HogManInLA’s Preseason 2015 College Football Top 25 Rankings
Written by Ryan Wright
Twitter: @HogManInLA
Yes! It is that time of year when drinking a beverage of choice and eating meats while sitting in a parking lot is not considered a crime or weird… it’s time for college football to begin!
With every college football season comes preseason hopes, dreams, and expectations laid upon teams to exceed the success, or in some cases the failures, of the year before. Last year, your’s truly got three out of the top five end of the season teams correct (No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Florida State, and No. 4 Oregon) but took a bath on South Carolina (No. 8) and Oklahoma (No. 13). Ohio State ended the season beyond everyone’s wildest dreams winning the first ever FBS college football playoffs after starting the season No. 15 in my preseason rankings (see the full preseason rankings below).
One of the age old debates about preseason rankings is, should the list show where teams will end up at the end of the season or how they begin the season? Ideally both but the point serves a purpose even though some may not fully grasp the idea.
The HogManInLA preseason rankings will attempt to do both, line up the team’s as they currently stand and will end the season, but unlike the AP or Coaches’ Poll, right or wrong, this list gives a little bit of thought as to why certain teams are slotted at their given spot in the Top 25.
Ohio State, Michigan State, Wisconsin, and the Big Ten
Can anyone be so brash by not placing defending national champs Ohio State in the top slot? Yeah, maybe? History is not on the Buckeyes’ side starting off in the No. 1 spot in the rankings and going on to capture a national championship. The schedule along with a tremendous amount of returning talent puts OSU in the college football playoffs for a second consecutive year.
Virginia Tech should be OSU’s best early test with eight starters back on offense and eight back on defense. The Buckeyes will not face a preseason ranked team until facing Michigan State on Nov. 21, the second to last game of the regular season.
Penn State might still be a year or two away, ditto for Michigan, before challenging the Buckeyes. In order for Ohio State to face another ranked team before the CFB Playoffs, some team will have to come out of the newly named West Division ranked, and that looks like Wisconsin.
TCU, Baylor, and the Big 12
Baylor and TCU, TCU or Baylor, which do you choose? The Bears have 17 starters coming back and the Horned Frogs have 15. The two glaring differences pushing in TCU’s favor, they get Baylor at home this year and Bryce Petty is gone while quarterback Trevone Boykin, running back Aaron Greene, and wide receiver Josh Doctson all return for TCU; favoring TCU.
What is a preseason ranking without Oklahoma? Easy to forget that the Sooner posted 12-wins in 2010, 10 in ’11, 10 in ’12, and 11 in 2013 before falling to 8-5 a year ago. The panic button was hit on offense with offensive coordinator Josh Heupel getting the axe in favor of Lincoln Riley but the real trouble is with defensive coordinator Mike Stoops. The Sooners are getting Top 20 love because they are the Sooners and have a terrific tailback in Sam Perine and very talented wide receiver in Sterling Shepard but the back-and-forth under center between transfer Baker Mayfield and Trevor Knight could lead to some instability. OU also returns just one starter along the offensive line, center Ty Darlington. It is about the same on the defensive side with only end Charles Tapper coming back.
The rest of the teams in this conference have lost a lot on both sides of the ball. West Virginia returns nine on defense and six on offense. No one wants to play in Morgantown. The Mountaineers get both TCU and Baylor at home this year. Baylor first, then a bye, and then TCU. Charlie Strong looks like he is still in rebuilding mode in Austin. Give the Longhorns another year.
Florida State, Georgia Tech, possibly Clemson and the ACC
Hard to discount FSU knowing how well they recruit year after year, but the Jameis Winston era is over. Sean Maguire looked average last year filling in for Winston. Can he make an impressive leap forward in his game to lead FSU to their fourth straight double-digit win season? The other plan is former Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson. Golson took the Irish to the national championship game in 2012, sat out 2013 over academic issues, and then had an up and down year in 2014 throwing for 3,445 yards with 29 touchdowns against 14 picks. How quickly can Golson gel with his receivers and get the FSU offensive engine going?
