-Originally published 8/14/22-
It College Footbal Rankings time!
- Alabama
12 returning starters-most since 2013 and they’ve made 8 or the last 9 playoffs. They’re bringing in the 2nd highest ranked recruiting class ever, ironically it’s the 2nd ranked class in 2022 behind the best recruiting calls in history heading to Texas A&M. They’re bringing in 3 5-stars and 21 4-stars. #5 in the transfer portal (2-5 stars, 3-4 stars).
They were 6th in scoring, 7th in passing, 7th in total offensive yards per game last season. 150 rushing yards was 75th in the country so don’t let anyone tell you that teams don’t run the football anymore especially in college. Jahmyr Gibbs is transferring in and will presumably be the starter after two lost years at Georgia Tech. He’s a receiving threat that also averaged over 5 ypc. They averaged 6+ yards need to convert 3rd downs which is concerning but then converted on over 52% of 3rd downs which was 5th in the country.
Heisman winner QB Bryce Young and 5th place vote getter in linebacker Will Anders JR, both redshirt sophomore’s return to the field. Young threw for over 4,800 on a 66.9% completion percentage and a 47-7 TD-INT ratio. That was 2nd in the country in yards and touchdowns thrown. It was the least efficient season from an Alabama QB in the past 5 years though so there is room for improvement. Anderson had over 100 tackles and led the country with 17.5 sacks. Saftey Jordan Battle complied over 85 tackles last season and figures to be a massive part of the secondary and the defensive line will be stacked again. The defense was 18th in scoring, 4th in rushing, 50th in passing at 218 ypg but the defense was 7th overall in yards per game allowed defensively.
They’re replacing both tackles and all the starting receivers from last season. Saban brought in Jermaine Burton from Georgia and Tyler Harrell from Louisville because he was unimpressed when no one stepped up in the National Championship game after John Metchie and Jameson Williams went down. Burton logged logged 26 receptions, 497 yards and 5 TDs and Harrell who logged 18 catches for 523 yards and 6 scores last season. Both averaged 19+ yards per catch and were bigger down the field threats.
They’ve been top 20 in special teams rankings for the past 3 seasons and are bringing in Coleman Hutzler from Ole Miss to be the position coach for the outside linebackers and run the special teams units.
They did have 4 one-possession wins last season against Florida, LSU, Arkansas, and Auburn in 4OT in route to a 13-2 record. They beat Georgia by 16 in the SEC Championship game and every other game was a 20+ point victory. They were down top 2 corners and receivers in the national championship rematch.
#29 SOS. They’re still in the most difficult division in CFB, the SEC East with Texas A&M, Arkansas, LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and Auburn. The schedule sets up with an opener at home against last season’s Mountain West Champion Utah State in a game that probably won’t be close but won’t be a 50 point blowout either. Week 2 is the Big Noon Kickoff game on Fox against Texas. The Longhorns slide to 5-7 and couldn’t stop anyone last season. The offense should be better after questions at receiver heading into last season. Quien Ewins is in at QB. I don’t think this game will be close but it’ll be a big matchup. There first real easier opponents will be home dates against Louisiana Monroe and Vanderbilt. Then they’ll play 4 of the next 6 on the road against Arkansas, Tennessee, Ole Miss, and a LSU team expected to rebound. None of those games are gimmies. The home dates in-between are against a loaded Texas A&M team and pissed off Jimbo Fisher and a Mississippi State team that could surprise in year 3 under Mike Leach. They’ll end the season against Austin Peay, the usual non-conference gimmie game late in the season and Auburn in a home date for the Iron Bowl. It’s possible the Tigers struggle and find themselves last in the division after the school very publicly tried to fire the coaching staff last year. That six game stretch from October through mid-November is the key six weeks to me. One loss could still see them in the playoffs at the end of the season, we’re seen it before even if they don’t make the SEC Championship game, but two is obviously a no-go. 6-8 of the teams on their schedule could be ranked at some point in the season.
Final Thoughts:
I think another year and offseason for Bryce Young will give him the linear progression we inappropriately expect from all of our QB’s year-to-year. He’ll have to gel with new receivers and those guys will have to show they can carry a lot but it looks like but plays are on the horizon. The schedule is loaded with teams that will be exciting to watch this season and the SEC will be full of wildcards but they’re all fighting for 3rd place. I expect to see Alabama knocking off Georgia in the SEC Championship and pushing through the playoffs for another Natty. Lets not forget sophomore corner Ga’Quincy Mckinstry, nicknamed “Kool-aid” by his grandma because of he’s always smiling, should see more field time as well. “Oooo ya”
2. Ohio State
The Buckeyes had the #4 recruiting class bringing in 2 5-stars and 18 4-stars. 14 starters are returning.
This was the most efficient offense in the country last season and it was primarily through passing the ball. CJ Stroud put up over 4400 yards with a 44-6 TD-INT ratio and 71.9% completion rate. Jaxon Smith-Njigba exploded last season and finished top 8 in several receiving categories despite playing with Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave who are both in the NFL now. He had over 1600 yards, almost 17 ypc and 9 tds. Marvin Harrison Jr will slide into a starting receiving spot, he got his first start in the Rose Bowl against Utah and caught 3 tds. TreVeyon Henderson the true sophomore running back might actually be the most exciting offensive player on the team when he gets going. Over 1200 yards, 6.8 ypc, and 15 touchdowns as a freshman last season for that kid. The offense was 1st in scoring at 45.7ppg, 3rd in passing last season and could be better this year.The defense gave up 30+ 5 times and the defense was gashed on the ground in the two losses against Oregon and Michigan last season. Jim Knowles comes over after piloting Oklahoma State’s top 10 defenses last season to this OSU group that was outside of the top 25 in all defensive scoring metrics. This group should be improved on the backend and could start 6-7 seniors and a few more Junior so they’ll be heavy on experience. All the key special teams’ components return.Schedule:
I have OSU with the #14 most difficult schedule according to Phil Steele. The Buckeyes get all three non-conference games out of the game right away with Notre Dame, Arkansas State and Toledo. The Irish will open year 100 at Ohio Stadium and could make or break the season right away. A loss means no more slip-ups the reason of the way allowed, a win means a strong enough resume for a one-loss OSU to make the playoffs regardless of whether or not they win the Big 10 title. Toledo could win the MAC and should stay in a game for a quarter and a half. The Buckeyes get 5 conference games at home and 4 on the road. They get a tough draw from the West divison, not in Northwestern but in Iowa and Wisconsin, however both of those games are at home. So the schedule lines up like this: The first month plus the Buckeyes don’t leave the state. They’ll play Notre Dame, Arkansas State, Toledo, Wisconsin, and Rutgers at home. Then they’ll get 4 of the next six on the road but they have a bye week in there. So they’ll play @Michigan State October 8th, take a week off, then return home to play Iowa who will also be coming off a bye. Then they’ll have arguably the softest part of the schedule @Northwestern, Indiana, @ Maryland before closing out November 26th at home against Michigan at noon on FOX. 6 teams will be ranked at some point this season.Final Thoughts:
Jim Knowles will be the MVP if he can get the defense to hold up and get this team in the playoffs, potentially in the National Championship game where I project them to be. The offensive could be on the level of LSU’s 2019 squad, the special teams should be solid. There are a lot of bad offenses in the Big 10 but they’ll have to shut off Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Michigan, with how they’ll match up, potentially MSU and Maryland and whoever they play in the postseason.
