This year's recipient of the preseason's most overrated team goes to...

[Color Me Badd Fan]

LSU! From unranked last year to #9 in the preseason coach's poll - with Gary Crowton as their offensive coordinator.

With road games against Georgia, Alabama and Ole Miss in addition to a home game against Florida, I see four extremely likely losses. I wouldn't put it past Washington to upset them in the first game of the year.

Although Penn State was also a candidate, it's quite clear who the winner is this year. Clemson will finally be able to give up the trophy.

[YOhio]

The award should be named after Notre Dame.

[DU Ute]

LSU! From unranked last year to #9 in the preseason coach's poll - with Gary Crowton as their offensive coordinator.

With road games against Georgia, Alabama and Ole Miss in addition to a home game against Florida, I see four extremely likely losses. I wouldn't put it past Washington to upset them in the first game of the year.

Although Penn State was also a candidate, it's quite clear who the winner is this year. Clemson will finally be able to give up the trophy.

Yeah, but a 4 loss SEC team still deserves to be in the top 15, right?

[SeattleUte]

My nomination:

http://www.cougaruteforum.com/showthread.php?t=7835

[Indy Coug]

How many national titles does LSU have with Gary Crowton as their offensive coordinator?

[Color Me Badd Fan]

My nomination:

http://www.cougaruteforum.com/showthread.php?t=7835

#24 is not overrated. In fact, I think that's pretty much where BYU will be at the end of the season. This is going to be another 10-3 year.

Besides the Oklahoma game, BYU's road schedule is a joke- five guaranteed wins. Air Force, Colorado State and Utah State are three more guaranteed wins. That leaves FSU, TCU, Utah and a bowl game. BYU will win at least two of those games.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

How many national titles does LSU have with Gary Crowton as their offensive coordinator?

Ah, Indy still defending Gary Crowton. It's no secret that Crowton is a first year wonder whereever he goes. Chicago, Provo, and Eugene all realized the truth by the end of his second season. The offensively challenged SEC fans in Baton Rouge will catch on this season. Meanwhile Urban Meyer will lick his chops before this year's game with LSU.

Crowton's teams' records the first year for his last three coaching jobs: 34-6.

Those same teams' records the second year: 20-18.

[Indy Coug]

Did you see who LSU had to work with at QB last year? Ryan Perrilloux's departure killed LSU. And of course, LSU's defense was air tight last year too, wasn't it?

As for making broad 1st year vs 2nd year comparisons ignores the different realities of all of those different situations and also ignores the 2nd year Crowton had at Louisiana Tech.

There are legitimate criticisms of Crowton out there, but your comment just smacks of lazy generalizations without having any intelligent basis to back them up.

[cougjunkie]

Clemson gets this distinction year in and year out in both football and basketball.

In hoops they have gone at least 15-0 to start the season in 4 straight years.

[Indy Coug]

Clemson gets this distinction year in and year out in both football and basketball.

In hoops they have gone at least 15-0 to start the season in 4 straight years.

Good nomination

[Color Me Badd Fan]

Did you see who LSU had to work with at QB last year? Ryan Perrilloux's departure killed LSU. And of course, LSU's defense was air tight last year too, wasn't it?

As for making broad 1st year vs 2nd year comparisons ignores the different realities of all of those different situations and also ignores the 2nd year Crowton had at Louisiana Tech.

There are legitimate criticisms of Crowton out there, but your comment just smacks of lazy generalizations without having any intelligent basis to back them up.

Are win-loss records not legitimate criticisms? Why the hell do they play the games? If there are legitimate criticisms of Crowton have you ever provided one? BTW, that's an honest question because I have never seen you criticize the guy's coaching performance.

You always found a way to defend Crowton citing some odd conglomeration of stats that would suit your opinion of the man. Meanwhile the guy was going 4-8.

For some reason, Crowton's teams were young and inexperienced while BM was dealing with an entirely new set of offensive skill players in 2007 and goes 11-2.

