2009 Week 1 Rankings: Sooners Surprise at the Top

Do not put much to any stock in these preseason rankings. They are pretty much the average of all the polls available and an early formulation of the strength of schedule component. And that computation is far from complete at this point of the season. There is really too little data to make an accurate ranking under any system.

But the results are still surprising and show how much a poor schedule might hurt No. 2 Florida.

Oklahoma tops the preseason rankings and will star the year off at No. 1. With a big game against No. 24 Brigham Young, the Sooners could pick up some big quality wins points as well.

The big thing I noticed so far is schedules and how they will stack up. Florida plays an average-weak schedule.

The toughest schedule belongs to No. 4 Virginia Tech. The Hokies have some interesting non-conference games to go with a tough ACC schedule. But the ACC always seems to struggle. If the Hokies can get past No. 6 Alabama in Atlanta this weekend, slot the Hokies as a dark horse to win the title. They have always ranked well in my standings because of a particularly strong defense. Just something to keep an eye on.

Otherwise, again, don't put too much stock in these rankings. I personally think Oklahoma, Florida and No. 5 Texas are the three top teams in the nation and are relatively interchangeable. I am looking forward to seeing how these teams play this weekend.

Here is the Top 15:

1. Oklahoma 33.5
2. Florida +2.5
2. USC +2.5
4. Virginia Tech +3.25
5. Texas +5
6. Alabama
7. Oklahoma State
8. Georgia
9. Ohio State
10. Oregon
11. LSU
12. Georgia Tech
13. California
14. Florida State
15. Penn State
The rest of the Top 25: 16. Ole Miss, 17. North Carolina, 18. Nebraska, 19. Notre Dame, 20. Iowa, 21. Kansas, 22. Oregon State, 23. Brigham Young, 24. Utah, 25. TCU

Game of the Week: 4 Virginia Tech vs. 6 Alabama at Atlanta, Ga -- this is probably the most anticipated matchup of the week. The Tide's win over Clemson last year in the Georgia Dome jumpstarted a surprising run to the SEC Championship Game and nearly the BCS National Championship game. The Hokies should provide a much stiffer challenge than the Tigers did last year.