3. Georgia
Georgia had the #3 recruiting class bringing in 5 5-stars (2nd only to Texas A&Ms 8) and 17 4-stars. 10 starters returning.
QB Stetson Bennett, former 3rd stringer at this time last season, returns as the starter of the title defending Bulldogs after JT Daniels moved on the West Virginia. Bennett had over 2800 yards and a 29-7 TD-INT ratio last season. They’re returning 7 starters on offense, the offensive line will have new starters and looks to be young with mostly underclassmen projected to start. Running backs James Cook and Zamir White are also gone to be replaced with guys already on the roster and of course Jermaine Burton was buried on social media when he transferred to Alabama but the offense should be ready to pick up where it left off. They were ranked 10th in scoring last season, but 35th in rushing, 51st in passing, 26th overall and they only had a +3 turnover margin. Ohio State and Alabama were both +9.
I say that to make a point that Georgia could see some regression. Obviously, the defense that was #1 in scoring at 10.2 ppg, 2nd in rush, 13th in passing, and 2nd overall was historically great but they only return 3 starters. 4-5 starts are coming in on the defense side of the ball but the offense really has to take a step forward for the team to repeat as Champions. They only converted 44% of 3rd downs last season which was 41st in the country. Jalen Carter on the defensive line Kelee Ringo at the corner spot look like the next top-10 NFL picks out of that Georgia defense. Ringo went 2-2 on 17 deep balls thrown on him last season. He only gave up two completions and he picked two off.Schedule:
The four non-conference games are sprinkled in throughout the year with Oregon, Samford, Kent State, and Georgia Tech on the slate. They Bulldogs will pull two of the easier opponents out of the SEC East division in Auburn and Mississippi State. So the slate lines up line this: Sept 3rd in what is essentially a home game at Mercedes dome in Atlanta, home of the Falcons and United FC, we’ll get to see Oregon Ducks and Georgia Bulldogs battle at 3:30 on ABC in a big game between two top 25 probably AP poll top 15 teams. Then the’ll get Samford, @South Carolina in the Gamecocks first big game with Spencer Rattler under center, Kent State, and @Missouri October 1st. They’ll get the next month at home including a bye week before a couple of the tough divisional games coming up. Home against Auburn, Vanderbilt, bye week, then Jacksonville for the Cocktail party against Florida Octobert 29th at 3:30 on CBS and Tennesse at home the next week in what could be the toughest teams on the schedule up to this point other than Oregon. They’ll close out @Mississippi State, @Kentucky and home against Georgia Tech.
Final Thoughts:
This team could take a full step back from last season and still roll through the games. I’m not confident in Oregon, especially flying across the country week 1. Florida, Tennessee, and Kentucky are all fun picks to pop and win 10+ games this season but one or two will inevitably struggle. Georgia should make the playoffs again. They could lose to Oregon and win the rest of their games including the SEC Championship. They could go 12-0 and lost the SEC Championship and get in. There is some wiggle room up through mid-october for Kirby Smart to work with this roster to get it to where it needs to be to repeat.
- Utah
The Utes have the #33 recruiting class and 14 starters return from a team bounced back from a 1-2 start to finish as 10-4 Pac-12 champs last season. #14 in scoring, #13 in rushing, #84 in passing, hopefully that will improve with everyone outside Britain Covey returning but he’s a real loss. Tavion Thomas will be a candidate for all conference first team. He had 1100 yads, 21 Tds, and 5.4 ypc. The offensive line will see some turnover. The defense was #27th overall, 35th in points allowed but statistically the best defense in the conference last season behind Arizona State. Its entirely possibly they have the best offense and overall defense in the league this season.The PAC-12 is not a strong conference and Utah is certainly to reclaim it. Cameron Rising was a backup at this time last year and didn’t grab the starting job until week 4 last season but he’s one of the top 3-4 QB’s. Lets take a moment to review the Pac-12 situation – returning starters, recruiting rankings and QB status. Half the teams had losing records last season.
Many teams see turnover at QB and not with high ranking prospects.
Questionable
California > Jake Plummer – Purdue backup
Oregon > Bo Nix – tough couple seasons at Auburn
Washington > Michael Penix Jr transfers in after 2 injury plagued seasons in Indiana
Washington State > FCS Incarnate Word tranfer Cameron Ward rejoins offensive coordinator Eric Morris
Arizona started 4 QBs in 2021 this and took on Jayden de Laura out of Washington State to try and rectify the situation
Arizona State lost Jayden Daniels to the portal and brings in Emory Jones out of Florida-he lost his job to Anthony RichardsonDecent?
Oregon State returns Chance Nolan from a 7-6 squad. He is a duel threat
Colorado returns Brendon Lewis who played all 12 game and only threw 3 picks in losing season
Stanford returns Tanner McKee from a 3-9 season but he’s getting NFL buzz. Davis Mills in ’21 and Kevin Hogan in ’16 were the last 2 Stanford QB’s to enter the NFL, just saying.Solid
UCLA returns Dorian Thompson-Robinson for his 5th year as a starter
USC brings in Caleb Williams from USC
Utah returns Cameron Rising who lost to Charlie Brewer in camp last offseason but hit the field week 3 against San Diego State and locked down the job the next week.Oregon is #13 in the 2022 recruiting rankings, Stanford is #19, Arizona is a stunning #22 as they’re hopefully going to see a turnaround in Tucson in the next couple seasons and only 5 teams total are ranked in the top 55. Of course the transfer portal is a massive part of recruiting at this point and was a key piece of Lincoln Riley’s offseason moving to USC. The Trojans ranked #1 in transfer portal rankings. They lead the country with 20 portal commitments and grabbed 2 of the 5 former 5 starts in the portal in Caleb Williams and former Pittsburg WR Jordan Addison who logged 100 catches, 1500 yards and 17 touchdowns last season. Alabama had two and Texas had one. 3 are in the top 20, 8 in the top 50 but it gets a little sparse outside the top 20. No one after Florida at #19 brought in a 4 star and New Mexico State ranks #36 and they might win 2 games this season so I’m not sure you can put a lot of stock in big picture transfer rankings.I give you that info dump to say that Utah, I think who is up there with Oregon and Stanford with the most returning starters at 13-14 is best positioned to win the conference again but I’m not sure they’ll be in the playoffs. The conference again projects to have a lot of entertaining but losing team and the slate doesn’t promise an undefeated or one-loss schedule.
