Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron (10) works against Notre Dame during the first half of the BCS National Championship college football game in Miami.After Notre Dame and Alabama determined the 2012 season’s national championship in football, who’s the team to beat next fall?
The champion coach still may be Gatorade-wet behind the ears and celebrating fans from the history-rich program that added another title may be insufferable this morning, yet now is a fair time to note that Alabama was preseason top-five and Notre Dame was unranked before starting its march to South Beach.
Preseason picks and polls – no matter how early or scientific — are both spot-on and crazy. Plus, there still are a few big decisions to be made by key underclassmen before the Jan. 15 deadline to enter the NFL draft.
With that in mind, here’s an entirely too early look at the 2013 Top 25:
1. Alabama: Yes, there will be some holes on the offensive line. But remember this was a rebuilding year for a defense that finished in the top five in almost every major category. And which offense welcomes back a quarterback-running back-receiver trio better than AJ McCarron-T.J. Yeldon-Amari Cooper?