The end of May has arrived, and College Sports Feed’s Preseason Top 5 is finally here. The five teams listed here are 2012’s best of the best, the toughest and most talented, and the greatest in the game. They came a long way in 2011, but even more will be expected of them in the fall. Kicking off our final week:

5. Oregon

“Oh, Oregon. If you ask most people, they have no clue where Oregon even is on a map, but they can tell you that they have a damn good football team. Oregon has been working hard these past few years to get where they are today, and they won’t give that up. My prediction is that they are determined to prove that they are the best and are going after that number one spot. I don’t think that they will get it this year, but if they can continue to do better over the next few years, it could end up being theirs.”

Allie Balog, CSF Associate Editor

“The loss of LaMichael James will be difficult, but Oregon is persistent. They are strong recruiters and look for the best newcomers, and they promise wins and are pretty consistent in their claims. Plus, Oregon has the potential to have one of the best defenses in the Pac 12. Look for them to place in one of the top bowl games in January.”

Elizabeth Garabedian, CSF Writer/Contributor

4. Oklahoma

“The Sooners’ high-powered offense will dominate once again in 2012. Senior QB Landry Jones will have a shot at following in Sam Bradford’s footsteps as a Heisman winner. The loss of WR Ryan Broyles, Jones’ favorite target, will hurt, but four returning wideouts and a standout recruiting class will help fill the void. The defensive side of the ball will carry more question marks into the season, but solid play coupled with an explosive offense will carry Oklahoma to the Big 12 title in 2012.”

Anthony Manzella, CSF Writer/Contributor

“The Sooners will yet again dominate on offense as Landry Jones, and a solid receiving core is returning. The loss of playmaker Ryan Broyles will hurt, but they should be able to overcome his departure. The defense had a number of questions last year and they are hoping to be answered by the arrival of Mike Stoops, Bob Stoops’ brother, as the defensive coordinator. Okalahoma is the easy favorite in the Big 12 this season with Texas still trying to figure itself out and Oklahoma State losing its two biggest playmakers in Weeden and Blackmon.”

Garrett Mayers, CSF Writer/Contributor

3. LSU

“Les Miles’ squad had by far the toughest schedule in the nation. Their only loss came against a loaded Alabama team that had six full weeks to prepare. The Tigers lose some stars on defense, most notably Jim Thorpe award winner Morris Claiborne, but they are still absolutely loaded. Tyrann Mathieu could be the most dynamic playmaker in college football, and he returns with another LSU defense that will be one of the best in the country. The only knock on LSU last season was the lack of production on offense, but former Georgia QB Zach Mettenberger is a much better passer than Jordan Jefferson. Look for the Tigers to win their second straight SEC West title.”

Jeff Dunbar, CSF Senior Editor

“The LSU Tigers will try and rebound from getting blown out by Alabama in the BCS National Championship in January. It will not be an easy road for them with star receiver Rueben Randle and 6th overall pick Mo Claiborne going to the NFL.  With enough talent returning on offense and the returning stellar defense, the LSU Tigers should be near the top of the SEC and national ranks again this coming season.”

Garrett Mayers, CSF Writer/Contributor

2. Alabama

“Bama, Bama, Bama. There’s not much to really say about it. They have always been good and they probably always will be good. Look at their players – they’re huge. They’re the southern boys that have been playing football since they could walk and have always known that they would play in college. Bama is definitely not a team to think you can beat easily. They will make you fight for a victory over them – hard. They are a team to watch out for this season, they do have the potential to take the #1 spot.”

Allie Balog, CSF Associate Editor

“Coach Nick Saban has transformed Alabama into arguably to most consistently great team since his arrival in Tuscaloosa, with two BCS titles in five years. Expect the same this year, even with the high number of losses on both sides of the ball.  QB AJ McCarron will shoulder more of the offensive load, and RB Eddie Lacy should provide a more than acceptable replacement for Trent Richardson. The defensive will benefit greatly from the top recruiting class in the country, and will be tough enough for the Crimson Tide to compete for another National Championship in 2012.”

Anthony Manzella, CSF Writer/Contributor

1. USC

“Matt Barkley’s decision to return for his senior season took USC from a top 20 team to the team to beat in 2012.  Barkley’s favorite targets, Robert Woods and Marqise Lee combined for an astounding 2,435 yards receiving and hauled in 26 touchdowns.  Oregon and Stanford lost a lot of talent to the NFL, but the major playmakers (excluding LT Matt Kalil) all came back for the Trojans.  Expect Barkley to make a run at the Heisman, but more importantly, expect him finish what he started, by hoisting the crystal football at season’s end.”