They play a nine game conference schedule and this season 5 of those are on the road and 2 of the 3 non-conference opponents they have on the schedule are quality teams including a road game at the Swamp against Florida in the opener. They get San Diego State, who went to the Mountain West Championship last season, in game #3 after FCS level Southern Utah. Arizona State, UCLA, Washington State, Oregon and Colorado back-to-back to end the season with 2 road games are the away teams on the conference schedule. They’ll get USC at home, but this squad will have to go at least 11-1 and win against the Pac 12 team with the best record in the CC game to make the playoffs and the schedule doesn’t do any favors. - Michigan
13 starters return, #9 recruiting class, 12-2 last season.
Offensive coordinator Josh Gattis was pulled away by Mario Cristobal to Miami so Matt Weiss and Sherrone Morre are taped to decide which QB to role with, the steady hand of Cade McNamara who threw for 2500 yards and a 15-6 TD-INT ratio or JJ McCathy the threat in the waiting. Blake Corum who had almost 1,000 yards last season and 11 TDs is back and Ronnie Bell who was lost to an ACL last season will solidify a WR group with Cornelius Johnson who averaged 15.7 ypc last season. The offensive line returns most of its starters and plugs in Olusegan Lluwatimi, the Rinminton Award finalist for top center in 2021, from Virginia. The defense is going to be upper-classman heavy but returning only a few starters. Mazi Smith could be the next defensive line force. Jesse Minter comes over from the Ravens as the new defensive coordinator.
Schedule:
#50 SOS. The non-conference schedule for the Wolverines includes Colorado State, Hawaii, and UConn to start off before welcoming Maryland to start conference play. October 1st will be the first road game against Iowa followed up by a road trip to Indiana. 4 of the next 5 are at home: Penn State, Michigan State, @Rutgers, Nebraska, Illinois and they end the season @Ohio State for a game that could determine a playoff spot. Drawing a road game against Iowa and home games against Nebraska and Illinois out of the West division isn’t the worst draw. Getting Michigan State and Penn State at home is glorious but they’ll have to munch up all of those foes to get line-up that big Ohio State game. They haven’t won there since 2000.
Final Thoughts:
I think Michigan will be 10-1 heading to Columubus, this is college football but they could be 11-0. I think they lose to the Buckeyes and miss out on the Big 10 Championship game, but are selected over the winner of the SEC West to make the Rose Bowl where they close out the season smashing an inferior Pac-12 team. So I’m projecting 11-2.
6. Notre Dame
15 starters return,#7 recruiting class (1-5 star, 17-4 stars), 11-2 last season.
Brian Kelly is off to LSU and Morgan Freeman-scratch that Marcus Freeman-both men of many talents has the keys to the car as he steps up into the head spot form a coordinator role. We don’t know what we’re going to get out of the QB position for the 3rd year in a row. Either Tyler Buchner with 35 career passes or Drew Pyne with 30 will be up to bat. Whoever it is will have a solid offensive line, a future NFL tightend in Michael Mayer and a receiving core that’s senior heavy but lacks a difference maker at this point. Isaiah Foskey and Jayson Ademiloa will anchor the defensive line and defense looks to be in good shape.
Schedule:
Every season I look at Notre Dame’s schedule and think, there are a lot of good teams here but not great ones. Well this might be the year that it’s a little different. The open up in Columbus at Ohio State Sep. 3rd at 7:30 on ABC. So mark your caledner for that. They’ll play Marshall (possible C-USA contender), Cal, @North Carolina and take a bye week before whipping out the new white uniforms for the Las Vegas game against BYU. Then they’re home against Stanford, UNLV, @Syracuse, then they play Clemson who could win the ACC. They’ll follow that up with tricky Navy, Boston College, and @USC who could be in the Pac-12 Championship game the following week. So some of this schedule could fall apart like last season (Florida State, Virginia Tech, USC, North Carolina, Virginia, Stanford) but it looks like the kind of schedule you need to win to make the playoffs. I don’t see them beating Ohio State and I see one other slipup, but I think they win 2 of 3 against BYU, Clemson, and USC and take care of the rest of the schedule like they always do.
