College football’s preseason bottom 10 of 2010: #1 Western Kentucky

It’s kind of unfair to rank Western Kentucky as the #1 team in the bottom 10. Hell, they’ve barely spent any time playing on the FBS level at all, last season was their first doing so.

So the 0-12 record was kind of expected, as was the overall lack of statistical excellence. The Hilltoppers concluded the 2009 season ranked 118th in total defense (478.3 ypg) and 101st in total offense (320.8 ypg).

The 2010 campaign marks the first for WKU under the direction of Willie Taggart, who took over the coaching reins last November. Taggart previously served as running backs coach at Stanford from 2007 through last season and helped Toby Gerhart finish second in Heisman Trophy balloting.

You can’t expect much from a team in year two of its FBS life that also happens to be breaking in a new coach. To further complicate matters, Taggert is moving the Hilltopper offense away from a spread option attack to more of a West Coast Offense.

Naturally, that prompted a change at quarterback, with junior college transfer Matt Pelesasa now sitting atop the depth chart. Sophomore Kawaun Jakes started eight games at the position last season for WKU, but his strengths (namely his mobility) don’t translate well to Taggert’s new approach.

Such a dramatic change in philosophy can only mean some hiccups will be endured by the WKU offense, especially in the early going. The ‘Toppers ran for a very respectable 172.8 yards a contest last season, but this new West Coast attack probably won’t be able to duplicate those numbers.

That won’t be a crime if the passing game dramatically improves, but can it do so in a scheme that’s still so new to the players running it? Probably not. I also suspect Pelesasa will spend a good chunk of his time on the field running for his life.

Change is the name of the game on the defense as well. The switch from a 3-4 to a 4-3 alignment means an adjustment period must also be endured on that side of the ball. However, that probably won’t impact linebacker Thomas Majors too much. He led the ‘Toppers with 101 tackles a season ago.

Why WKU is in the bottom 10: The season opener is a September 4 paycheck ass whipping at Nebraska and it doesn’t get much easier through the month of September: at Kentucky, Indiana and at South Florida. That minefield will have to be navigated while both sides of the ball struggle to get on the same page. Not exactly a recipe for success.

How WKU can avoid the bottom 10: If tailback Bobby Rainey can retain his effectiveness and put together a 1,200-yard type season, I can see WKU pulling a Sun Belt upset or two. But avoiding the bottom 10 altogether? Nah, not likely.

Preseason bottom 10 of 2010: #2 Florida International

Preseason bottom 10 of 2010: #3 Eastern Michigan

Preseason bottom 10 of 2010: #4 Miami (Ohio)

Preseason bottom 10 of 2010: #5 New Mexico State

Preseason bottom 10 of 2010: #6 Tulane

Preseason bottom 10 of 2010: #7 North Texas

Preseason bottom 10 of 2010: #8 New Mexico

Preseason bottom 10 of 2010: #9 Washington State

Preseason bottom 10 of 2010: #10 UL Monroe