College Football Preseason Top 25. Part Two.

Stepfan Taylor

20. Stanford-There is an obvious piece missing for Stanford in 2012. Andrew Luck has moved on, and it is time to see if Harbaugh and current coach, David Shaw have actually built a strong program.  The offense will now go with either Brett Nottingham or Josh Nunes at quarterback. The offense should be fine with either one, as it loaded with weapons. Stepfan Taylor is one of the better backs in the Pac 12 and should have another big season. The Cardinal have three of their linemen back as well. The defense returns seven starters from a solid unit last year. Chase Thomas is a senior linebacker that will be all over the field leading a strong linebacker unit. The team will be tested with USC in Week three. They get the Trojans at home, and Stanford Stadium will be rocking.

Casey Pachall

19. TCU-TCU will be playing its first season as a BCS level team, and they have a solid group for their first Big 12 campaign. The offense will be led by Casey Pachall. He had a solid season with 25 touchdowns and threw for just shy of 3,000 yards as he was trying to replace Andy Dalton. The running game is led by two seniors with experience in Matthew Tucker and Waymon James. The Horned Frogs will bring back a productive receiver with Josh Boyce, who caught 61 passes for 998 yards last year.  The trademark for TCU is often defense, and they have five starters back. The defensive line will be the strength, but they will have to turn to some younger guys in the secondary. TCU has been an elite team for some time, and they should run up a good record early on. They close out the year with Oklahoma State, West Virginia, and Texas on the road and Kansas State and Oklahoma at home. Those are the five other best teams in the league. It will be a the toughest stretch for any team in the country.

William Gholston

18. Michigan State-Mark Dantonio is building something special in East Lansing. The Spartans are turning into an annual threat to win the Big Ten and the consistency is building. The next step will be if they can without Kirk Cousins at quarterback. Andrew Maxwell will take over for Cousins and will try to keep things rolling. The running game is led by big Le'Veon Bell.  He is one of the more underrated backs in the country and is poised for a big year in my opinion. Many of the 2011 play makers have graduated, but the consensus is that new one are ready to step up. The strength for the Spartans will be defense. They finished top ten nationally last season, and return right starters. William Gholston is one of the premier defensive linemen in the country, and Denicos Allen is a stud linebacker.  Michigan State can jump up the poles if the offense proves itself early on. Michigan State will be hosting Boise State week one in a huge match up.

Sammy Watkins

17. Clemson-Clemson most overcome an embarrassing loss to West Virginia in the Orange Bowl to end last season. The Tigers were torched for 70 points in the season finale and bring back eight starters from that team. The defense will need to play better for Clemson to have any chance of winning the ACC for a second consecutive year. The offense does not need to tweak much of anything. The offense is a well oiled machine led by Heisman candidate Sammy Watkins. Watkins is a do everything receiver that took the country by storm as a freshmen. He is joined by DeAndre Hopkins and Jaron Brown at receiver and both players are dangerous as well. Taj Boyd is the quarterback, and he had an explosive 2011 season. He will be among the better quarterbacks in the country. Andre Ellington is a solid running back that is coming off a 1,000 yard season.  The offense will be lethal, and may have to win plenty of games with shootouts. Clemson opens up in big fashion with Clemson in Atlanta.

David Ash

16. Texas-It is odd to see, but Texas has been mediocre for two consecutive seasons. The Longhorns are looking to return to national prominence in 2012. The offense will be led by sophomore, David Ash.  Ash played some in 2011, and had mixed results. He will need to play well to fend off Case McCoy.  The Longhorns have a stable of top recruits in their running back depth chart. Joe Bergeron, Malcolm Brown, and true freshmen Jonathan Gray will all see touches. They will run behind a line with four returning starters. The defense is loaded with potential stars and highly rated recruits, it is just a matter of them living up to the hype. The schedule is tough, as the Big 12 is loaded this season. They see Oklahoma State, West Virginia, and Oklahoma in consecutive weeks early in the season. That stretch will dictate how the season will go for Texas.