2009 NCAA Pre-Season Rankings:

It's been a long time coming but Matty and the All Day Football team has got the top 25 teams for the upcoming NCAA 2009 Season. Some selections will surprise, others will not but when it all boils down to it, here are the teams that I think will be ones to watch when it comes to post-season bowl and BCS games.

Top 10

1. Florida Gators - Surprise, surprise, the defending National Champions are #1 on my pre-season list. Although they lost talented receivers Percy Harvin and Louis Murphy the Gators have a wealth of talent at running back and not to mention King Tebow is still at school looking for a second Heisman and a third National Championship. Mix the high octane offense with a suffocating defense including Dunlap, Cunningham, Spikes and Haden and the Gators could easily three-peat.

2. Oklahoma Sooners - The Big 12 Champion is going to be a two horse race between Texas and Oklahoma and I think that Oklahoma has the edge since they return 2008 Heisman winner Sam Bradford, two 1000 yard rushers in Chris Brown and DeMarco Murray and a nasty nasty defense with 3 potential first round defensive linemen (Granger, McCoy and English), I think Oklahoma will be a very dangerous team.

3. Texas Longhorns - The Longhorns actually bested the Sooners last season but lost out on a big time BCS Bowl Game but with Colt McCoy back at the helm and a pretty solid receiving corps still intact and a great offensive line the Longhorns could easily find themselves playing long into December and maybe even a game in January but they'll have to go through the Red River Shootout to get there as I feel the winner of that game will represent the Big 12 as Champ.

4. Penn State Nittany Lions - The Nittany Lions felt a lot of big time losses this past season with losing Aaron Maybin, Gerald Cadogan and receivers Deon Butler and Derrick Williams but they will still be a force in the Big Ten as they return QB Daryl Clark who is an electric playmaker along with running back Evan Royster and a defense with yet again some of the best linebackers in the country with the returning Sean Lee and emerging Navarro Bowman. I think Joe-P has another potential BCS contender on his hands.

5. Southern California Trojans - Despite big time losses on defense the Trojans still look to be the class of the Pac-10 and having Pete Carroll outside of the top 5 in pre-season rank just seems silly. It looks as though the Trojans will have an incredibly potent offense despite losing Mark Sanchez at QB. They can rely on the beastly backfield including Stafon Johnson, C.J. Cable and CBK (Cut Back King) Joe McKnight along with the best offensive line in the country and some of the best wide receivers with potential 1st rounder Damian Williams leading the way.

6. Notre Dame Fighting Irish - If there is any year for Weis to get a National Championship win it is this year, he has Jimmy Clausen playing efficiently, he has a solid offensive line led by Sam Young at left tackle and an emerging receiving group who could prove to be one of the nation's best. The Fighting Irish could easily be among the top 5 when the season ends and could see themselves playing for a ring especially if they can get by Carroll's tough as nails Trojan team.

7. Alabama Crimson Tide - Nick Saban had a dominant Crimson Tide team last year but they lost a lot of players including passer John Parker Wilson, RB Glen Coffee, LT Andre Smith, C Antoine Caldwell and defensive leader Rashad Johnson. That is pretty brutal and a newcomer at QB is going to have to rely on the former freshman phenom Julio Jones. Luckily they return a pretty solid defense including potential first rounder Rolando McClain.

8. Mississippi Rebels - In past season, losing multiple first rounders and a bunch of draft picks would cripple the Rebels but Head Coach Houston Nutt still has a great team that will compete game in and game out in the amazingly tough SEC. Jevan Snead is the leading man and could easily be the #1 overall draftpick when the season is out and despite losing Michael Oher and Peria Jerry, the Rebels still return a great offensive and defensive line including future first rounder DE Greg Hardy (so long as he can bounce back from injury).

9. Ohio State Buckeyes - Buckeyes had a brutal season last year and lose defensive leader James Laurinaitis and offensive work horse Chris Wells but they return Terrelle Pryor with a new knowledge of the game and playing experience and should be a big help. The Buckeyes still have a solid defense but will have to find a vocal and physical presence to replace Baby Animal's production on the inside and Donald Washington and Malcolm Jenkins on the outside.

10. Oklahoma State Cowboys - The Cowboys are on the outside looking in when Big 12 contention is the subject but with the triad of Zac Robinson at QB, Dez Bryant at WR and RB Kendall Hunter leading the offense the Cowboys could surprise a lot of teams. Though they do play Texas and Oklahoma, if they surprise those two top 3 teams then the Cowboys could vault themselves right into BCS conention.

The Rest:

11. Virginia Tech Hokies

12. California Golden Bears

13. Brigham Young Cougars

14. Georgia Bulldogs

15. Boise State Broncos

16. Louisiana State Tigers

17. Rutgers Scarlet Knights

18. Iowa Hawkeyes

19. Texas Christian Horned Frogs

20. Illinois Illini

21. Pittsburgh Panthers

22. Nebraska Cornhuskers

23. California, Los Angeles Bruins

24. South Florida Bulls

25. Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles

There you have it folks, my top 25 teams for the upcoming 2009 NCAA Division 1-A season.