Alright.  Here it goes.  I was a little weary of posting a preason pick list.  I find it hard to gauge teams that I haven't seen yet.  Preseason polls are based too much on opinion.  I'm not too crazy about picking a number one team, based only on my opinion, before a single game has been played.  So, I took my poll in a bit of a different direction.  I took a look at various polls that are already out there.  Some of these polls came from other bloggers on this site and some came from polls I found on other sites.  I first counted how many times each team appeared in each poll.  I gathered up the teams that appeared the most times throughout the polls and these teams became my teams.  Next, I looked at each team's ranking within each poll.  I added up the rankings of each team in each poll and divided by the number of polls to arrive at a composite score for each team.  This filled out most of my rankings for me.  There were, however, several ties that needed breaking.  In order to break a tie, I looked at each team's schedule.  Teams with what I deemed a tougher schedule were bumped down (assuming they would lose one of those tough games).  Teams with easier schedules were bumped up.   I took all the emotion out of my poll, and based it solely on averages.   That being said, here's what I came up with:

1.  USC - Composite Score = 1.8.  Pretty self-explanatory here.

2. Texas - Composite Score = 2.8.  This was my first tie, Texas and LSU.  I gave it to Texas because LSU has to face a killer SEC schedule.  Sorry, LSUFan!

3.  LSU - Composite Score = 2.8.  See above for reasoning.

4. WVU - Composite Score = 4.2.  Tough games against South Florida, Rutgers, and Louisville.  Other than that, not too much competition.

5.  Wisconsin - Composite Score = 5.8.  Tough conference matchups against Penn State, Ohio State, and Michigan could hurt them.  I put them high early, expecting them to fall later.

6.  Florida - Composite Score = 7.4.  Here was another tie, Florida and Virginia Tech.  I went with Florida here because Virginia Tech plays a load of tough games this season.

7.  Virginia Tech - Composite Score = 7.4.  V-Tech's schedule includes the likes of LSU, Clemson, BC, Georgia Tech, FSU, Miami, and a rivalry game against Virginia.  All tough games in my book.  I think it'll be tough for Tech to stay this high all season.

8.  Michigan - Composite Score = 8.4.  Games against Notre Dame, Penn State, Ohio State, and Wisconsin pose problems.  I expect Michigan to win three of those games.

9.  Louisville - Composite Score = 10.6.  Not many tough opponents for Louisville, not much help from the pollsters either.  But, they get the nod over Nebraska.

10.  Nebraska - Composite Score = 10.6.  Another tie, Nebraska and Louisville.  I gave the nod to Louisville because of the easier schedule.  Tough games against USC and Texas pose particular problems for Nebraska.

11.  Oklahoma - Composite  Score = 11.4.  Oklahoma's toughest matchups will come against Miami, Texas, and a rivalry match-up with Oklahoma State.  If they can make it through those, they'll be set for good things.

12.  Auburn - Composite Score = 13.8.  Another killer SEC schedule.  Can't wait to watch this team play.

13.  UCLA - Composite Score = 14.4.  Believe it or not, their toughest match-ups will come in-conference against the likes of USC, Cal, and an up-and-coming Arizona State team.  UCLA also has a tough match-up against Notre Dame.

14.  California - Composite Score = 14.6.  Ended up just behind UCLA.  I probably could've gone either way with these two teams.

15.  Penn State - Composite Score = 16.4.  Toughest match-ups will come in-conference against Michigan, Wisconsin, and Ohio State.  Also play Notre Dame.

16.  Georgia - Composite Score = 16.8.  Brutal schedule including Oklahoma State, Florida, Georgia Tech, Auburn, and Tennessee.  I'll be surprised if this team is ranked at season's  end.

17.  Ohio State - Composite Score = 17.4.  There was actually a three-way tie here, Ohio State, Tennessee,  and Rutgers.  Ohio State came out on top of the heap.  Tough conference matchups against Michigan, Penn State, and Wisconsin.  If they can survive these, I expect them to end higher.

18.  Tennessee - Composite Score = 17.4.  Tennessee came out of the heap in second.  Tennessee meets the likes of Cal, Florida, Georgia, and Arkansas.  Tougher schedule means they fall below Ohio State.

19.  Rutgers - Composite Score = 17.4.  Rutgers fell to the bottom.  They still have much to prove.  I couldn't rationalize placing them above the likes of Ohio State and  Tennessee.

20. Hawaii - Composite Score = 18.6.  Hawaii rounds out my Top 20.  If they start the season here, and win all their games, they could potentially finish quite a bit higher.  This team is always fun to watch.

That's how the numbers played out.  I'd appreciate any feedback you might have.  I'm looking forward to the college football season, and also to making my weekly picks in Hogfan's poll.  Should be a lot of fun!