Phil Steele is one of the most respected college football analysts and prognosticators out there. Every year he puts out one of the best, if not the best, college football preview magazines in the country, one of which I will purchase again this year. So when Phil speaks, people listen.
Nine Southeastern Conference schools are included in Steele's list, adding credence to another story concerning the Crimson Tide having the toughest football schedule in the country for the 2015 season.
The following is the pre-season Top 25 College Football Teams for 2015 as predicted by Phil Steele:
1. Ohio State
2. TCU
3. Alabama
4. Baylor
5. Oregon
6. Michigan State
7. USC
8. Florida State
9. Auburn
10. Georgia
11. UCLA
12. Ole Miss
13. Notre Dame
14. LSU
15. Clemson
16. Arizona State
17. Georgia Tech
18. Wisconsin
19. Missouri
20. Arkansas
21. Mississippi State
22. Oklahoma
23. Boise State
24. Tennessee
25. Stanford
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Softball
Photo Courtesy rolltide.com
The University of Alabama and Alabama A&M meet on Tuesday for a double-header. The two have met three times before, with the Tide owning the series 3-0. This is Bama's last scheduled double-header of 2015.
The Tide will start sophomore right-hander Nick Eicholtz in game one, as has as yet not determined the starter for game two. This is the fifth start for Eicholtz, having lost his last outing.
Tuesday's first game at the Hoover Met is scheduled to begin at 1 PM CDT, with the game two start to be 30 minutes following the end of the first game.
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Men's Golf
Photo Courtesy rolltide.com
The 2015 NCAA Men's Golf Regional will be held in Noblesville, Indiana, and the University of Alabama Men's golf team has earned the No. 4 seed in the tourney. The tournament is a three-day, 54-hole event scheduled for Thursday, My 14 through Saturday, May 16. The tournament will be held on the par 72, 7,173-yard course designed by Jack Nicklaus, the Sagamore Club.
Bama enters the event at Noblesville along with No. 1 seed Illinois, No. 2 seed Oregon, No. 3 seed UCLA, No. 5 SMU, No. 6 UNLV, No. 7 Virginia Tech, No. 8 Georgia Southern, No. 9 seed Colorado, No. 10 seed New Mexico State, No. 11 seed East Carolina, No. 12 seed Marquette, No. 13 seed Alabama State, and finally No. 13 seed Pennsylvania.
The top five schools will advance to the 2015 NCAA Championships being held this year at the Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Florida May 29 through June 3.
Football Recruiting
Four-star Austin High School offensive lineman Deonte Brown has committed to the University of Alabama. The 6'4", 335-pound Brown is one of the top-25 ranked offensive tackles in the country, coming in at number 23 according to scout.com.
Scout ranks the Crimson Tide at number 14 in the country in recruiting, and number five in the Southeastern Conference.
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Football
Does the University of Alabama Crimson Tide have the toughest football schedule in the country for 2015? Most things in the college football world are open for debate, and this one is no different. But according to collegespun.com, the Tide faces the toughest slate in the nation this coming season.
2015 Alabama Crimson Tide Football Schedule
9/12 – Middle Tennessee
9/19 – Ole Miss
9/26 – Louisiana-Monroe
10/3 – @Georgia
10/10 – Arkansas
10/17 – @Texas A&M
10/24 – Tennessee
11/7 – LSU
11/14 – @Mississippi State
11/21 – Charleston Southern
11/28 – @Auburn
Everyone knows the SEC West is always tough year-in and year-out. None of the games are give-me's, and this season should see most of the west teams improved.
Neither is the season-opener a give-me, even though most odds-makers are already picking Alabama to win that one over Wisconsin. It's a big national game on a really big stage, a strong opponent, and it's an unknown since no quarterback has been selected for the Tide and no game tapes for this season to review. The game is being played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
This season's SEC East draw is no piece of cake either. Alabama must face perennial SEC power Georgia over at their house this season. Again, no give-me.
Everyone expects Tennessee to be improved this season. Better recruiting and, let's face it, better coaching, will have the Volunteers as a force to be reckoned with. Fortunately, Tennessee has to come to Tuscaloosa, so the crowd-factor goes to Bama. Don't underestimate the crowd, and don't underestimate the Vols this season.
While Bama has the toughest schedule, eight SEC teams are listed in the Top 15 toughest schedules in the country according to collegespun.com.
The others are:
No. 14 --- Florida
No. 13 --- Texas A&M
No. 12 --- South Carolina
No. 9 --- Ole Miss
No. 8 --- Tennessee
No. 6 --- Auburn
No. 4 --- Georgia
Of course the end of the season will actually tell if the projections are true. After all, injuries can decimate a team and cost games. The more losses a team has affects the ranking of the others.
Time will tell.
Thanks to collegespun.com and rolltide.com for leads and photographs today.
