Yeah, so my top five pretty much looks like everybody else's, though the homer in me has our beloved Tide ranked a little higher.
1. Florida Gators - They return just about every key member of last year's MNC winning team and are stocked with ridiculous talent across the board. Though Percy Harvin and both OTs are gone, they will still be ridiculous on offense, and the defense isn't anything to sneeze about either. Their own worst enemy is themselves (see Ole Miss '08), and if they can keep from getting arrogant (by which I mean both players and staff) it's all theirs.
2. Texas Longhorns - Again, a pretty standard pick, and one could make the case that their offense will be just as prolific as Florida's and they should be at #1 because of it. But their losses in the front seven look bad and they don't really have a feature back (though Fozzy Whitaker can stay healthy and McGee can be more consistent they may have the answer they are looking for), so they have a few extra questions to answer that the Gators don't.
3. Alabama Crimson Tide - Am I drinking the kool-aid? Yes, and its delicious. Most have OU here, but they are due for a step back on offense without four of five starters on the line (and last year's RT moving over to LT) and their defense gives up way too many big plays to be considered "dominant." Meanwhile, our own beloved Tide should improve on both offense and defense from last year despite it's personnel losses (o-line has had plenty of time to gel since spring with only the RG spot having really been in question since, and the emergence of more playmakers at WR can only help, while defense has huge influx of talent and will be a much meaner pass rushing team than previously). We're not there like Florida and Texas are, but we're close.
With just a little more of this, it could have all been ours last year. Thankfully, that little more should be there this year.
4. Oklahoma Sooners - See above.
5. USC Trojans - After all the talent drain and no one really buzzing at QB, I'm even tempted to bump them down a fewer pegs than this.....except, just like Alabama, they will have a swarming horde of evil for a defense and it's USC. They may inexplicably drop a game to a double digit underdog at some point, but when they are truly on there is just no one that can play with them.