The Seminoles defense will be good again with seven back but the offense only returns three starters and just one lineman, tackle Roderick Johnson. FSU’s saving grace, a really weak schedule. Non-conference games against Texas State, South Florida, and Chattanooga before the annual game against Florida.
Georgia Tech, when firing on all cylinders, is a tough matchup for any program in this day and age. Seeing the wishbone option and the pounding opposing defensive linemen take when playing the Yellow Jackets is brutal. In Week 3 we will see if Tech is a pretender or contender after traveling to Notre Dame. The Yellow Jackets can also lay waste to FSU’s season during the season when the Seminoles travel to Atlanta on Oct. 24.
Clemson has little returning talent left on the shelf. This team will only go as far as quarterback Deshaun Watson can carry them. The defense is a true ghost town with only two starters back!
USC, UCLA, Oregon, Stanford, ASU, Cal, Arizona and the rest of the Pac-12
All the attention in the Pac-12 is in the South Division that is loaded with USC, UCLA, Arizona State, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado. Five teams from the South should go bowling this season; that says a lot. The North has three teams capable of making some noise, Oregon, Stanford, and the overlooked Cal Golden Bears.
Oregon gets FCS senior quarterback transfer Vernon Adams in to fill Marcus Mariota’s shoes. Still expect a drop off early in the season which could spell trouble for a visit to Michigan State. Stanford returns four of five starters along the offensive line plus have quarterback Kevin Hogan and their top four running backs back. The Cardinal’s defense will be the question mark with just four starters back.
Cal was 5-7 last year but very easily could have been an 8- or 9-win team with close losses to Arizona (45-49), UCLA (36-34), USC (38-30), and BYU (42-35). The Golden Bears get eight back on offense and five back on defense. The defense was horrible last year finishing with a national ranking of 121. Logic would dictate that in his second year commanding the Cal defense, DC Art Kaufman can pull this unit around to be a mid-level squad in 2015 making this team dangerous; at least a far cry from the 1-win team in 2013.
The Utes get enough back on both sides of the ball to be dangerous. The main weapon is 1,500 yard rusher Devontae Booker, he’s a difference maker. The Wildcats have an odd mix of returning talent back but with Anu Solomon under center, Cayleb Jones on the outside, and Nick Wilson carrying the ball this will be an explosive offense. On defense, Arizona has linebacker Scooby Wright back. Is there enough of a supporting cast around him to make plays or will he have to go beyond his 163 tackles and 14 sacks posted last year as a sophomore?
Arizona State is loaded on offense… Texas A&M beware. Aiding in ASU’s offensive weaponry is three starting linemen back plus tight end Kody Kohl. The Sun Devils back seven was suspect against the pass last year. If they can shore some of that up this team could contend for a division title.
USC will be solid yet again on defense with a nice grouping of upperclassmen. On offense four starters return up front with Cody Kessler in the pocket and JuJu Smith on the outside. Production at running back after Buck Allen went pro is a big question mark along with little to no depth at tight end.
Is there a better suited team in the nation to challenge all the bluebloods than UCLA? The Bruins have 17 starters back with eight on defense. Head coach Jim Mora is starting true freshman Josh Rosen at quarterback, which could be a boom or bust set up. Rosen was the No. 1 rate pro-style quarterback coming out of St. John Bosco (Bellflower, CA). Paul Perkins and his 1,500 rushing yards along with Brett Hundley’s top four targets in the passing game from last year are all back… loaded. Depth will be the only problem with this Bruins’ team.
The SEC
Parts of the SEC East are a guessing game with all slots up for grabs behind Georgia. Even the Bulldogs are a little suspect up front on defense and under center. The backfield is loaded with talent starting with Nick Chubb and Sony Michel. Tennessee has starting numbers on paper but some of that talent has already started to take a hit on the proverbial IR. The fall of the Tigers… that could mean two things to two different groups of people. Will it be the autumn of the Tigers as in a third-consecutive double-digit win season and trip to the SEC Championship Game or a drop back to a 7- or 8-win kind of team?
