College Football Pre-Season Rankings 15-19

19. Illinois

The Illini are coming off their best season since 2001. Their exciting zone read offense averaged about 28 points per game last season, and Juice Williams was a big part of their success. Williams, a junior, made some decent progress as a passer last season, but he still struggled for the most part. Should he ever struggle, Eddie McGee is waiting in the wings. Williams will need to cut down on the 12 interceptions he threw last year. The dual threat of the run/pass that Juice brings to the offense will be the key for the Illini this season.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Illini have six starters returning. The defensive line is deep and ranks near the top of the Big Ten as a whole. Sophomore Martez Wilson brings speed to the outside linebacker spot. This kid has NFL written all over him. Junior Vontae Davis possesses shut-down skills at CB, and is also a great tackler.
After early struggles, head coach Ron Zook is finally starting to get the pieces he needed to succeed. However, a real tough schedule might do this team in.

18. Boston College

Boston College finished second in the nation in rush defense last year and it could be even better this season. As long as the team can find replacements for corner back DeJuan Tribble and free safety Jamie Silva, the defense will be at the top of the ACC once again. That alone will lead to a successful season, but the new faces at the skill positions will have step up if the Eagles hope to repeat last year's accomplishments.
Senior QB Chris Crane is a big key to the Eagles season. Nobody really expects this guy to come in and replace Matt Ryan; they don't expect him to perform like a total bum either. If he can quickly jell with WR Rich Gunnell, the offense will be better off. Although he won't blow you away with his size or speed, the guy simply makes play after play. He finished last year with 64 receptions for 931 yards and seven touchdowns.

17. Penn State
For all the bashing the Big Ten, received over the past couple of years, its easy to forget that the Nittany Lions have beaten an SEC team the last three years in a bowl game. I just wanted to put that out there.

The Nittany Lions have the potential to shock a lot of people this year if their senior class decides to play up to their much hyped potential. (Yes, I am talking about you Derrick Williams.) The Penn State receivers are loaded with talent. Derrick Williams, Deon Butler, and Jordan Norwood have been hyped up since they came to Happy Valley as freshmen. Their play depends on the arm of Daryll Clark or Pat Devlin. If Paterno decides to go with a spread offense, then Clark will win out, or if the coach wants the more conventional offense, then Devlin is his guy. The O-line returns all five starters so they won't be an issue.

The offense will be fine with either Clark or Devlin under center, but the real issue could be the linebackers. After hitting the field with the trio of Paul Posluszny, Dan Connor and Sean Lee, it's time to rebuild. Le

The line will take care of most of the work, but for Penn State to be decent; it might need Hull to step up big time. The defensive line is going to once again be dominant. The loss of star tackles Chris Baker and Phil Taylor, who were suspended, will hurt. Even though they're out, it's not a big loss since Abe Koroma and Ollie Odrick are more than good enough to clog things up in the middle, while Maurice Evans could be the best defensive end in America.

16. Kansas

After a shocking 2007 season that finished with a victory over Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl, Coach Mark Mangino and Kansas are poised to take the next step and prove that the last year was not a fluke. Quarterback Todd Reesing threw for 3,486 yards and 33 touchdowns last season. He is simply a guy who does not make mistakes and keeps his team in every game. The offense may not be as good as last year because the line has more than a few holes to patch up. Despite the loss of all world corner Aqib Talib, the defense as a whole has the chance to be even better. Nine starters return to the unit and there is plenty of depth and experience around to handle just about any situation.

15. Oregon
The loss of Dennis Dixon and running back Jonathan Stewart look on paper to be a duo that can't be easily replaced. However, the injury to Dixon last season kind of speeded up the rebuilding period. By the time the bowl game rolled around the Ducks looked just as good as they did earlier in the year. In that game quarterback Justin Roper threw for 180 yards and four touchdowns. so needless to say the qb job is no longer an issue.
The secondary looks to be the strength of the defense led by corners Walter Thurmond and Jairus Byrd and strong safety Patrick Chung. Thurmond and Byrd combined for 12 interceptions on the season and both are still only juniors. The return of linebackers Jerome Boyd and John Bacon provide stability. The Ducks should grow into a strong Pac 10 force by the middle of the season.