RELEASED THANKSGIVING 2005 

2006 Early Bird
Top 25 Preview
Click on each team for breakdown

1. Texas
2. Southern California
3. Notre Dame
4. Ohio State
5. Louisiana State
6. Miami FL
7. Virginia Tech
8. Oregon
9. Florida
10. Michigan
11. Auburn
12. Georgia
13. West Virginia
14. Penn State
15. UCLA
16. Texas Tech
17. South Carolina
18. Iowa State
19. Alabama
20. Louisville
21. Boise State
22. Oklahoma
23. Georgia Tech
24. Clemson
25. Florida State

 


Others Easily Making The Top 25 between now and August

California
Colorado
Fresno State
Iowa
Minnesota
Nebraska
TCU
UCF
Virginia

 

CONFERENCE FAVORITES
When the media makes their BCS Conference August predictions, come back and see how close we got!

ACC Atlantic - Clemson
ACC Coastal - Virginia Tech
Big East - West Virginia
Big Ten - Ohio State
Big XII North - Iowa State
Big XII South - Texas
Pac Ten - Southern California
SEC East - Florida
SEC West - Louisiana State

Are we too early? Not quite.
For the last two years, the NationalChamps.net Early Bird Preview has predicted the same Top 10 the official AP Poll puts out eight months later in August. If you want to see what next year's 2006 Preseason Poll will look like, check out the Early Bird Preview. The process of selection is not that difficult if you know what pollsters look for. We give you most of that information now.

 

2005

2005 Early Bird Preview
Released in November
1. Southern California
2. Texas
3. Michigan
4. Louisiana State
5. Oklahoma
6. Ohio State
7. Virginia Tech
8. Miami FL
9. Tennessee
10. Auburn

Official 2005 AP Poll
Released in August
1. Southern California
2. Texas
3. Tennessee
4. Michigan
5. Louisiana State
6. Ohio State
7. Oklahoma
8. Virginia Tech
9. Miami FL
10. Florida

2004

2004 Early Bird Preview
Released in November
1. Oklahoma
2. Georgia
3. Southern California
4. Louisiana State
5. Texas
6. Florida State
7. Miami FL
8. Michigan
9. Ohio State
10. Tennessee

Official 2004 AP Poll
Released in August
1. Southern California
2. Oklahoma
3. Georgia
4. Louisiana State
5. Florida State
6. Miami FL
7. Texas
8. Michigan
9. Ohio State
10. West Virginia

 

DO NOT MISS THE POINT: NationalChamps.net is proud to once again present our annual Early Bird College Football Breakdown. For those of you concerned with the rankings and the fact this #16 team is better than that #9 team, then YOU ARE MISSING THE POINT! Our presentation was created as nothing more than a rough guide for listing whether key players return or depart. So many of the selections are evidently interchangeable and will adjust continuously until next season arrives.

So sit back, unbutton those tight pants from your turkey dinners and leftovers, and take this preview for what it's worth. We think you will gain much more by realizing that the rankings and their explicit accuracy are not the primary goal. This is not about predicting where these teams will finish by season's end, a flaw in logic many assume - it is about where each deserves to be ranked as the season starts.

However, in the sixth season of compiling this Early Bird Preview, NationalChamps.net has eerily predicted a very close result to what the official polls will show come August. Returning starters and key losses are not hard to figure out. Unpredictable at this point, though, is just how early NFL departures and bowl game results tend to change these rankings more than any other aspect. We rank what we know and take the rest in stride.

 


COMPLETE 2006 PREVIEW COMING THIS SPRING

Please check back this spring when NationalChamps.net releases our entire 2006 College Football Preview... complete with full depth charts, analysis from our writing staff, rankings, unit power ratings and lots of new digital photos.

We could not continue without genuine college football fans like you. Thanks for your continued support.