Over the next 30 “business days” I will be counting down my top 30 for the 2009 College Football season. After hours of studying game film, breaking down matchup by matchup and predicting upsets I’ve come up with the teams I believe will be the best 30 in the country by seasons end. Will your team be included? (Hint: If you prefer Tennessee, No.)Kansas…your turn.

30. Iowa Hawkeyes
29. Oregon State Beavers
28. Southern Miss Golden Eagles
27. Nebraska Cornhuskers
26. Kansas Jayhawks

The Story: After years and years of being an also ran in the Big 12, Mark Mangino undertook what seemed like an impossible task and turned Kansas into a consistent winner. The 2007 season was considered the greatest in school history, but everyone knew that a repeat in 2008 would be tough, especially with a much more challenging schedule. Still, the Jayhawks managed an 8-5 record playing the likes of Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas Tech . Their schedule lightens up again and with Missouri rebuilding it will likely be down to Kansas and Nebraska for the Big 12 North.

The Glaring Stat: 114. The awful awful ranking of their pass defense.

The Outlook: Back is Todd Reesing, the short, unheralded quarterback who has done nothing but win since getting on campus. He’s the closest things we’ve had to Doug Flutie since the man himself. Reesing will be a senior and while he won’t win the Heisman, he might be one of the most important teammates in the country. His offensive line is young, but Reesing’s mobility should help overcome long term protection issues.

Reesing’s main target is receiver Dezmon Briscoe an All-American caliber receiver who has some eligibility issues. He stands 6′3″ and has NFL scouts coming in droves to watch him plat. Whether his grades come around or not will not be known for a few weeks. Look for converted quarterback, Kerry Meier, be the number two guy.

And then there…is the defense. When you play Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas Tech you’re going to have some skewed numbers, but letting teams like Iowa State hang over 30 on you isn’t a good thing. They do return All-Big 12 defensive back Darrell Stuckey, a guy who many consider the most underrated defensive back in the country. The guys around him were very young last year, with another year under their belt the defensive secondary should be much improved.

The Schedule:
9-5-09 NORTHERN COLORADO
9-12-09 at UTEP
9-19-09 DUKE
9-26-09 SOUTHERN MISS
10-10-09 IOWA STATE
10-17-09 at Colorado
10-24-09 OKLAHOMA
10-31-09 at Texas Tech
11-7-09 at Kansas State
11-14-09 NEBRASKA
11-21-09 at Texas
11-28-09 Missouri @Kansas City

The Southern Miss game will be the first test for the defense, but for the most part the schedule is pretty easy heading into the Oklahoma game. The Nebraska game will likely decide the Big 12 North, having them at home will be very advantageous.

Prediction: 8-4.

The Jayhawks have a pretty easy road, but the consistency of the defense leaves too many question marks. Repeating 2007 will be tough, but 8 wins and a potential Big 12 championship game appearance isn’t out of the question.

GatorTrey is a contributor to SpartyandFriends.com and can be reached at GatorTrey (at) spartyandfriends.com and can also be reached on twitter @jflynn05

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