With National Signing Day tomorrow, and classes beginning to take shape, it’s time for an early look at the pre-season Power Rankings. Right now, this is somewhat arbitrary and won’t begin to take shape for a few months. Here’s the Top 10 as I currently see it:

1.UGA

2. Oklahoma

3. Florida

4. USC

5. Missouri

6. LSU

7. Ohio State

8. West Virginia

9. Clemson

10. Texas

With Georgia losing only 5 starters, they look like the team to beat in 2008. Matthew Stafford will carry a lighter load as long as he can hand off to Moreno, and the defense should be good enough to carry this team. Their season will hinge on a date with the Gators, November 1st in Jacksonville, and you better believe the Gators want revenge after last year’s antics. Look for Florida to pull this game out and topple Georgia from atop the rankings. When all is said and done though, the SEC East race will likely determine our BCS Champion in 2008.

Oklahoma returns a majority of their team. If they stay healthy, the date with Texas will determine their fate in 2008. This is almost always their pivotal game, and looks to be the same in 2008. They also exchange Mizzou for Kansas (at home) on the schedule this year. Kansas may have another great season in 2008, but expect them to lose at least 2-3 games, including the game in Norman. If OU escapes, they may face the SEC Champion or USC in the National Championship Game.

Florida returns nine starters from a young defense. The depth should continue to improve as Meyer’s recruiting classes begin to take shape. If Meyer can find somebody on the front four to put pressure on the QB, a lot of pressure will be taken off a secondary that got torched by UGA and Michigan this past season. There will be a couple holes to fill on the O-line, but Phil Trautwein will return after missing 2007 with a stress fracture in his foot. Andre Caldwell is the only skill player Florida loses, and while he’s not easy to replace, Florida has unbelievable depth at receiver. Look for Meyer’s excellent recruiting to start showing dividends in 2008, and if Florida gets past UGA, another shot at a National Championship in Gainesville.

USC should be near the top again next year, as much as I hate to say it. The Pac-10, without the likes of Dennis Dixon, should be another cake walk for USC. They will have to deal with the loss of 9 seniors who participated in the Senior Bowl, but USC has recruited extremely well lately, and should have no problem. It may come down to another vote between USC and Oklahoma for the BCS Championship Game.

Chase Daniel returns for his senior season at Missouri. Losing Tony Temple may prove to be huge. If his shoes are not filled, Mizzou’s passing attack will suffer. After seeing what Temple was capable of against Arkansas, it’s obvious that the threat of him in the backfield was enough to keep defenses honest. Oklahoma is off the schedule this year, but Missouri should win the Big 12 North and probably end up facing OU in the Big 12 title game.

LSU has some question marks after losing Dorsey, Steltz, Hester, Flynn, and company. Additionally, they lost Bo Pelini as defensive coordinator. Look for Ryan Perrilloux to run more of an Oregon-style spread system against a wide open SEC West. LSU has a good shot at winning the West again, but may run into some problems at Florida and playing UGA at home.

With Michigan in transition, Ohio State is the obvious pick to win the Big Ten (or eleven, but who’s counting?). Wisconsin and Illinois might sneak in and be spoilers next season, but let’s face it, OSU owns the Big Ten. If OU and USC slip up down the stretch, we could end up with another OSU blow out in the title game (Please NO!).

West Virginia’s offensive cupboards are full and their run this season will depend on who steps up in the Big East and whether new coach Bill Stewart can continue to motivate this team.

Clemson has nine starters returning on defense and plenty of offensive firepower returning. They’ll have to fill four spots on the offensive line, which is their biggest concern. Depending on how well the line holds up, second year starter Cullen Harper could put up another season’s worth of impressive numbers. CJ Spiller and James Davis are always a threat to break a play down field. Expect these two to look similar to the McFadden/Jones tandem we’ve seen the past two seasons.

Texas’ success hinges on their ability to replace several defensive starters and RB Jamaal Charles. Will Muschamp comes in to take over a defense that has had problems recently. Muschamp ran some great schemes at Auburn and was able to win games with his defense; good thing since Auburn didn’t have an offense!

That rounds out the Top 10. Look for some moves in the rankings in response to Super Wednesday.