_{A blog is an opinion based entity, I do not pretend to have a ‘breaking news’ type of site. Rather, this is a place to voice opinions about the news going on around recruiting which other sites more effectively compile and report.}

I am not going to blabber on too much before getting in to the countdown, but I at least have to throw the earlier threads up for your reading pleasure. So…

Here are the links to the previous countdowns.

Part 1 – Introduction, explanation and teams 25-20
Part 2 – Teams 19-15
Part 3 – Teams 14-12
Part 4 – Teams 11-9
Part 5 – Teams 8-6

And, after record low amounts of needless introductory text – on to the countdown

5 – Florida State 94 points (70 football, 24 basketball)
4 – Alabama 95 points (65 football, 30 basketball)

This is where a HUGE leap forward happens and truly separates the cream from the rest.

3 – USC 117 points (93 football, 24 basketball)
2 – Ohio State 123 points (56 football, 67 basketball)
1 – ??? – Soon to come.

Florida State: Florida State cracks the top-5 not from recent success, but rather, carrying on from the traditions of the not-so-recent past and the prestige of Bobby Bowden. The Seminoles have a handful of traditions that have the ability to draw players and fans alike to Doak Campbell Stadium during the football season – and the winning in the late 90’s and early 2000’s have done wonders in turning FSU in to a recruiting powerhouse. The recent downfall of Bowden’s team has been shocking when looking at the recent recruiting class ranks of 2008-#9, 2007-#22, 2006-#4 and 2005-#3. The talent is certainly in place – and if the Seminoles can get the talent to start playing up to par, the FSU winning tradition could return quickly.

Alabama: Nick Saban, despite the fact that he is not exactly known for being at the top of the list for trustworthiness, is still one helluva recruiter – with a caveat. The Rolling Tide had the highest number of recruits in the country for the 2008 recruiting cycle, with 32. Thirty-two. As in, seven more than the standard-sized class. The upcoming situation could get a little hairy as Saban will have to depend on either a handful of players not qualifying, or he will have to do the unsavory thing and pull scholarship offers. This is the problem with ‘over-signing’ and unfortunately, more and more coaches are employing this tactic as some student-athletes begin to forget the ‘student’ part. The talent is there, the ambition to succeed on the field is there, but the ability and ambition to succeed in the classroom is not, and that is a very large problem in the student-athlete landscape today. Okay, off the soapbox – the 32 players signed enabled Alabama to carry the #1 recruiting class in the entire nation for football in the 2008 recruiting cycle. Combine that with the #13 basketball recruiting class in the nation, and the Tide are firmly entrenched in the correct position.

USC: This ranking really needs no other explanation besides this. USC. And Pete Carroll. Not to mention Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart, Marcus Allen, Will Ferrell (okay, I had to toss that one in there), O.J. Simpson… I could go on, but I think that you get the picture. You need more reasons to look at USC if you are a high-profile athlete? Just go ahead and take a look at the Facebook network for the Trojans. USC, besides the fact that if you leave the campus there are some not-so-much-safe-feeling-areas around, is one of the premier places in America to attend college – athlete or not.

Ohio State: The first runner-up to the best place to play revenue sports champion, the Buckeyes will be on call to perform the duties of the champion should the eventual winner be unable to continue. How did they get there? The tandem of going to the national championship game in basketball last season (losing to Florida, 84-75) and a 33-5 record on the football field the past three seasons are the end-results, but not exactly WHY they are there in the first place. Ohio State has a tradition of excellence, one of the greatest rivalries in all of sport and, despite being a state with no ocean coastline (interestingly enough, the first one in the countdown to lack an ocean – or ‘gulf’ – coastline since Arizona at #10), the scenery around Columbus is solid enough to not turn people away, just look at Terrelle Pryor. Greg Oden and Mike Conley Jr. say hello as well.

So we have gone from 25 all the way down through 2… Looking back at the list, I am sure that most everyone can choose the #1 place – but for those that cannot, it will be revealed shortly. Feel free to discuss and pick away at the opinions expressed here until you are blue in the face, only one more countdown post to go!