- NC State
17 starters return
#64 recruiting class
9-3 last season
Devin Leary returns at QB after 3,433 yards, 35-5 Td-Int ratio. Three of the top 5 receivers return for the #19 passing offense. Three of five offensive linemen return. The defense was #3 in the ACC, #21 nationally, #14 in ppg, 2nd in passing rate defensively, 5th in 3rd down defense, and returns 10 starters. They beat Clemson in double-OT last season but lost @Mississippi State 24-10 in week 2 last season, @Miami by 1, and @Wake Forest by 3 so they were close to big time last season.Schedule:
They open @East Carolina, home Charleston South, Texas Tech, and Uconn non-conference. Charlie Southy and UConn are gimmies but the Wolfpack can’t have a slipup like last season against Mississippi State against East Carolina or Texas Tech to make an outside playoff run. Obviously it won’t affect the ACC picture. ECU had its first winning season last year in almost a decade. Saturday, October 1st they’ll play in Death Valley against Clemson in the game that could decide right off the bad who is going to the ACC Championship game from the Atlantic. After that they’re home against Florida State and @Syracuse before a 12 day prep for a Thursday October 27th game against Virgina Tech. They’ll have another long period to prep for Wake Forest 9 days later. The pack will close with its third home game in a row against Boston College and end with road games @Louisville and @North Carolina.Final Thoughts:
Outside of Clemson on the road NC State should be favored in every game. Outside of Clemson’s defensive front who could make a difference in that game, I think they’re better than every squad on the schedule and I’m predicting an upset in Death Valley, maybe a Clemson slip up somewhere else that pushes the Wolfpack through to the ACC Championship where they’ll win the title over…a team coming up. - Oklahoma
10 starters returning,#8 recruiting class, #4 transfer class 4-4 stars
Brent Venables was finally pried away from his perch as defensive coordinator at Clemson and brought on board after Lincoln Riley headed West and he’s expected to continue rolling through the Big 12 in Norman (while they’re still a part of it). Jeff Lebby will play armchair quarterback, he’s been the offensive coordinator at Ole Miss and Central Florida the past few seasons for top passing attacks and he’ll rejoin with QB Dillion Gabriel transferring in from Central Florida where he’s complied over 8,000 yards and 70 Tds in his 2+ year career. The running backs will be sorting themselves out, the offensive line should be in good shape with 3 starters returning, Marvin Mims is a big playmaking receiver who caught 32 balls for 705 yards and 5 Tds last season, a 22 ypc average but the depth chart will need to be sorted. The defensive scheme is going to be copy and pasted from Clemson with Ted Roof joining Venables. It’ll be a lot of guys moving up the depth chart and some transfers plugging holes around 4 returning starters.The schedule stacks up like this: The Sooners get 4 road conference games and 4 at home with the Red River Rivalry game being played at the Cotton Bowl in Texas. Utep, Kent State are at home to start the season and allow the Sooners to get things humming, @Nebraska on FOX for big noon kick off in week 3 to round out the non-conference schedule. They open up at home against Kansas State then play the only back-to-back road games on the schedule against TCU and Texas. Then come back home for the Jayhawks before taking a week off. They wrap up @Iowa State, Baylor, @West Virginia, Oklahoma State, and @Texas Tech so they get the who could be the two toughest teams on the schedule in Baylor and OSU at home.
Final Thoughts:
For the most part a lot of this information doesn’t sound great for a top-10 team but the Big 12 is going to be a very interesting beast this season. Oklahoma State is always near the top of the barrel but was inches away from the playoffs last when a dive on 4th and goal came up short in the Big 12 Championship game against Baylor who was selected by most preseason pollsters as the worst team in the conference. Both teams figure to be involved in the conference race with the Sooners this season, Texas might be figuring things out and TCU, Kansas State, maybe even Texas Tech look like they could knock some teams out of the race or maybe….even pull a 2021 Baylor. This team should play uptempo offense and the defense could be brutal even if it takes time to come together. I’m just not sure if we can get out of the regular season without a 2-loss Big 12 team to make the playoffs much like last season.
9. Texas A&M
11 starters returning
#1 recruiting class of all time
8-4 last season with losses to Arkansas and @Ole Miss that weren’t bad but a home defeat to Mississippi State that finished 7-6 and a road loss to LSU the last game of the year when Ed Ogeran was a dead man walking and the Tigers knew they weren’t going bowling were bad looks. All four losses were 10 points or less.
Jimbo Fisher have now rolled in multiple top-5 recruiting classes as NIL talk reached a fever pitch this offseason and the Aggies had the highest ranked recruiting class ever. Lets look back to last season. Haynes King was the starting QB, he gets hurt, Zach Calzada steps up, he’s fine, the offensive line is playing 4 backups at one point and the schedule was more difficult. They still managed to upend Alabama in week 6 and that begins a 4 game winning streak for the squad. Max Johnson is transferring in from LSU and he’s an upgrade. He only completed 60% of his passes for a down Tigers squad but threw for 2800 yards and a 27-6 Td-Int ratio. If he doesn’t win the job its because King has returned healthy and strong or 5 star Conner Weigman looks great.
They lost Isiah Spiller to the NFL but Devin Achane who ran for 910 yards at 7ypc and 9 TDs is getting NFL buzz. He also had 261 yads receiving. Most of the offensively line is back and they’ll be a couple senior receivers up at the top of the depth chart with Ainias Amith (47 rec, 509 yds, 6 Tds) leading the way. The defense will be young, but loaded. Last season the Aggies only gave up 15.9 ppg, 3rd in the country and had the 17th passing defense nationally.
Schedule:
#11 SOS. The Aggies play Sam Houston, UMass, Sun Belt favorite Appalachian State, and Miami at home in the non-conference. A road game @South Carolina and a home date against Florida from the SEC West side. So they’ll play Sam Houston, Appalachian State, Miami at home before playing Arakansas in Arlinton Texas (a “neutral” game). Then they’ll play 3 true road games in a row @Mississippi State, @ Alabama, @ South Carolina with a bye week after the Tide game. The final stretch is 4 of 5 at home: Ole Miss, Florida @Auburn (against for QB Zach Calzada), UMass and LSU.
Final Thoughts:
Next year could be the culmination of the perfect storm. Jimbo has been recruiting behind Saban, he had major overlapping injuries last season that weighted down the offense, the schedule does come into play, the right mix of talent and experience but next 2023, with a couple years of historically great recruiting classes and some time to weave those guys together, while praying for health and navigating the schedule, could be the season that the greatest dynasty in the history of college football has a real challenger. It could happen this season.
10. Oklahoma State
11 starters return, #29 recruiting class (6-4 stars), 12-2 last season
QB Spencer Sanders returns for his 20th season. He’ll be playing with his kid next year if he comes back. Really milky that extra eligibility. He had 2800 yards and a 20-12 TD-Int ratio last season. He’s had a rough time with turnovers in his career, picks and fumbles but he’s the most experienced QB in the Big 12. The #1 receiver Tay Martin and #1 RB Jaylen Warren are gone but the Cowboys will have depth. The offensive line is in good shape. The defense returns only 4 guys and loses Jim Knowles from a top-5 defense. Derek Mason hops on board form Auburn at defensive coordinator.
Schedule:
The Cowboys open up at home against Central Michigan, Arizona State, and Arkansas-Pine Bluff. ASU is stuggling with Herm Edwards getting him with allegation hangover over things that are legal or semi-legal now. So it’s just a disaster in Phoenix. They’ll take a bye week before head to Waco and playing Baylor. Then they’ll play Texas Tech as home, @TCU, Texas, @Kansas State, @Kansas, Iowa State, @Oklahoma, home against West Virginia. So the schedule is balanced throughout. Baylor and Oklahoma are on the road. TCU and Kansas State on the road will be tough too.
Final Thoughts:
The Cowboys will have a chance to repeat with a solid offense and defensive foundation. No one seems to have a clear lead in the Big 12. I have Oklahoma winning the conference but this team could be right there.
