The WAY TOO EARLY 2021 top 5

You are testing my New Years resolution, which is for me to stop bashing my beloved USC Trojans. With Helton returning for another year I have lost all hope, but that is the 2020 iesheepdog. That dog would have responded with a rant about us not even finishing in the top five in the PAC.

The new and improved sheepdog is just going to keep his negative mouth shut. At least for as long as I can. Four days so far.
 
iesheepdog said:
You are testing my New Years resolution, which is for me to stop bashing my beloved USC Trojans. With Helton returning for another year I have lost all hope, but that is the 2020 iesheepdog. That dog would have responded with a rant about us not even finishing in the top five in the PAC.

The new and improved sheepdog is just going to keep his negative mouth shut. At least for as long as I can. Four days so far.
Click to expand...

Slovis is returning with another year under his belt. He has all of his major targets returning, as well as, most of his offensive line. I haven't delved into the defense much. I based my top 5 on returning offense, particularly, what I see as the best QBs coming back and what they have surrounding them.
 
OldDevilDawg said:
Slovis is returning with another year under his belt. He has all of his major targets returning, as well as, most of his offensive line. I haven't delved into the defense much. I based my top 5 on returning offense, particularly, what I see as the best QBs coming back and what they have surrounding them.
Click to expand...
Well our OL sucked this year but being the positive fan I have become, I will say we may have solved that problem with the firing of the o-line coach last week.

Damn you are making this tough because I would love to list all the players entering the transfer portal (jumping ship) or declaring for the draft the past 2 weeks, but nope, mouth shut.
 
iesheepdog said:
Well our OL sucked this year but being the positive fan I have become, I will say we may have solved that problem with the firing of the o-line coach last week.

Damn you are making this tough because I would love to list all the players entering the transfer portal (jumping ship) or declaring for the draft the past 2 weeks, but nope, mouth shut.
Click to expand...

In the last month, UGA has had some big names hit the portal. 4 and 5 star players. Accept the portal. Frankly, it's for the talented players that didn't win the starting job as soon as they thought they should have. I get it and I don't begrudge them for finding a place where they have a better chance at displaying their talent.
 
iesheepdog said:
Damn you are making this tough because I would love to list all the players entering the transfer portal (jumping ship) or declaring for the draft the past 2 weeks, but nope, mouth shut.
Click to expand...

I'm seeing projections that have 7 Dawgs going in the first 2 rounds of the draft. 5 from the defense. I trust Kirby more today than I ever have. He hired Todd Monken and what I see coming back for Monken's offense.............I'm so hopeful that UGA will probably lose 6 games next year.
 
OldDevilDawg said:
In the last month, UGA has had some big names hit the portal. 4 and 5 star players. Accept the portal. Frankly, it's for the talented players that didn't win the starting job as soon as they thought they should have. I get it and I don't begrudge them for finding a place where they have a better chance at displaying their talent.
Click to expand...
Well said. I can’t blame the stud RB (Stepp) that entered the portal. With the offense we are currently running our RB’s are rarely used. He figured it out and entered the portal and will be able to show case his talents somewhere else.
 
1. Bama
2. Clemson
3. Ohio St
4. Oklahoma
5. Georgia

That is where I would put it. I haven’t really looked at depth charts. And after this year it is going to be super hard to tell for a bit with the COVID rule that was put in place.

I will say I am less a fan of this transfer portal every year.
 
I will give my top 5 but I couldn’t back it up any research into the teams at this time, but with that said, I would go with the usual suspects:

Alabama
Oklahoma
Clemson
Ohio State
?

edit: I know, safe wimpy prediction, but you can’t deny that these programs are currently dialed in.
 
iesheepdog said:
I will give my top 5 but I couldn’t back it up any research into the teams depth, or other knowledge at this time, but with that said, I would go with the usual suspects:

Alabama
Oklahoma
Clemson
Ohio State
?
Click to expand...

Bama, Clemson, and Ohio State all lose their starting QB and top RBs. That's why I didn't include them to start the season. They all lose most of their returning production on the OL and at WR. By the time the season is over, all will have produced new names to CFB and find their place at the top once again, but I'm just trying to play a fun game that gives other teams a chance.
 
OldDevilDawg said:
Bama, Clemson, and Ohio State all lose their starting QB and top RBs. That's why I didn't include them to start the season. They all lose most of their returning production on the OL and at WR. By the time the season is over, all will have produced new names to CFB and find their place at the top once again, but I'm just trying to play a fun game that gives other teams a chance.
Click to expand...
Copy that. So excuse my previous top 5 or 4 as it turned out and I will go with this one prediction for a top 5 team, and while having fun, I am serious. Dreadfully UCLA should be top 5.

Here it is. Chip had his offense clicking towards the end. USC got lucky to win as usual, and the final game against Stanford he went for 2 in ot (and lost) just because he grew a pair at the time.

As we have seen in the past, when Chip’s offense is clicking, look out.
 
I really haven't thought about a national top 5 but here are my thoughts on the SEC:

*Note the tiers are in relation to division opponents. Tier 2 in one division doesn't equal tier 2 in another.

SEC:
West:
Tier 1:
Alabama - They lose a ton of guys on offense but I'm still betting on Saban to reload rather than rebuild.

Tier 2:
Aggy - Aggy needs to find a replacement QB but Fisher's recruiting is starting to show on the field.
Ole Miss - I was impressed with Lane's offense. I think it will get better each season.
LSU - LSU should have the talent to compete. They had a lot of young guys take some licks this year but it should help them next season.

Tier 3:
Arkansas - Still a very solid team but this division is brutal.
Auburn - Transition year for the Barn and this is a brutal division to do that in.
Mississippi State - Not sure Leach is bringing in the talent to win in the SEC West.

East:
Tier 1:
Georgia - UGA may have found their QB and they have a ton of talent to surround him. I'm excited to see UGA's offense with a whole offseason for Daniels to work with the team.

Tier 2:
Florida - Florida is losing a ton of talent to the NFL. Mullen is a good coach (even though I hate all his excuses) so I don't expect a deep decline.

Tier 3:
Kentucky - They have to get better offensively. Have to. I know Terry Wilson entered the transfer portal so I'm sure Stoops is trying to bring in a new QB. Defense was good enough to move up in a vulnerable SEC East.
Tennessee - Disappointing season for Pruitt and the Vols. They recruit better than what we are seeing on the field. Similar to Kentucky, they have to find a QB.
Missouri - Tigers were a pleasant surprise this year. ED did a good job in his first year but their talent level still lags behind Florida and Georgia.
South Carolina - A new coach may help things. Firing WM so early in the season didn't help things in 2020. I think SC has the talent to be competitive. We'll see what Beamer can do.

Tier 4:
Vanderbilt - Toughest job in America IMO. I don't even think Mason was a bad coach, it's just very hard to win at Vandy in the SEC.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top