The rest of this side of the conference is unknown. South Carolina could be a mid-level team or could be at the bottom of the heap. Vanderbilt and Kentucky return talent, but is the talent good enough to put “W’s” in the win column?
On the other side of the aisle, the SEC West has a lot of what-if teams that could make some noise. Last season all seven teams made a bowl game setting a record for a Power Five Conference. Mississippi State is the biggest unknown with seven starters returning. The “John Chavis Effect” for mainly Texas A&M but also for LSU will be underway. How badly will LSU miss their defensive coordinator and how much of a difference will Chavis make for the Aggies this year?
Ole Miss should have another stingy defense but their offense is suspect. The Aggies will score the ball but can they stop anyone when it counts? LSU is thin but has a very favorable schedule until the final month of the season. Auburn will get their points but can new DC Will Muschamp turn this unit around in time for the Tigers to get past early season tests against Louisville, LSU, and Mississippi State?
Alabama’s defense will be as good as any other team in the nation, and may have to be for the Crimson Tide to contend this season. Bama has a lot of holes all over the offense that will not be answered until we see them on the field with an opener against Wisconsin (Arlington, TX) and a Week 3 visit from Ole Miss.
The Razorbacks are the wild card in the West. Nine starters back on offense, counting running back Alex Collins, and five back on defense. The defense turned out to be the surprise of the 2014 season finishing as the No. 10 unit in the nation. The offense will pound and ground shortening the game keeping a defense loaded with juniors, sophomores, and freshman off the field for long stretches of time. Games 4-7 against Texas A&M, Tennessee, and Alabama on the road and a visit from Auburn will be the test.
Boise State and the Mountain West
Bryan Harsin won 12 games in his first season and returns nine on offense and eight on defense. Non-conference games against Washington, BYU, and Virginia could catapult the Broncos into the role of spoiler early in the 2015 season.
Independent – Notre Dame
Notre Dame switches from a Big Ten laden schedule to an ACC themed docket in 2015. Tough games against Georgia Tech, USC, and Stanford will be the big tests. The Fighting Irish defense has 10 starters back. This unit has to be improved from the No. 71 ranked squad last season. On offense, all the key skill guys are back and three starters up front making a nice mix heading into the season.
The Final Four
This is where preseason rankings and reality take a split. Baylor maybe one of the top teams in the nation but logic dictates that only one, if that, Big 12 team will make the college football playoffs. Parity seems ripe across the land in all conferences other than the Big Ten with two top heavy teams. Georgia Tech looks like the main team out of the ACC but they do not look like an undefeated squad or a 1-loss team. USC could play spoiler to Notre Dame leaving the rankings as is in the finals. Who will trip up Boise State?
Big Ten: Ohio State
Pac-12: UCLA
SEC: Auburn
Big 12: TCU
HogManInLA Preseason 2015 Rankings
- Ohio State
- TCU
- UCLA
- Auburn
- Baylor
- USC
- Notre Dame
- Alabama
- Michigan State
- Arkansas
- Arizona State
- Georgia Tech
- Georgia
- Oregon
- Florida State
- Ole Miss
- Boise State
- LSU
- Clemson
- Oklahoma
- Stanford
- Arizona
- Wisconsin
- Cal
- Virginia Tech
HogManInLA Preseason 2014 Rankings
- Alabama
- Florida State
- Auburn
- Oregon
- Michigan State
- Baylor
- UCLA
- South Carolina
- Georgia
- LSU
- Wisconsin
- USC
- Oklahoma
- Ole Miss
- Ohio State
- Nebraska
- Clemson
- Stanford
- Washington
- Duke
- Iowa
- Miami
- Cincinnati
- Kansas State
- Texas A&M
Photo credit: dallasnews.com; No. 2 Trevone Boykin