Commotion coming from down dorm room hallways, Corso dancing around in team garb, and crazed maniacs in face paint running through quads across the country? That’s right, college football is back in action, and it starts off this Saturday, September 5th. With new recruits and a new gameplan for most teams, the landscape will be different as we enter year two of the Playoff system. Check out my rankings this week, before the season starts.
Let’s start with some brief analysis of my top 10.
1. Ohio State Buckeyes: With Heisman candidate Ezekiel Elliot at full strength and both J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones to choose from, the Buckeyes are looking as good as ever.
2. Texas Christian Horned Frogs: Duel-threat QB-WR Trevone Boykin as well as running back Aaron Green lead the likely Big 12 champions.
3. Auburn Tigers: If the Wisconsin Badgers can beat Alabama in Week 1 and Auburn wins the Iron Bowl, the gauntlet of the SEC West is theirs. One of those two things will happen.
4. Alabama Crimson Tide: If it doesn’t, you can’t count out Alabama. The Tide always find a way to win, especially with Nick Saban, and DT A’Shawn Robinson will push the Tide towards the top.
5. Baylor Bears: If QB Seth Russell can figure out a way to connect to standout freshman WR Chris Platt, this team will go deep into the Big 12, and will pose a shot at TCU for the championship.
6. USC Trojans: Yes, I know that this is my school; however, they deserve to be here. Cody Kessler is a standout QB and three-way player Adoree Jackson is a star. With the help of Su’a Cravens and five-star recruit Iman Marshall on defense, the Trojans are scary.
7. Michigan State Spartans: The Spartans seem to always figure it out. The defense is unbelievable, and Connor Cook will figure out the passing game. If they stabilize the run game, it can be mostly smooth sailing.
8. Georgia Bulldogs: The SEC East is strong, but nowhere near the West. The Bulldogs haven’t even named a quarterback yet and they are still fine because of how strong the rest of the team is, which says something.
9. Oregon Ducks: Oregon has told fans what to wear for certain games this year, which is nothing but classic Oregon. Vernon Adams will lead the way for a team playing the weak PAC-12 North.
10. Florida State Seminoles: Florida State, led by Sean Maguire and Dalvin Cook, should maintain its status in the ACC, and Jimbo Fisher will lead them to the success that they will eventually want. They will need to figure out how to navigate the on-field leadership vacancy left by Jameis Winston, but I see little problems in navigating that road.
Here’s my 11-25.
11. Clemson
12. Notre Dame
13. LSU
14. Georgia Tech
15. UCLA
16. Arizona State
17. Wisconsin
18. Mississippi
19. Oklahoma
20. Stanford
21. Arizona
22. Missouri
23. Boise State
24. Tennessee
25. Arkansas
On to football season! I’ll be updating my rankings next Monday, after what should be a wild Week 1.
Here are a few key matchups this weekend:
Wisconsin vs. Alabama (Cowboys Stadium)
Ohio State at Virginia Tech
Texas at Notre Dame
Virginia at UCLA
All images courtesy of Getty Images.