Jeff Dunbar, CSF Senior Editor

“The Trojans may not have snagged Su’A Cravens yet, but they have multiple other factors that have contributed to their #1 spot in CSF’s Top 25. QB Matt Barkley is still there, and he has enough skill to lead the offense even with the loss of LT Matt Kalil. And with an experienced defensive line, USC is double the trouble. They could very easily snag a spot in the BCS title game, mainly because they have a handful of talented returnees while many other Pac 12 teams do not. This could very well be the year for the Trojans.”

Elizabeth Garabedian, CSF Writer/Contributor

Last weekend’s action has given us a clearer picture of the BCS.  Kind of.  And there were several story lines that capped off Week 10 in college football.  As always, CSF breaks down our top five takeaways from the weekend that was.

LSU wins the newest edition of the Game of the Century: When you have as many as eight defensive backs (not players, but defensive backs) on the field in one college game that are projected for the NFL, scoring is not going to be easy.  And as most experts predicted, that was the case as #1 LSU pulled off the 9-6 victory against last week’s #2 Alabama.  All in all, as many as 22 players from that game are expected to be donning NFL uniforms in the next 2-3 years, and the game of the century was everything that it had been hyped to be.  These are clearly the two best teams in the nation, and if Oklahoma State and Stanford stumble in the last month of the season, we could see a rematch in New Orleans in January for the title.

OU’s Ryan Broyles’ brilliant college career is finished: Oklahoma’s decorated senior wide receiver was once again putting up video game numbers, but unfortunately, in last weekend’s match up against Texas A&M, the wideout tore his ACL, which concludes one of the most outstanding college careers in NCAA history.  Broyles leaves as the all-time FBS leader in receptions with 349.  He eclipsed the 1,000-yard receiving mark in each of his last three seasons and hauled in an astounding 45 touchdown catches.  Here’s to a speedy recovery to a great football player and a great kid.

Paterno’s legacy takes a serious hit: Recent allegations that JoPa’s former defensive coordinator, Jerry Sandusky sexually abused a boy in a shower on the Penn State campus have sent a shockwave through State College.  Even more shocking and appauling is the fact that several individuals, including Paterno failed to report this heinous crime to the auhorities is inexcusable, and if it turns out that Paterno did, in fact, decide to allow the investigation to stop with some Penn State campus rent-a-cops, his legacy should forever be tarnished.  Before we jump the gun here, we need to wait for all of the facts to come forth, but these allegations are more than just a black eye to the legendary head coach.

Georgia’s Isaiah Crowell returns just in time: After an ESPN report that Crowell and two other teammates failed drug tests a couple of weeks ago, the talented starting running back for the Bulldogs was suspended for the epic match up against New Mexico State last weekend.  Although there are contracting reports as to when the Georgia coaching staff actually knew of the failed tests, Crowell was allowed to play against rival Florida two weeks ago, and has been reinstated, just in time for the only difficult SEC game left on the schedule against Auburn this weekend, teaching a valuable lesson–if you’re going to smoke pot, feel free to blaze it up as long as it’s a week against a weak opponent.  With South Carolina’s loss last weekend at Arkansas, Georgia controls its own destiny….let’s see if they make the SEC Championship, or if those dreams go up in smoke (wink, wink, nudge, nudge).

In the Week 7 edition of the CSF College Football Recap, we break down five key storylines from last weekend’s action.

Denard Robinson struggles in loss to arch rival: There is no questioning Robinson’s athleticm or his “wow” factor, but it is clear that he doesn’t work well in a pro-style system.  Michigan State took away the run for the most part, holding the dual-threat QB to 42 yards rushing.  More importantly, they forced Robinson to beat them with his arm…and that didn’t work out so well.  Contained in the pocket for most of the game, Robinson attempted 24 passes and only completed nine of them for 123 yards with a TD and an interception.  He is a highlight reel waiting to happen, but the Spartans proved last weekend that he can’t beat you through the air alone.

Ryan Broyles hits another milestone: The nation’s best wide receiver blew up against lowly Kansas to the tune of 13 catches for 217 yards and a pair of touchdowns.  The Oklahoma star wideout now has 326 catches in his stellar career, which is an FBS record.  On the year, Broyles has 60 catches (which is more than double the amount of receptions of the second leading receiver Kenny Stills, who has 27 catches) for 815 yards and 9 TDs.

Miami and FSU notch first conference wins: Who would have thought that the ‘Canes and the ‘Noles wouldn’t have ACC wins until mid-October?  Both storied programs finally got off the schnide last weekend, when Miami held off North Carolina 30-24 in Chapel Hill, and the Florida State actually held an opponent under 30 points in their 41-16 rout of Duke.  It was great quarterback play for each of the Florida schools that was the key to the wins.  Miami’s Jacory Harris passed for 267 yards and three TDs, and FSU’s EJ Manuel torched Duke for 239 yards passing with 2 TDs, and another 62 yards and 2 TD’s on the ground.