- Clemson
15 starters return
#10 recruiting class
10-3 last season
#2 scoring defense, #7 rushing defense, #8 overall. The entire defensive line returns could see 5-7 players drafted next season. Xavier Thomas, Bryan Bresee, Tyler Davis, Myles Murphy, Ruke Orhorhoro. The secondary is doing some retooling but this defense can shut people down with or without Brent Venables leading the charge. The question will be on offense again. Tony Elliiot is the new offensive coordinator for the worst passing offense in the ACC. DJ Uiagalelei completed 55% of his passes for 2246 yards 10-9 TD-INT ratio. 5-star Cade Klubnik is getting Deshaun Watson comparisons and will defenitly see some time for an offense returning 9 starters including running back Will Shipley who had 11 touchdowns and 738 yards in only 10 games as a freshman last season.
Schedule:
#45 SOS. They open against Georgia Tech, Furman and Louisiana Tech. They’ll play @Wake Forest, home against NC State in a game that could decide the division, @Boston College, @ Florida State, home against Syracuse. They’ll take a bye before heading to South Bend to play Notre Dame then come back home for Louisville, Miami, and South Carolina. This offense needs to make strides or this team isn’t going to lose a game they’ll lose games, plural, again.
Final Thoughts:
Talking heads will point to Clemson winning 6 straight games to finish last season and still winning 10 games as a sign of “just a rough start” but the schedule wasn’t difficult last season and half of this teams wins were only one-possession games. It was a miserable season. The front seven is elite and the schedule isn’t awful but NC State, Miami, Louisville’s offensive, Notre Dame, Wake Forest are not joke. I’m projecting a couple losses including NC State beating the Tigers at home and taking the Atlantic Division.
12. USC
11 return
#70 recruiting class (1-5 star, 4-4 stars no one outside the top 15 other than USC has a 5 star. Most don’t have any 4, it was just such a small recruiting class it was ranked low.)
4-8 last season
#1 transfer portal class
Lincoln Riley packet his suit case and went west as any 38-year-old with a bright future would do. Still only 38 and he’s coaching another major CFB program. A lot of the stats can be thrown out from this cluncker of a team last season with one of the greatest staff and roster turnovers in the country. #93 in returning production. Keldon Slovis transferred to QB Pitt, Jaxson Dart to QB Ole Miss and JT Daniels is actually a 3rd former Trojan that’ll be starting elsewhere this season at West Virginia. So let’s focus on what they have here. Caleb Williams is might be the best QB in the Pac-12 but lets reflect for a moment. He didn’t play his senior year of high school in Washington DC due to covid. He only started 7 games last season although the Texas comeback game that he didn’t start was his greatest performance. He had some mixed showings in that sample size. He’s transferring to his 3rd school in a 3rd different state in less than 3 calendar years and he’s still 19 years old. He won’t turn 20 until November. I’m not saying he won’t explode this season, I’m simply saying lets not be surprised if he isn’t exploding every game and in the Heisman race for another season yet. Jordan Addison is coming over from Pittsburg. He’s one of the best receivers in the country and could be this season. He had 100 catches for almost 1600 yards and 17 Tds so Williams will have a weapon right off the bat. Travis Dye is coming over from Oregon as the Ducks 5th all-time rusher and Austin Jones is coming in from Stanford to take over the backfield. Jerry Rice’s son Brenden is coming over from Colorado. The defense will be a rebuilding job.
Schedule:
Home against Rice will help the Trojans get on track early. Then they’ll head to Stanford and this is dangerous. The Cards were 3-9 last season but return a lot of production and QB Tanner McKee is an NFL prospect. Next they get Fresno State how could win the Mountain West. Next is @Oregon State, Arizona State, Washington State, and a monster road game @Utah. USC could be undefeated at that point. They’ll take the bye after that then play @Arizona, California, Colorado, @UCLA and Notre Dame at home. It’s entirely possible only 3 or 4 teams on the entire schedule are ranked at some point during the season.
Final Thoughts:
This group has lots of question marks because it’s a 4-8 squad esspeically build through free agency but they’ll be able to score points in a fragile Pac-12. I think they’ll be in the Pac-12 Championship losing to Utah and heading to the Rose Bowl when the Utes go to the playoffs. - BYU
19 starters return
#55 recruiting class
10-3 last season
#2 in returning production
This team has a senior QB in Jaren Hall who threw for over 2,500 yards and a 20-5 TD-Int ratio. They were top-15 in 3rd down conversion and rushing efficiency. Most of the offensive line will be back. Two of the top 3 receivers are back and Puka Nacua transfers over from Washinton with 805 yards and 6 Tds last season. Tyler Allgeier who had over 1,600 yards and 23 TDs is the big loss on offense but there are plenty of horses in the stable led by California transfer Christopher Brooks. Injuries hurt the defense last season but everyone is back and they were 6-1 against power 5 teams last season. They were #17 in ypg and had a +11 turnover magin which was 7th nationally.
Schedule:
#38 SOS. The schedule is loaded with fun games. @South Florida, Baylor, @ Oregon, Wyoming, Utah State-on a Thursday 5 days last against the defending Mountain West Champs- then a bye week. In Las Vegas Oct 8 to play Notre Dame, Arkansas, @Liberty, East Carolina, @Boise State, Utah Tech, and @ Stanford. Outside of Utah Tech, South Florida, and maybe Wyoming or Liberty depending on how there seasons are going, all of those sound like fun games to watch.
Final Thought:
The Cougars have defied the odds and won more games then they should have a couple years in a row and another loaded schedule as they prepare for the Pac-12 will get them ready for big time. I expect them to win some big games. - Wisconsin
8 starters return (5O,3D)
#44 recruiting class (2-4 stars)
9-4 last season
Wisconsin had a top-5 defense last season and hopes to do it again this year. They were #1 rushing defense, #4 passing defense, #4 ppg allowed, #4 overall, top-30 in 3rd down conversation rate. Again if you extrapolated some of this data and looked at the offensives they played verses average offenses the adjusted rates might not be quite as good. They played 7 offenses ranked #79 or worse last season, 4 ranked #99 or worse. Again, only 8 returning starters. Graham Mertz at QB had less than 2,000 yards and a 10-11 TD-INT ratio last season and he’s the unquestioned starter. The offense will be run behind sophomore RB Braelon Allen who had over 1,200 yards and 12 TDs at 6.8 ypc last season behind a line returning most of its starters.
