REVAMPED ON January 17 taking into account bowl results and early NFL departures

2011 College Football
Top 25 Preview
Click on each team for breakdown

1. Oklahoma
2. Alabama
3. Louisiana State
4. Oregon
5. Stanford
6. Boise State
7. Ohio State
8. Oklahoma State
9. Texas A&M
10. Florida State
11. Auburn
12. Michigan State
13. TCU
14. Wisconsin
15. Arkansas
16. Mississippi State
17. South Carolina
18. Virginia Tech
19. Nebraska
20. Notre Dame
21. Missouri
22. Florida
23. Arizona State
24. Texas
25. Tulsa

How accurate is the
Early Bird Preview?


Teams 26-50

depth charts included

26. North Carolina State
27. Maryland
28. Georgia
29. Utah
30. Penn State
31. West Virginia
32. Connecticut
33. Michigan
34. Miami FL
35. Pittsburgh
36. Miami OH
37. Southern California
38. Air Force
39. Tennessee
40. SMU
41. Northwestern
42. Brigham Young
43. San Diego State
44. Baylor
45. UCF
46. Navy
47. North Carolina
48. South Florida
49. Texas Tech
50. Iowa

 

OTHERS TEAMS RECEIVING CONSIDERATION

Arizona
Boston College
California
Cincinnati
Clemson
Colorado

 

Georgia Tech
Hawai'i
Houston
Illinois
Kansas State
Kentucky
Louisville
Mississippi
Nevada
Northern Illinois
Oregon State
Southern Miss
Syracuse
UCLA
Washington

WHAT OTHER PRESEASON POLLS ARE SAYING
Rivals.com
.

1. Oklahoma
2. Alabama
3. Stanford
4. Louisiana State
5. Ohio State
6. Auburn
7. Oregon
8. Florida State
9. Texas A&M
10. Boise State
11. Oklahoma State
12. Michigan State
13. Wisconsin
14. South Carolina
15. TCU
16. Virginia Tech
17. Nebraska
18. Arkansas
19. Mississippi State
20. Notre Dame
21. Penn State
22. Arizona State
23. Missouri
24. West Virginia
25. Texas

cbs.sportsline
Dennis Dodd
1. Louisiana State
2. Oklahoma
3. Oregon
4. Alabama
5. Stanford
6. Ohio State
7. Oklahoma State
8. Texas A&M
9. Michigan State
10. Wisconsin
11. Florida State
12. Arkansas
13. Boise State
14. Nebraska
15. Auburn
16. TCU
17. South Carolina
18. Virginia Tech
19. Notre Dame
20. Mississippi State
21. Georgia
22. Arizona State
23. Texas
24. Northwestern
25. Florida / UCF
ESPN.com
Mark Schlabach
1. Oklahoma
2. Alabama
3. Oregon
4. Louisiana State
5. Boise State
6. Oklahoma State
7. Florida State
8. Arkansas
9. Stanford
10. Ohio State
11. South Carolina
12. Wisconsin
13. Texas A&M
14. Notre Dame
15. Michigan State
16. Missouri
17. Auburn
18. TCU
19. Nebraska
20. Virginia Tech
21. Arizona State
22. Texas
23. Florida
24. Mississippi State
25. West Virginia
SI.com
Andy Staples

1. Oklahoma
2. Oregon
3. Louisiana State
4. Alabama
5. Stanford
6. Ohio State
7. Texas A&M
8. TCU
9. South Carolina
10. Florida State
11. Boise State
12. Nebraska
13. Missouri
14. Auburn
15. Wisconsin
16. Michigan State
17. Arkansas
18. Oklahoma State
19. Virginia Tech
20. West Virginia
21. Georgia
22. Mississippi State
23. Arizona State
24. Notre Dame
25. Utah

 

Is NationalChamps.net too early? Not quite.
The Early Bird Preview has predicted almost the same Top 10 the official AP Poll puts out eight months later in August. The selection process is not that difficult if you know what pollsters look for. We give you most of that information now.

 

DO NOT MISS THE POINT: GoDaddy.com and NationalChamps.net is proud to once again present the annual Early Bird College Football Breakdown (10th season). 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 as evident in our depth chart formatting. 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 holiday 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 10th season of compiling this Early Bird Preview, NationalChamps.net has eerily predicted a very close result to what the official preseason 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 2011 PREVIEW COMING THIS SPRING

Please check back this spring when NationalChamps.net releases our entire 2011 College Football Preview... complete with full depth charts, analysis from our writing staff, rankings, unit power ratings and lots of new digital photos.