Russell Wilson adds to Heisman resume: In last weekend’s Indiana game the Badgers’ star quarterback did everything except park the cars and sell the popcorn in Wisconsin’s dominant 59-7 victory over the Hoosiers.  Wilson passed for 166 yards and a touchdown, rushed twice for 42 yards and caught 25-yard touchdown  pass from tailback Montee Ball on Saturday.  On the season, the senior QB is completing 74% of his passes with 14 TDs and only one pick.  He has rushed for 182 yards and two touchdowns and now has a TD reception to give Heisman voters something to think about.

South Carolina loses Marcus Lattimore: Just days after dismissing senior quarterback Stephen Garcia, the Gamecocks lost their best offensive weapon, sophomore running back Marcus Lattimore for the year with a knee injury.  Expect a lot of visor throws from head coach Steve Spurrier in the coming weeks without his top two offensive weapons from 2010.  The Gamecocks still have three SEC match ups, and without their bruising RB, they could easily lose four of their final five games (Tennessee, Arkansas, Florida and Clemson).  With a solid running game, they had a shot at all of those match ups, but the 2011 season looks like it won’t live up to last year’s great season in Columbia.

Bradford or Clausen?  An Inside Look at the Draft’s Top 2 QBs–by Jeff Dunbar

As the NFL Combine continues through this weekend, much of the buzz the last few days has centered around the debate of which quarterback will be the first to go in April’s draft.  College FootBlog will break down the top two candidates, Notre Dame’s Jimmy Clausen and Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford by analyzing five key categories to see which one is most likely to hear his name selected first by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

1.  Size

Bradford is hoping that his added body weight will help ease NFL scouts' concerns of his durability (google images)

At 6’4″, Bradford is an inch taller than Clausen, but the biggest difference is weight.  Bradford tipped the scales at 238 lbs last week, which should make NFL scouts feel much more comfortable about his durability (which came into question last season after separating his shoulder).  While Clausen showed durability at Notre Dame, he is about twenty pounds lighter than Bradford.  EDGE:  Bradford

2.  Accuracy

Clausen has proven he can make every single throw, but Bradford may be the most accurate quarterback to enter the draft since Drew Brees.  Not only did Bradford consistently deliver accurate passes that hit his receivers in stride, he did it consistently with a multiple receivers like Ryan Broyles, Jermaine Gresham, Juaquin Iglesias, etc.  While Clausen is very accurate as well, the vast majority of his passes were to his go-to receiver, Golden Tate.  EDGE:  Bradford

3.  Offensive System

While OU head coach Bob Stoops brought Bradford more under center and had more of a pro-style offense his sophomore season, there is no question that Clausen has the edge here.  Although Charlie Weis did not perform as a head coach, Notre Dame’s offense is as close to an NFL offense as any college program in the country.  Clausen, and more importantly, his future NFL team will benefit greatly from Weis’ tuteledge.  EDGE:  Clausen

4.  Competition

Oklahoma not only competes in one of the major BCS conferences, but they also play at least one competitive non-conference game a year.  Bradford also faced much better defenses in his bowl games, as he led the Sooners to back to back BCS games.  Even though the Big 12 is known more for its explosive offenses, Bradford did have to go against Will Muschamp in the Red River Rivalry three times in his career.

Notre Dame on the other hand, had a schedule that was absolutely laughable during Clausen’s career.  The Irish didn’t exactly load up with competition last year, scheduling Nevada, Washington, Washington State and UConn.  EDGE:  Bradford

5.  Intangibles

Bradford ran a no huddle offense that was one of the most explosive attacks in college football history.  Although his back up, Landry Jones, did an admirable job replacing him last season, Bradford was clearly what made OU’s offense click on all cylinders.  He had a solid grasp of the scheme, and he showed the ability to read defenses.

Clausen not only had a strong grasp of Weis’ offense, in nearly every game last season, he showed a lot of poise and moxy.  He was at his best when the game was on the line and always seemed to make big plays when it counted the most.  EDGE:  Clausen

Final Analysis: An argument can be made for either Bradford or Clausen to the be first QB taken in the upcoming draft, and both have put up big numbers in their college careers.  However, Bradford had two exceptional seasons at Oklahoma, while Clausen really only shined in his third year at Notre Dame against a weak schedule.  Despite Bradford’s injury last season, he has the more impressive and more complete body of work that Clausen.

Let us know your thoughts!  College FootBlog wants to know who you think should go first in the NFL Draft?