Of course, LSU suffered a setback with the loss of that QB. But Crowton didn't help matters by alternating qbs last season.

If you want to include podunk Louisiana Tech, then let's go ahead. He went 9-2 his second year...then he went 6-6 his third year. I now feel compelled to also include Crowton's only other third year record at the Div. 1 level, his 4-8 gem from 2003 at BYU.

So, let's update the stats with the inclusion of Crowton's records at Louisiana Tech and his last two years at BYU:

1st Year: 40-12
2nd Year: 29-20
3rd Year: 10-14
4th Year: 5-6

Combined first year record winning percentage: (.769)
Combined record after 1st year: 44-40 (.523)

[Fiyero]

Just for fun, here's last year's final poll with the preseason ranking on the right.

1. Florida 5
2. Utah 29
3. USC 3
4. Texas 11
5. Oklahoma 4
6. Alabama 24
7. TCU -*
8. Penn State 22
9. Ohio State 2
10. Oregon 21
11. Boise State 36
12. Texas Tech 12
13. Georgia 1
14. Mississippi -*
15. Virginia Tech 17
16. Oklahoma State -*
17. Cincinnati 30
18. Oregon State 42
19. Missouri 6
20. Iowa -*
21. Florida State 31
22. Georgia Tech -*
23. West Virginia 8
24. Michigan State 35
25. Brigham Young 16

*was not one of the 49 teams receiving a single vote

Absent from the final poll:
Gary Crowton 7
Clemson 9
Auburn 10
Wisconsin 13
Kansas 14
Arizona St 15
Tennessee 18
South Florida 19
Illinois 20
Wake Forest 23
Pitt 25

[Indy Coug]

Are win-loss records not legitimate criticisms? Why the hell do they play the games? If there are legitimate criticisms of Crowton have you ever provided one? BTW, that's an honest question because I have never seen you criticize the guy's coaching performance.

To include the W-L records of Crowton both as a head coach and as an offensive coordinator as if they are equally his responsibility or are entirely of his making is intellectually incongruent. To not take into account what happened in terms of personnel between the first and second year at his various jobs is ignorant.

Crowton made several gigantic gaffes in 2002 and there is a legitimate basis to condemn him for his 2nd year at BYU.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

To include the W-L records of Crowton both as a head coach and as an offensive coordinator as if they are equally his responsibility or are entirely of his making is intellectually incongruent. To not take into account what happened in terms of personnel between the first and second year at his various jobs is ignorant.

Crowton made several gigantic gaffes in 2002 and there is a legitimate basis to condemn him for his 2nd year at BYU.

If you're going to assert that Crowton played a large part in LSU's 2007 championship, then you also need to assert he plays a large part in the teams' misfortunes in other years. Otherwise you're being intellectually incongruent.

I'm not going to recount every single personnel move that occurs between Crowton's first and second seasons. Suffice it to say, either Crowton has incredibly bad luck or Crowton is the common factor. After awhile, you HAVE to look at the common thread. For some not-so-bizarre reason, Crowton's teams seem to regress in their second seasons and the third seasons don't seem to be any better.

Florida is an inconsistent mess with Ron Zook. Urban Meyer comes in and wins two national titles in four years. BYU goes 26-23 during Crowton's tenure and suffers through three losing seasons while only having previously suffered one losing season since 1974. BYU has gone 38-13 since Crowton left.

If you want to say that you can't compare Crowton's performance as head coach as his performance as offensive coordinator, then go ahead. But the limited evidence so far doesn't substantiate it. His second seasons in Chicago, Eugene and Baton Rouge were all less than stellar.

[Indy Coug]

If you're going to assert that Crowton played a large part in LSU's 2007 championship, then you also need to assert he plays a large part in the teams' misfortunes in other years. Otherwise you're being intellectually incongruent.

I'm not crediting Crowton with LSU winning a national title, I merely responded to your assertion that they couldn't be ranked that high with him as offensive coordinator. There is clear historical evidence they can do just that.