The schedule starts with Illinois State, Washington State, New Mexico State at home in the non-conference. Washington State and Wisconsin will certain be a difference in play style. They’ll go to Columbus for Ohio State to start conference play. Then they’ll plow through October with Illinois, @Northwestern, @Michigan State, and Purdue. They’ll take a bye before playing Maryland at home and then fist fighting through the rest of the Big 10 West @Iowa, @Nebraska, and home against Minnesota. If Maryland is the worst Big East draw you have on the schedule, that’s tough. @Michigan State and @Ohio State are brutal. The tough West games are split: Purdue and Minnesota at home, Iowa and Nebraska away but that lineup at the end is tough. You trust this team isn’t going to get crushed and they’ll be the pick to win the West by most again but I’m just looking at all the possible losses on the schedule.
Final Thoughts:
I think they can certainly win the West. Especially if Mertz becomes anything that resembles a QB and not a liability. He’ll have a new offensive coordinator. I’m holding my breath and going with Purdue.
15. Oregon
15 starters return
#13 recruiting class
10-4 last season
Dan Lanning left Georgia as defensive coordinator and became the head coach in Eugene when Mario Cristibal headed to Miami.
Most of the starters are on both sides of the trenches and the linebacking core. This should be one of the best offensive lines in the country. Noah Sewell had 114 tackles las season and might be the best linebackers nationally. Justin Flowe has barely played but he’s creep up mock drafts because of the physical abilities he’s showing. He was the #1 linebacker in the 2020 class but missed time due to multiple injuries.
Brandon Dorlus will dominate at defensive tackle. Bo Nix comes over from Auburn after mixed results for two years with Antony Brown moving along. Nix has a 39-16 TD-INT ratio over 3 years but less than 7 yards per throw with a 59% completion percentage, but he didn’t have much stability at Auburn. Travis Dye and his 1200 rush yards and 16 Tds went to USC. Top receiver Devon Williams is gone so all of the key skill spots will see turnover. The over/under for this squad is currently sitting on 8.5 with the turnover.
Schedule:
This squad opens up against Georgia in Atlanta. Then they’re home for Eastern Washington before hosting BYU. Then they’ll play @Washington State, Stanford, @Arizona before taking a bye. So that’s a rough start to the season. The badend is UCLA, @California, @Colorado, Washington, Utah, @Oregon State. So they’ll get the tough teams: Utah, UCLA, possibly Washington at home.
Final Thoughts:
The schedule isn’t a bad draw but this team hasn’t been a National Championship contend realistically for a while and a new staff, questionable QB, unknown skill positions and two teams clearly ahead in the peaking order with USC bringing in more top transfers and Utah more established this squad is looking like the #3 team in the conference.
16. Pitt
15 starters return
#76 recruiting class
11-3 last season
So Pitt loses Kenny Pickett across the trailing facility to the Steelers and top receiver Jordan Addison to USC. What they bring back is entire offensive line, a loaded defensive line to rule the trenches as Pat Narduzzi likes to do. The top 3 rushers, All ACC SirVocea Dennis at linebacker. This squad should be in decent shape after rolling out the #3 passing and #8 overall offense last season. They were #8 in rush defense and should have a top-10 defensive line again. Kedon Slovis struggled at USC last season and was banged up up but he’ll take up the QB positon. Narduzzi has been crushing Mark Whipple the offensive coordinator who moved on to Nebraska after passing too much which had been very strange, but presumably the ball will be run more under Frank Cignetti Jr who has bounced around the NFL and college ranks the past few years.
The Schedule:
Home against West Virginia on Thursday Sep 1st and Tennessee at home 10 days later. So, two Power-5 opponents back-to-back but both are at home and you’ll have more than a week off in-between. They’ll finish the non-conference @Western Michigan and home against Rhode Island and they’ll stay at home to play Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech to open ACC play before taking a bye. Its heavy road games after that. @Louisville, @North Carolina, Syracuse, @Virginia, Duke, and @Miami. Pittsburg is at a better place than any of the teams on their schedule.
Final Thoughts:
The schedule is workable even with West Virginia and Tennessee to open and Miami on the road but they don’t play Clemson or NC State and could have 10+ wins. - Tennessee
15 starters return
#18 recruiting class
7-6 last season
Hendon Hooker might be the 2nd best QB in the SEC and he wasn’t the starter heading into last season, Joe Milton the Michigan transfer was. Hooker threw for almost 3000 yards and a 31-3 TD-INT ratio. The receiving core will have mostly new pieces but returns Cedric Tillman (64 rec, 1,081 yds, 12 Tds) for the #7 scoring, #11 rushing, and #9 overall offense in the country. The top running backs lead by Jabari Small’s 796 yards and 9 TDs return and the offensive line returns 4 starters. That unit gave up 44 sacks last season, most in the SEC. They’ll need to show improvement. The defense had difficulties last season generating a pass rush and stopping opposing defenses in general but they’ll be senior heavy and returning 7 starters. The 2nd best punter in the SEC, Paxton Brooks, and a solid kicker in Chase McGrath returns as well.
#27 SOS
The Vols open with Ball State, then they play @Pittsburgh (they lost 41-34 last season, that’s when Hendon Hooker took the starting job from Joe Milton), then they get Akon and play at home against Florida before taking a bye week. The next stretch is @LSU, home against Alabama, take a breather against UT Martin, then play Kentucky and go to Georgia. They’ll wrap up home against Missouri, @South Carolina, @Vanderbilt a winnable trio.
Final Thoughts:
This team will put up points again and I predict they’ll finish behind Georgia in the SEC West. They are in contest with Florida and Kentucky for that spot, possibly South Carolina if Spencer Rattler is a difference maker, but all of those squads play difficult schedules and I think Tennessee with Florida and Kentucky at home has the best shot to make some noise. - Baylor
12 starters return
#37 recruiting class
12-2 last season
Blake Shapen will be a solid QB who logged some time last season when Gerry Bohanon was hurt and he won the job this season forcing Bohanon into the transfer portal. The offensive line will return a few 5-year players. They’re retooling the skill position players but the defense is key. #10 in scoring last season, 17th in rushing a +13 turnover margin that was 3rd in the country. This could be a top-5 defensive line with the top six guys returning. Siaki Ika is a monster nose tackle at the top of NFL draft boards right now.
Schedule:
The Bears will play a tough early game week 2 @BYU but Albany and Texas State are sandwiched around it. They have 5 road games in-conference: Iowa State, West Virgina, Texas Tech and Oklahoma back-to-back and Texas. So the home dates are Oklahoma State, Kansas, Kansas State, TCU. That’s not the most difficult schedule but its not the easiers either. #40 per Phil Steele. I have them behind Oklahoma and Oklhaoma State in the Big 12 and bunched together with my number 19 pick also from the Big 12.
