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.) Here comes the Ramblin’ Wreck…

30. Iowa Hawkeyes
29. Oregon State Beavers
28. Southern Miss Golden Eagles
27. Nebraska Cornhuskers
26. Kansas Jayhawks
25. North Carolina Tarheels
24. USF Bulls
23. Michigan State Spartans
22. UCLA Bruins
21. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

The Story: I love the option. And while I’m glad that the revolution of the shotgun spread has brought it back to major college football, when compared to the Flex-option that Paul Johnson runs, it’s New Coke. Georgia Tech had a rebirth in 2008. Georgia Tech had been in a funk since George O’Leary left in 2001, while managing to have a couple good seasons since then, the fan base was in the mood for a change. The athletic department thought outside the box and took a shot at former Georgia Southern headman and Navy coach Paul Johnson. It paid off, and despite a complete change in offensive philosophy he led the Wreck to a 9-4 season.

The Glaring Stat: 17. Number of interceptions by the Jacket’s secondary.

The Outlook: Forget the offense for a minute, this Yellow Jacket defense is very good.  They’re returning seven starters, including all four starters in their secondary.  Included in that group is Morgan Burnett the All American safety and an absolute ball hawk, who picked off quarterbacks seven times last season (Think Bob Sanders). This guy is probably the best defensive player in the ACC…maybe even in the country.Meaning, teams trying to pass on the Jackets will have to do so very carefully.

The only question for the Jackets’ defense is the defensive line. The Jackets lost three starters from last year’s excellent group. There are a handful of guys that wiill fill the gap, led by defensive tackles Jason Peters and Ben Anderson. Their ability to stop the run as well as last season’s group will be key for Tech if they hope to win the ACC Coastal.

The offense has a full year under the belts, and should be one word. Explosive. If they play up to their potential comparisons to some of the great Nebraska teams may be warranted…or maybe that’s too early…but ya get the point.  The feller that will be leading them is All-American candidate running back Jonathan Dwyer, a bigger back that can absolutely attack any hole he’s given. Dwyer struggled at times last season in the option, but with another year under his belt he could be a closet candidate for the Heisman. He is joined by Roddy Jones, a sophomore whose most memorable game was against rival Georgia, where he rain for over 200 yards in the Jackets win. Without a doubt this is group of guys that will probably lead the nation in running.

Leading the offense under center is returning starter Josh Nesbitt, he picked up Paul Johnson’s philosophy quickly and while not flashy or jaw dropping, he was able to keep the ball moving. Nesbitt’s downfall was his ability to pass the ball completing  only 44% of his attempts for 2 TDs.  But it doesn’t matter, Johnson’s offense does not require many passes to work…As a result, wide receiver Demaryius Thomas was the only real beneficiary of the pass last season. He’s a great receiver in a system that doesn’t  really cater to him…but neither will opposing defenses.

Shhhh…Tech’s secret is in the offensive line. Talk about the most shocking development last season…the ability for the line to adapt as quickly as they did. The scary part? They lost two starters from last season, but return several guys who went in and out as the line started getting used to the scheme. To me they were the biggest reason for Tech’s success last year. 

The Schedule:
9-5-09 JACKSONVILLE STATE
9-10-09 CLEMSON (Thur.)
9-17-09 at Miami FL (Thur.)
9-26-09 NORTH CAROLINA
10-3-09 at Mississippi State
10-10-09 at Florida State
10-17-09 VIRGINIA TECH
10-24-09 at Virginia
10-31-09 at Vanderbilt
11-7-09 WAKE FOREST
11-14-09 at Duke
11-28-09 GEORGIA

FCS ALERT! Getting ever popular. Georgia Tech is one of the few teams that more than makes up for it though with three not only BCS  level teams, but SEC teams out of conference. At Mississippi State  and Vandy, are both tough road games, while they get rival Georgia at home. They’re in-conference schedule is no slouch either, with Duke as the only team that probably has no shot at a bowl game. Give Georgia Tech credit, they certainly are not backing off anyone.

Wait for it…wait for it…deja vu comment! Seriously though ten teams in the final top 25 last season finished with 4 losses. I really really like Georgia Tech’s team, it’s just that schedule…five of their seven games in seven weeks are on the road. Honestly most great teams might struggle at times through that.  I see them finishing tied with UNC for second place in the ACC Coastal. Fear not, as we said with UNC, Georgia Tech is in a nice position to be a force in the ACC over the next few seasons, especially considering only 4 of their 22 projected starters are seniors.

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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