed as a home
pup this year and lay the points with confidence.
4) PENN STATE (4-7; 6-5 ATS) O:8 D:9
This season could mark the last go round for JoPa
as the head coach of the Nittany Lions, and he’s
got one fantastic situation at his disposal to go
out a major winner. PSU is loaded with experience
as 13 starters are seniors, and they get 17 of 21
back from last year’s tough luck squad. They open
up with a cream puff schedule that will only infuse
more confidence in this squad once the tougher
part of their Big 10 schedule is upon them. Unlike
the last few seasons, the offense will be able to
put points up on the board and they arguably boast
one of the best defenses in the country. This
could be a very special year indeed with JoPa
exploring unchartered waters by counting on some
of his younger talent to help turn PSU’s fortunes
around.
5) NC STATE (5-6; 3-7 ATS) O:7 D:5
2004 marked the first time in HC Chuck Amato’s
tenure that the Wolfpack failed to get to a bowl.
This is a squad that lost five of its six games by
a shade over a TD last season. They were bombarded
with injuries a year ago, and the offense just killed
them with way too many turnovers. This year should
be a different story though as the offense is
healthier, more experienced, and has a couple of
big time playmakers at the WR & TE positions. The
defense loses some experience from a year ago, but
it’s still a beast as it simply boasts one of the
best front lines in the country. The Wolfpack plays
seven of its 11 games at home this year, so look
for them to take advantage of that situation and
strap on their bowling shoes come December.
6) GTECH (7-5; 5-5 ATS) O:6 D:8
The Yellow Jackets 2004 season might not have gone
noticed by most college football afficionados a year
ago, but the way they closed out the year leads me
to believe that this club could be a dark horse
contender in the ACC this season. They return a bulk
of last season’s squad that pulled off some impressive
road wins a year ago, while hanging tough with the
conferences elite. They capped off the year with a
trouncing of Syracuse in the Champs Sports Bowl,
and I look for them to carry that momentum over
this season and really shake the ACC up in ’05.
7) TEXAS A&M (7-5; 7-4 ATS) O:9 D:8
The Aggies are now entering their third season
under the Franchione regime and whispers out of
College Station predicts this season to resemble
the glory days at A&M. Heisman hopeful QB Reggie
McNeal is back for his Senior campaign to lead
what will most definitely be one of the most potent
offensive attacks in the country. The defense is
stacked in the front seven, so it should make the
transition for the new guys in the secondary much
smoother. This experienced squad faced a nasty
schedule a year ago, so they will be ready to tackle
another nasty road schedule that has them matching-up
with Colorado, K-State, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma.
HC Franchione finally has the squad he had envisioned
when he decided to bolt Alabama for this job, so
don’t be surprised to see the Aggies with their
BCS bowling shoes on come January.
8) BAYLOR (3-8; 6-3-1 ATS) O:6 D:8
The days of playing against the Baylor Bears ATS
are now over. This is a club that was handed an
obscene amount of points a year ago, and made many
chalk eaters very unhappy when it was all said and
done. They covered five of 7 games when installed
as 20+ point underdogs, and knocked off Texas A&M
straight up as 25-point home pups. This is by far
the best squad HC Guy Morriss has had since he
bolted Kentucky to coach the club from Waco.
They return 14 starters from last year’s club,
and have much better talent than in years past
at every position. Now, I’m not calling for Baylor
to win a majority of their games SU this season,
but they’ll build off of a revitalizing ’04 and
give their opponents even more of a run for
their money in ’05.
9) IOWA STATE (7-5; 6-4 ATS) O:7 D:7
The Cyclones rebounded from a rebuilding 2003
with a solid 7-5 effort in 2004, and beat a solid
Miami, Oh squad to finish out the season on a high
note. This club returns a total of 14 starters
from last year’s squad, and pulls in a very
manageable schedule that sees them take on two
of the easier squads from the South division.
Keep an eye on QB Brett Meyer as he’s got the
tools to compete with the elite QB’s in the
conference, and he’s got an excellent supporting
cast around him that should have ISU improve upon
last seasons 20.5 PPG. The defense is a fine
complement as well, and HC McCarney has done an
excellent job with this program the last five
seasons. This will most definitely be one of the
most rabid pups in all of college football
this year provided they stay healthy.
10) ARIZONA (3-8; 4-6 ATS) O:7 D:7
Not many publications are giving the Wildcats
much of a shot in the PAC 10 in ’05, but this is
a squad that I believe will pull off a few major
upsets throughout their upcoming campaign. They
return 14 starters from last year’s squad that
went through the growing pains of learning new
schemes on both sides of the ball. Their offense
will be much more potent, and the "D" will no
doubt be one of the best in the PAC 10 with
Stoopsy at the helm. My belief is that Mike
Stoops was the heart and soul of the great
Sooner squads over the past few year’s, and big
time things are on the horizon for this Arizona
program. They should at the least double last
year’s win output, and could be a major surprise
in the conference if they get through their first
five games with a winning mark.
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