ESPN has finally released their preseason power rankings. Now these don’t mean much since no teams have played yet and camp has only just started. None the less, here they are.
- Alabama
- Clemson
- Ohio State
- Georgia
- Washington
- Wisconsin
- Oklahoma
- Penn State
- Miami
- Auburn
- Notre Dame
- Michigan
- Michigan State
- Stanford
- Virginia Tech
- Southern California
- Mississippi State
- Florida State
- Boise State
- West Virginia
- TCU
- Texas
- Oregon
- UCF
- South Carolina
Also receiving votes: LSU, Utah, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, Boston College, Northwestern, Missouri, Florida Atlantic
Nothing is really surprising in the top 8. After recent news regarding Urban Meyer may bump Ohio State down a few spots but they are easily one of the best teams in the league, with or without their coach.
What surprises me are #15 Virginia Tech, #18 Florida State and #24 UCF.
The Hokies replaced seven starters on defense and has starting spots up for grabs at wide receiver and running back. Florida State has a new coach and has a QB controversy between Deondre Francois and James Blackman. Francois was injured in the 2017 opener and Blackman didn’t impress after he took over. UCF was led by the coaching of Scott Frost, who went to Nebraska at the conclusion of the 2017 regular season. They were one of the highest scoring offenses behind QB McKenzie Milton, but success like that may not carry over after a coaching change. UCF also lost Shaquem Griffin to the NFL. Griffin was the key cog in the defense that allowed a bunch of points last season and was bailed out may times by its high powered offense. With all the changes in the offseason the same success looks hard to carry over.
These rankings should be taken with a grain of salt, but none the less they show we are very close to the start of the season and everybody should get excited.
College Football - Big Ten | The Final Snap 