MSNBC College Football Preseason Rankings: UCLA #11

MSNBC “contributor” Joey Johnston has his top 25 preseason college football rankings out today and he has UCLA at #11. As we have said this is par for the course, some great expectations are in store for Dorrell this year, along with some less than stellar predictions.  What’s odd about this ranking is that Johnston simultaneously notes that Dorrell close to being on the hot seat.  Johnston:

Coaching: Karl Dorrell has grown into the job, but he never seems to stray far away from a potential hotseat. He clearly has the Bruins moving in the right direction, and should be set up for a successful season. There are three new assistants, including first-year offensive coordinator Jay Norvell.

Aside from the now usual mistake of misstating the correct number of new assistants (there are 4) Johnston has got the general picture of Dorrell … a coach who has “grown into the job” (now that Dorrell’s been on the job for almost 5 years it’s finally safe for reporters to say he was too inexperienced to get the job in the first place, something we have said since day 1) and who “never seems to stray from a potential hot seat.” He is buying some of Dorrell’s lines, “Bruins moving in the right direction” - how many times have we heard that??  If we have a losing streak we will hear it again you can count on it … along with another “3 game season.”  Most importantly though is his assessment that we are “set up for a successful season.”  So despite Dorrell’s attempt to deflate expectations to save his job should he falter, the expectations for this team are now fully understood by the media.  No excuses.

Johnston does get something wrong in our opinion … we don’t believe that coming in 2nd place in the conference means Dorrell has “finally realized expectations,” unless we are 11-1 and BCS bound:

Overview: The Bruins are on the upswing — finally — with 20 returning starters and a realistic shot at earning a BCS bowl bid. The problem, as always, is living in the same neighborhood as dynastic USC. Second place in the Pac-10 wouldn’t mean failure. It would mean the Bruins have realized expectations, an occurrence that never has come easily in Westwood.

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