Building 2010's Perfect College Football Team
Inspired the 25th anniversary of Don Henley's classic album Building the Perfect Beast, I've built college football's perfect team for 2010 based on position groups.
(Note that there are no kickers or punters. Like the All-Madden teams, the Perfect Team will go for it on every fourth down and attempt two-point conversions after every touchdown.)
2010's Perfect Team
Quarterbacks: Boise State
With Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy and Tim Tebow returning to school last season, it looked like the year of the superstar signal caller. This season looks a lot more like the year of the game manager.
Truth be told, plenty of talented quarterbacks comprise the class of 2010, even if they don't have the same star power.
Case Keenum, Jake Locker and Terrelle Pryor all should lead their squads to successful seasons. Kellen Moore makes Boise State's quarterbacks the best in the country, though.
Moore finished last year with the third-best passer rating in the country, behind Tim Tebow and Jimmy Clausen. He had a ridiculous 39-3 ratio of touchdowns to interceptions. Most importantly, his team went undefeated.
Not Quite Perfect: Houston, Washington, USC, Ohio State, Stanford
Running Backs: Alabama
Here's the biggest no-brainer on the perfect team.
Mark Ingram won the Heisman Trophy last season. He splits carries with a guy who would start for any other team in the country, Trent Richardson.
Behing these two, the Crimson Tide's running game became the most dominant force in college football last season. Seeing as coach Nick Saban probably wants to win his second straight national championship, expect 'Bama to again ride these two as far as they'll take the Tide.
Adding big-time recruit Lache Seastrunk to LaMichael James means Oregon's backfield should be awfully formidable. However, they're not in the league of Richardson and Ingram right now.
Not Quite Perfect: Oregon, Virginia Tech
Wide Receivers: LSU
Tons of talented pass catchers moved on to The Show in the offseason, leaving the crop of wide receivers this season somewhat thin. A number of teams can boast one standout -- A.J. Green at Georgia and Michael Floyd at Notre Dame, for example -- but few have multiple weapons at receiver.
LSU's receiving corps looks like the best of the awfully bad lot.
Losing Brandon LaFell to the NFL hurts, but the Bayou Bengals are brimming with potential. Terrance Tolliver nearly matched LaFell in catches and yards. Rising sophomore Rueben Randle was one of the top prospects in the 2009 class and could be ready to break out.
The Tigers' biggest wild card is jack-of-all-trades Russell Shepard. The coveted recruit lined up all over the field last season, but LSU coach Les Miles and offensive coordinator Gary Crowton have seen fit to move Shepard to receiver permanently. So long as the transition doesn't mess with Shepard's head, he could prove to be a dynamic playmaker for the Tigers.
Not Quite Perfect: Texas A&M, Georgia
Offensive Line: Alabama
It takes more than just two top-notch running backs to put together a ground game like 'Bama has. You need a road-grading offensive line, too.
Saban clearly has put an emphasis on stocking his team with plenty of big uglies to help the Tide dominate the line of scrimmage. James Carpenter, who started at tackle in 2009, is next in line to become Alabama's cornerstone lineman. Center William Vlachos and guard Barrett Jones return as well, along with talented youngsters Tyler Love and D.J. Fluker.
Wisconsin always churns out mountains of corn-fed beef to pave the way for a physical ground game, and 2010 won't be any different. To create the perfect team, however, stick with 'Bama.
Not Quite Perfect: Wisconsin, Florida State
Defensive Line: Iowa
Normally when dominant defensive linemen such as Ndamukong Suh, Gerald McCoy and Derrick Morgan graduate, you'd think that the following season would see some major slippage in the talent level. The defensive lines around the country this season offer plenty of evidence to the contrary. Nebraska, Oklahoma and North Carolina, among others, all will field strong defensive fronts. They're not the best, however.
The Iowa Hawkeyes ranked ninth in yards allowed per play last season, thanks in large part to its ferocious front four. The Hawkeyes bring back four starters on the d-line, including a potential top 10 draft pick in senior to be Adrian Clayborn. Clayborn racked up 11.5 sacks in 2009 and 20 tackles for loss, putting him in the top 10 nationally in both categories.
It's not all about Clayborn, either. The other three returnees -- Christian Ballard, Karl Klug and Broderick Binns -- combined for 15 sacks last season.
Not Quite Perfect: Ohio State, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas
Linebackers: North Carolina
After Alabama's running backs, this is is the second-easiest call to make. The Tar Heels are stocked with next-level talent.
ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper ranks North Carolina's Quan Sturdivant as the best inside linebacker in the class. His compadre Bruce Miller is the best outside linebacker prospect, per Kiper. Salty sophomore Zach Brown joins Sturdivant and Miller to form a formidable trio that had nearly 200 tackles altogether.
Together with the Tar Heels' talent-laden defensive line, Butch Davis boasts the best front seven in the country.
Not Quite Perfect: USC, Texas
Defensive Backs: Texas
Wanna know how good Texas' secondary was last season? The Longhorns lost game-changing safety Earl Thomas to the NFL, where he will almost certainly be a first-round draft pick, and their defensive backs still remain the best in the nation.
Cornerback Aaron Williams will take over for Thomas as the secondary's leader and premier player, and he'll probably be off to the pros as well after the season. He'll team with Chykie Brown -- or Curtis Brown, for that matter -- to form the best corner tandem in the nation.
Blake Gideon has become a serviceable safety. The only real question is who takes over for Thomas. Keep an eye talented young pup Kenny Vaccaro.
Not Quite Perfect: UCLA, Oregon, LSU
Coaching Staff: Boise State
I know, I know: What about Nick Saban and Co.?
It was hard to go against the Tide in favor of Chris Petersen's group. Yes, you can discount what his teams have done year in and year out based on the Broncos' competition. That doesn't change Petersen's record against the big boys, who consistently have his teams outgunned from a talent standpoint.
(Imagine what Petersen would command on the open market next time a Notre Dame comes calling.)
No one leverages his assets like Petersen, which makes him the perfect coach for 2010's perfect team.
Not Quite Perfect: Alabama, TCU, Florida