Preseason College Football Top 25 - The Have Nots (Part 1)

The college football season is less than one month away and as I try to pass the time between watching baseball highlights and soccer celebration dances, I can't wait for the gridiron action to get started. So, if we can't watch football, we're going to talk football. Welcome to the Preseason College Football Top 25 Countdown.

We're going to kick things off with the 10 schools who I expect a good showing from this season but weren't quite promising enough to make my Top 25. Keep your heads up guys - I'm usually wrong about most things. Here we go.

#35 - Arizona Wildcats - the last time we saw Zona the Cats were getting dismantled by my beloved Cornhuskers 33-0. But NU was fresh off a momentum generating performance against Texas and hitting on all cylinders. Expect the Wildcat offense to continue to show some of the promise displayed last season under the direction of QB Nick Foles, who had 2,485 yards passing last season and 19 TDs.

#34 - Houston Cougars - The Cougs caused quite a stir in the early going of last season with back to back wins against Texas Tech and Oklahoma State. Quarterback Case Keenum is getting some serious Heisman love after throwing for 5,671 yards and 44 TDs last season. The only problem is Houston isn't going to catch any sleeping giants this season and with Texas Tech, Mississippi State and UCLA on the sched along with conference foes like SMU and Tulsa this season isn't quite Top 25 caliber.

#33 - Stanford Cardinal - Stanford and Coach Jim Harbaugh grabbed some big headlines last year with a win over USC and the surprising Heisman finish of running back Toby Gerhart. This year Gerhart is gone to the NFL but he will be replaced by a back by committee group that includes fellow two-sport athlete Tyler Gaffney. It also works out well for the Cardinal that they have what might be the most talented QB in the conference in Andrew Luck. Expect this to be Harbaugh's most well rounded group but not quite Top 25 material.

#32 - Clemson Tigers - Coach Dabo Swinney has done a much better job than expected replacing Tommy Bowden, going 9-5 in 2009 but with the loss of all-star back C.J. Spiller expecting the Top 25 might be a reach. The Tigers will be helped by the return of QB Kyle Parker who had 2,526 yards passing and 20 TDs in '09.

#31 - South Carolina Gamecocks - Many expect this year's Gamecock group to be the best since Steve Spurrier came to town but serious questions remain about the skills/smarts ratio of QB Stephen Garcia and the ability of his offensive line. If Garcia can't move out of the way of monster parade of SEC DE's then expect to see more of agile QB Connor Shaw. Expect SC to rely on a defense that finished third in the SEC in defense last season thanks in part to two NFL caliber corners in Stephon Gilmore and Chris Culliver.