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re: Class of 2018 Recruiting MEGATHREAD: So Long Old Friend Edition

Posted on 8/22/17 at 9:02 am to
Posted by TideSaint
Hill Country
Member since Sep 2008
75996 posts
Posted on 8/22/17 at 9:02 am to
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quote:

To no one's surprise, Alabama opened preseason No. 1 in Monday's initial AP Top 25 release, the second consecutive season the three-time defending SEC champs were voted top dog in August.

But not all voters tabbed the Crimson Tide as the team to beat in college football.

Longtime Gainesville Sun columnist Pat Dooley pegged Alabama fourth, easily the lowest ranking for Nick Saban's team among 61 total ballots.

Paul Finebaum asked Dooley about his off-the-wall pick on Monday's radio show.

"Well, umm, I will say this, the winner of the Florida State-Alabama game will probably be No. 1 in my second week's poll," Dooley said, partially skating the question. "I'm not one of these stats guys where you stack them and whoever loses, you move everybody up one. To me, that would easily be the most impressive win of the year, whoever wins.

"I like Ohio State. Ohio State has a really good team. Any of those top four teams I think could be tossed around."

Alabama received 52 of a possible 61 first-place votes in Monday's poll. The Crimson Tide, a 7.5-point favorite over the Seminoles in the seismic opener, should be the betting favorite in every game this season.


Oh Pat. You silly fricker.
Posted by TideSaint
Hill Country
Member since Sep 2008
75996 posts
Posted on 8/22/17 at 9:07 am to
quote:

The latest Rivals100 for the class of 2018 has been released, and with it we have four new five-star prospects, one player who lost his fifth star and a lot of big moves in both directions. But perhaps most importantly, we have two quarterbacks in the top two spots in the nation for the first time in history.

Usually the talk of a new release is about the new five-stars or perhaps a new No. 1, but the biggest development here is that quarterback Justin Fields is now No. 2 behind No. 1 Trevor Lawrence, the quarterback who has topped the list from the beginning.

Could we be headed toward the best quarterback showdown in Rivals.com history? It’s possible. I can’t remember a time where two signal callers were Nos. 1 and 2 in our Rivals100. The closest I can recall was when Shea Patterson made a run toward Jacob Eason in the 2016 class, although neither topped the list as Rashan Gary edged out Dexter Lawrence in a battle of defensive tackles.

There has never been a one-two punch like this, as the closest Eason and Patterson ever got was Nos. 1 and 3. Fields, who had a great summer, has closed the gap on Lawrence by moving up six spots from No. 8 to No. 2.

Aside from that push, there was little movement in the top 10, although we have some great positional battles brewing. Who will end up as the No. 1 running back, Georgia commitment Zamir White or Miami commitment Lorenzo Lingard? Can Clemson commitment Xavier Thomas hold off fellow defensive end Micah Parsons for the No. 1 spot along the defensive line? And can cornerback Anthony Cook push his way up and past fellow corner Patrick Surtain for the top spot there?

The Rivals.com analysts break down the new five-stars and the lone player who lost his fifth star.


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