Final Thoughts:
This team will be in the complex Big 12 hunt with solid coaching and trench warfare. They weren’t expected to do anything last season, maybe Dave Aranda is still underrated heading into his 3rd season in Waco.
19. TCU
18 starters back
#45 recruiting class (4-4 stars)
5-7 last season
Sonny Dykes skips into town from SMU after Gary Patterson was kicked to the curb. The passing attack and secondary will probably be the strengths. 18 starters are back. 10 on offense. Senior Max Duggan who has 29 starts will probably be the starter at QB and he’ll have Quentin Johnston who top receivers in the country. He had 33 catches for 634 yards and 6 Tds last season. Almost all the skill positions and depth is back minuse Zach Evens who skipped off to Ole Miss. This is just a team that’s had losing seasons 3 of the past 6 years and needs a change. There is a NFL talent. Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson has been one of the best corners in the contry for a couple seasons. TCU gave up the 3rd most sacks last season and didn’t do much sacking. This could be a sneaky team this season.
The schedule:
@Colorado, Tarleton, @SMU in Sonny’s return to Dallas. All games you need to win but two on the road and the bye week comes between Tarleton and SMU which is way too early. They get Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and another sleeper in Kansas State at home. They’ll play @Texas, @Baylor, home against Iowa State to end the season. West Virginia and Kansas are also home games which isn’t bad. You like the easier teams on the road and tougher teams at home and they get 5 home conference games with Texas Tech slipping in there as well and only 4 away.
Final Thoughts:
This team could get killed in the trenches but has talent in other areas to create problems it just needs to be cultivated. They’ll pull some upsets in the Big 12 this season.
20. Purdue
14 starters return
#38 recruiting class (4-4 stars)
9-4 last season
QB Alex O Connell is back for year 6, his 3rd as a starter and is probably the 2nd best QB in a conference that struggles to score. Including the SEC West where Wisconsin and Iowa, two favorites to win the division don’t have threatening QB’s and are vulnerable in any game where more than 3 TDs are placed on the board. O’ Connell had 3,700 yards and a 28-11 TD-INt ratio last season. His top receivers are gone but Milton Wright should be back disptire academic issues. He had 57 rec, 732 yards, 7 Tds last season. Tight end Payne Durham has 45 rec, 467 yds, 6 Tds. The Boilermakers were horrible running the ball last season a 3.7 ypc and didn’t do a good job supporting the passing attack but King Doerue the starter is back and they’ll infuse some transerfers into that spot behind what should be a solid o-line.
The defense was solid last year even by Big 10 standards with Wisconsin, Iowa, Penn State, Michigan, Minnesota all coming to mind first. They were top 20 in 3rd down conversion defense. They were solid in preventing big plays of 20+ yards. I think some of that will scale back but they can still be Kydran Jenkins looks to be the next great force on the defensive line after a great freshman seaon.
Schedule:
The non-conference schedule is easy. They avoid Ohio State, Michigan State, and Michigan and get there one really challenging opponent out of the East at home. So it looks like this: Penn State at home in a huge opener Thursday, Sep 1st on Fox that could set the tone for the season if they win. A loss isn’t the end of the world but a victory would setup a nice run. Indiana State, @Syracuse, Florida Atlantic are next to run through the non-conference. Next is the tough part where they get all four other squads competing for the West division, @Minnesota, @ feisty Maryland out of the East, Nebraska, @Wisconsin, bye week, Iowa. I don’t think they come out of that stretch unscathed but 4-1 is possible. They’ll finsh up @Illinois, home Northwestern, @ Indiana.
Final thoughts:
Purdue has won 4 of the last 5 against Iowa and the last two in Madison. The non-conference is easy, the east pulls aren’t bad and although there are questions the Boilermakers don’t have the floor that some of the other squads do. Can Wisconsin throw at all? Can Iowa move the ball at all? Can Nebraska keep it together? Can Minnesota win the division after being on the doorstep twice in 3 years and falling short?
- Houston
13 starters back
#50 recruiting class (1-4 star)
12-2 last season
Cincinnati and Houston will be competing for the AAC again this season with the Bearcats clawing out a win over the Cougars last season for a playoff spot. UCF will be in the mix. SMU, Memphis, the awesome East Carolina Pirates will make things interesting. Navy will be in there. Is there a trophy for the winner of the game between the East Carolina Pirates and the Navy Midshipman? That would be awesome. It could be two battleships. We also have the Tulane Green Wave and Tulsa Golden Hurricanes in the conference. Lots of water themes. I think some aquatic themed games and trophies need to be planed. I like where my head is at.
This squad was 15th in scoring and 23rd in passing last season and returns QB Clayton Tune who threw for 3500 yards and 30 Tds last season. Nathaniel Dell has 12 Tds in 2021 and returns as the top receiver and 3 transfers from power-5 schools will join what could be a top-10 passing attack. The offensive line will be fuzzy with 2 starters returning. The defense was the best in the country last season in 3rd down completion rate holding teams under 30%. Top 20 in all statistical categories as far as yardage given up and #6th overall. Six starters will be back for a senior heavy defense.
Schedule:
The schedule is important because it was easy last season and its easy again. #102 SOS. No Cincinnati or UCF regular season. They’ll play @UTSA (who’ll take a step back from last season’s breakout 11-win team), @Texas Tech (where they’ll probably be favored), home Kansas and Rice in the non-conference. They’ll host Tulane and play @Memphis before taking a bye week. The backend of the schedule does see all the tougher teams on the road: @Navy, USF, @SMU, Temple, @East Carolina, Tulsa, but Houston should be in good shape to make and win the AAC Championship.
Miami
14 starters return
7-5 last season
Tyler Van Dyke eventually took over for D’Eriq King at QB last year and had multiple 300+ yards games that pushed this team to a top 10 passing squad and is looking like a NFL guy. Three of the top 4 running backs and 3 oline starters are back. The top two receivers are gone but he has three guys that all averaged over 11ypc moving up the depth chart. The defense was young last season and will be young again but the secondary might be one of the top groups nationally. Tyrique Stevenson at corner is view as a top prospect at the position for the 2023 NFL draft.
Schedule:
This Miami schedule is #65. It’s bad. Home for Bethune-Cookman and Southern Miss. Travel to College Station to play Texas A&M. That’s huge for both programs. A loss for either wouldn’t be a world ender but a win would be big. They’ll play Middle Tennessee afterwards and take a bye. Then they’ll play North Carolina, @Virginia Tech, Duke, @ Virginia, Florida St, @Georgia Tech before playing @Clemson and home against Pitt to end the season in easily the two most difficult conference games from the looks of it. The floor for this team should be 8-4.
