24. West Virginia Mountaineers

Preseason College Football Power Rankings

Predicted Record: 10-2. Key to the Season: Winning on the road. In Bill Stewart's two seasons as the head coach, West Virginia is 13-1 in Morgantown and just 5-7 away from home. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz)

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Power Rankings There's one very important distinction in the CFN preseason rankings: these are based on how good the teams are going into the season and not how they're going to finish. Some teams have easier schedules than others, some have tougher road games and some will need a little bit of time to jell meaning they might be better than their final record might indicate. -- Courtesy of FOXSports.com and CollegeFootballNews.com (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
25. Mississippi ... Predicted Record: 9-3. Key to the season: Keeping mistakes to a minimum. QB Jevan Snead threw 20 interceptions last year and the team turned it over 31 times. The five turnovers against Alabama never let the Rebels have a chance, while four turnovers against Mississippi State didn't help when the run defense was getting steamrolled over. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
24. West Virgini... Predicted Record: 10-2. Key to the Season: Winning on the road. In Bill Stewart's two seasons as the head coach, West Virginia is 13-1 in Morgantown and just 5-7 away from home. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz)
23. Auburn Tiger... Predicted Record: 9-3. Key to the Season: More takeaways. As long as the Tigers are ahead of the game in turnover margin, or even, they should be OK. Last year, they picked off 17 passes, with 16 of them coming in the eight wins and just one (Arkansas) coming in a loss. (AP Photo/Brian Chilson)
22. LSU Tigers Predicted Record: 9-3. Key to the Season: Better play from the offensive line. Remember when LSU was loaded with All-America candidates and NFL prospects up front? The line was mediocre in 2008, and panic alarms went off. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
21. Oregon State... Predicted Record: 7-5. Key to the Season: Takeaways. In 13 games, the Beavers had just 16 takeaways last season. That just isn't going to cut it for a program with serious designs on winning a Pac-10 championship. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
20. Nebraska Predicted Record: 10-2. Key to the Season: Defenses have to fear the passing game more, and the better ones won't until the quarterbacks play better. Last year, Nebraska threw just one touchdown pass with nine interceptions in the four losses and 15 touchdown passes and a mere three picks in the nine wins. (AP Photo/Dave Weaver)
19. Arkansas Raz... Predicted Record: 8-4. Key to the Season: Better special teams. The difference between winning the SEC and being an also-ran can be a paper thin, and Arkansas has to be better and more effective on special teams to get though all the tight games. (AP Photo/April L. Brown)
18. Penn State N... Predicted Record: 9-3. Key to the Season: The special teams have to at least be competent. Kicker Collin Wagner came up with a fine year, but he's not an elite talent, and he was the bright spot. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
17. Pittsburgh P... Predicted Record: 10-2. Key to the Season: Closing. The Panthers? last five losses dating back to 2008 have been by an average of only four points. Pitt has pulled out some nail-biters during that time, but has lost more than they've won. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
16. USC Trojans Predicted Record: 10-3. Key to the Season: Third-down conversions. The defense isn't going to be as air-tight as it used to be, so it's up to the offense to become more efficient. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)
15. Oregon Ducks Predicted Record: 9-3. Key to the Season: Stronger run defense. When the Ducks struggled a year ago, it was typically because opponents like Stanford and Ohio State, were grinding it out between the tackles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
14. Iowa Hawkeye... Predicted Record: 9-3. Key to the Season: The kicking game has to be settled. It hasn't been that bad over the last few years with two veterans, Daniel Murray and Trent Mossbrucker, each proving able to get the job done. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)
13. North Caroli... Predicted Record: 6-6. Key to the Season: The offense has to improve. A year ago, the Tar Heels were No. 10 or lower in the ACC in passing, scoring, turnovers lost, and total offense. (AP Photo/Jim R. Bounds)
12. Florida Stat... Predicted Record: 8-4. Key to the Season: Better play from the defense. The Seminoles allowed an unthinkable 30 points a game, one of many reasons former Arizona defensive coordinator Mark Stoops was lured out of the desert to help turn things around. (AP Photo/Phil Coale)
11. Miami Hurric... Key to the Season: More of a pass rush. No. 10 in the ACC in sacks? Really? That's unacceptable, considering the amount of speed, athleticism, and overall talent the 'Canes have on the front seven. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
10. Texas Longho... Predicted Record: 10-2. Why Texas Should Be No. 1: The pressure is off, but the talent is still there. Texas got to the national title game last season even with a few glaring problems (most notably an average year from the offensive line and a mediocre season from the running backs), but this year's team should be better up front on offense, the backs will get more of the work, and the defense, particularly the secondary, should be as good as ever. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
9. Virginia Tech... Predicted Record: 10-2. Why Virginia Tech Should Be No. 1: With all due respect to Alabama, the Hokies might have the best backfield in America. The offense was unstoppable by the end of last year and it should be even more consistent with QB Tyrod Taylor and running backs Ryan Williams and Darren Evans to rely on. (AP Photo/Don Petersen)
8. Boise State B... Predicted Record: 11-1. Why Boise State Should Be No. 1: Cornerback Kyle Wilson is a New York Jet. Everyone else of note is back... everyone. Yeah, the Broncos play in the WAC, and yeah, they play roughly three or four real games a year, but don't let the schedule gloss over how good this team might be. (AP Photo/Greg Wahl-Stephens)
7. TCU Horned Fr... Predicted Record: 11-1. Why TCU Should Be No. 1: The Horned Frogs returned loaded with QB Andy Dalton leading an attack that should be among the five most productive and efficient in America. (AP Photo/Louie Traub)
6. Wisconsin Bad... Predicted Record: 10-2. Why Wisconsin Should Be No. 1: No one will stop the offense. The line is big, brutish, and very, very good, and it will pave the way for John Clay and a great group of Badger backs that should bludgeon most defenses. (AP Photo/Andy Manis)
5. Oklahoma Soon... Predicted Record: 10-2. Why Oklahoma Should Be No. 1: Very, very quietly, the Sooners could sneak up on everyone and have another one of those years when everything clicks in the regular season. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
4. Florida Gator... Predicted Record: 10-2. Why Florida Should Be No. 1: Urban Meyer has never been afraid of putting freshmen and other young players into key spots, and he'll do it again this year to reload. (AP Photo/Phil Sandlin)
3. Georgia Bulld... Predicted Record: 10-2. Why Georgia Should Be No. 1: Don't be fooled by last year's slide. The loss of Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno, along with an uncanny array of injuries, kept Georgia from being Georgia. (AP Photo/John Amis)
2. Ohio State Bu... Predicted Record: 11-1. Why Ohio State Should Be No. 1: Nine starters return to an offense that should have the Tressel Ball game down to a T. Terrelle Pryor doesn't have to make the next-level jump to Vince Young status for the Buckeye attack to go, but if he can keep the interceptions down and if his line has a more consistent season, the Heisman could be waiting for him. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
1. Alabama Crims... Predicted Record: 10-2. Why Alabama Is No. 1: The offense will be unstoppable. Whether it's Heisman-winner Mark Ingram carrying the attack, or super-sub Trent Richardson, the running game will be dominant with NFL backs working behind a strong offensive line that should be every bit as good as it was last year. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
NFL Power Rankin... That was college. Now how about the pros? Who is on top of Lee Russakoff's NFL Power Rankings?