Final Thoughts: They’ll finish 2nd in a sloppy ACC Coastal behind Pitt. If for no other reason than the schedule is accommodating, they have a great QB, and no one else looks the part.- Fresno State
15 starters return
#72 recruiting class
10-3 last season
Mountain West talk will start with Boise State. Fresno fewer returning starters than Boise State who brings back 17, they’re a few spots back from the Broncos in the recruiting rankings and play them on the road. BSU was 7-5 and struggled last season but should bounced back and contend for the MW this year. SDSU, Air Force, and Utah State will be there again.
Fresno State returns Jake Haener who is 8th in returning passing touchdowns with 33 last season. He had the best Fresno State QB season since 2013 Derek Carr with 4,000+ yards and a 67%. Haener and Logan Bonner and Utah State are the best QB’s returning in the MW. Bonner is tied for 5th in returning TD production from last season with 36. Jalen Cropper and Josh Kelly return as the top weapons for the #14 ranked offense in the country. The defense returns 7 guys and was #20 in scoring defense and #32 overall. A couple power-5 transfers will holpefuuly bost that side of the ball.
Schedule:
Cal Poly, Oregon State, @USC, bye week, @UConn will start the season. 2-2 is likely but a win over OSU and a good showing against USC would be optinal. The Bulldogs lost by a touchdown @Oregon last season and won by 3 @UCLA. San Jose State, Hawaii, Wyoming, and defending MW West divison Champion San Diego State are the home games. SDSU will be the man road block to a Mountain West Championship game appearance. The away games are UNLV, Nevada, New Mixico, and Boise State to open the slate October 1st.
Final Thoughts:
The MW will be a great watch again. Fresno is a slight favorite over SDSU in the West. Fresno missed Utah State, and Air Force out of the Mountain divison on the schedule and I’m giving them the edge over one of those two or Boise State in the MW Championship game.
24. Ole Miss
10-3 last season
12 starters returning
#2 transfer rankings-9 4-stars
#27 recruiting class (6-4 stars)
Matt Corral’s replacement this season will be true sophomore Jaxson Dart who got a few games under his belt last season on a USC team that went 4-8, he was also a little banged up. The rushing production is gone and was reloaded with TCU’s Zach Even and SMU’s Ulysses Bentlye IV. The receivers outside of Jonathan Mingo who averaged 15.7 yards on 22 catches during a 6 game sample size last season are gone as well but Jordan Watkins out of Louisville will slide into a starting role. The offense was 24th in scoring, 12th in rushing, 22nd in passing and 6th over last season. The defense statistically was a step up and should be decent this season with a few portal adds and most of the secondary depth returning. Noah Daniels is a sixth-year player at corner and top in the country at his position. Troy Brown spent four years at Central Michigan and is playing out his last season of eligibity before heading off to the NFL.
Schedule:
The Rebels get the non-conference schedule out of the way early. Troy, Central Arkansas, @Georgia Tech, and Tulsa to open the season before hosting there SEC West opponents on the schedule Kentucky at home and Vanderbilt on the road. The next two on the schedule are the two teams in the East that’ll look to be struggling this season in Auburn and a road game to LSU. So this schedule just slowly elevates for Ole Miss. Worst case scenario they’re 6-2 after this point. Then they play @Texas A&M before a bye week. They’ll finish up against Alabama, @Aransas, and home against Mississippi State in the rivalry Egg Bowl. This is considered #30 SOS.
Final Thoughts:
Lane Kiffin is in year 3 and only his 2nd normal recruiting cycle and he brought in a top-30 recruiting class. He also is going to be one of the few teams in the country that is guaranteed to be elevated by the quality and volume of players brought in from the transfer portal. He schedule gradually builds up under the last difficult month and that gives him plenty of time to get his team to gel and win some games.
25. Penn State
11 starters return
With Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State all in the same conference and Maryland looking spry this season someone had to take a beating. I think MSU and Maryland will be in bowl games but have more serious questions that Penn State who finished a surprising 7-6 last season but continues to swim in NFL prospects like WR (Parker Washington), CB (Joey Porter JR), and S (Ji’Air Brown). Washington is 3rd in the country in terms of returning recing yards from last season with 1,402 yards behind Jaxon Smith-Njgiba at Ohio State and Jordan Addison moving from Pitt to USC. James Franklin brought in 4 of the top 10 recruits in the conference, finished with the #2 overall class in the Big 10, #6 recruiting class (3-5 stars, 13-4 stars)
The offense couldn’t score in the red zone last season, could run, gave up sacks-they were ranked in the bottom-3rd of the country in all those stats but #26 in pass because Sean Clifford had to throw. He wasn’t awesome but he’s back with more support hopefully. There are talented receivers and if his decision making improves maybe the passing offense will become a greater strength but everything else has to move from dumpsterfire to some kind of average first. The defense was tied for 6th at 17.3 ppg, and 7th in opponents passing efficiancy allowed but 38th in yardage given up.
Schedule:
They open up @Purdue on Thursday, September 1st, then grab Ohio out of the MAC before playing @Auburn and coming back home to play another MAC team in Central Michigan and Northwestern before taking a bye. Winnable games but tough road games. After the bye: @Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio State for the tough section. November is: @Indiana, Maryland, @Rutgers, Michigan State. All four of those home games: Minnesota, Ohio State, Maryland, Michigan State will be tough.
Final Thoughts:
No Iowa or Wisconsin on the schedule. You split Minnesota and Purdue out of the West home/away and you get 2 of 3 Michigan, MSU, Ohio State at home but Auburn is going to be tough and this team needs to fix pretty much everything on offense.
1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Georgia
4. Utah
5. Michigan
6. Notre Dame
7. NC State
8. Oklahoma
9. Texas A&M
10. Oklahoma State
11. Clemson
12. USC
13. BYU
14. Wisconsin
15. Oregon
16. Pitt
17. Tennessee
18. Baylor
19. TCU
20. Purdue
21. Houston
22. Miami
23. Boise State
24. Ole Miss
25. Penn State
Under Consideration/Top 40 in no order:
Arkansas, Minnesota, Michigan State, Louisville, Wake Forest, Cincinnati, UCLA, Texas, Kentucky, Florida, Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, UAB, Fresno State, Marshall, Iowa, Washington, Utah State, East Carolina, Toledo
