Last Word on Sports College Football Preseason Top 25

The Last Word on Sports College Football Preseason Top 25 is here. Preseason polls represent the culmination of the off-season and the beginning of each football season. That’s no different at LWOS. Our writers have been busy following scandals and suspensions, injuries and transfers, practices and scrimmages since the clock ticked triple-zero in Tempe. Now, they provide their insight and analysis and lay out the starting point for the 2016 college football season.

Last Word on Sports College Football Preseason Top 25

As one would expect, the preseason Top 25 looks very similar to the way we finished 2015. Three of the four College Football Playoffs (Alabama, Oklahoma, and Clemson) teams return in the Top 5 of our poll. None of those three teams return less than half of their starters. Only Michigan State goes from the CFP to the outside looking in (#13) for our preseason survey. Joining last year’s top finishers in the Top 10 are Florida State, Michigan, Ohio State, LSU, Stanford, Notre Dame, and Tennessee.

Clearly our voters believe Michigan and Ohio State will challenge Michigan State’s reign as the Big Ten Champion. Florida State is also expected to challenge Clemson in the ACC. And dare we question Nick Saban‘s ability to win the SEC? This year, there are two possible challengers in our preseason poll in LSU and Tennessee. No such challenge is anticipated in the Big 12, as no other Big 12 team appears in our poll until TCU at #17. Oklahoma’s biggest tests are expected to be out-of-conference, with Houston and Ohio State in the first three weeks of the season.

Houston, trying to be the first serious G5 contender for the CFPs, comes in at #11 and is followed by four teams with lots of questions after successful 2015 seasons: Mississippi, Michigan State, USC, and Washington to round out the Top 15.  The bottom half of the poll starts with UCLA, TCU, Louisville, Iowa and Oklahoma State from spots 15 through 20. Three of those teams are coming off disappointing bowl losses to end their 2015 season, including two in Group of Six Bowls.

Baylor, Georgia, Oregon, North Carolina, and Florida round out our preseason Top 25.

LastWordOnSports.com College Football Top 25
	Team		Points	Comments
1.		ALABAMA (9)	393	Alabama is the defending National Champions and Nick Saban has shown an incredible ability to reload year after year after year. If they can find consistent play at QB, they’ll contend yet again. –Mike Loveall
2.		CLEMSON (3)	381	After losing a thrilling National Championship game to Alabama, Dabo Swinney will definitely have his team fired up for another title run. It will be interesting to see what the Tigers do on the defensive side of the ball after losing key players to the NFL Draft, but with Heisman candidate Deshaun Watson in the backfield, the Tigers remain a key player in the College Playoff picture. –Justin Gordon
3.		OKLAHOMA (1)	368	Baker Mayfield and the Sooners are slated to make the College Football Playoff once again, but will the pressure get to the Sooners as it has in years past? –Connor Ferguson
4.		FLORIDA STATE (1)	338	Florida State brings back one of the most explosive running backs in the nation in Dalvin Cook. The big question is whether redshirt freshman quarterback Deondre Francois can recapture the magic Jameis Winston had in 2013. –Jonathan Bailey
5.		OHIO STATE	329	After one of the most impressive draft classes in College Football history, Ohio State will be starting fresh. While there is no doubt that the Buckeyes will be a top team, they will have a lot of work to do if they want to reach the College Football Playoffs. –Rob Gritzer
6.		MICHIGAN	312	In their second year under coach Jim Harbaugh the Wolverines look to build on last year’s success. With plenty of returning senior leaders and a big playmaker in Jabrill Peppers, they can make a run to the college football playoffs. –Scott Brouillard
7.		LSU	294	The Tigers have the experience on both sides of the ball returning this season, including Leonard Fournette and Malachi Dupre. As quarterback Brandon Harrs has improved over the spring, the Mad Hatter seeks to improve on the pass game and take the SEC West this season.  –Lauren Beasley
8.		STANFORD	278	Can either Keller Chryst or Ryan Burns replace the winningest QB in Stanford’s long football history? The answer to that question will determine the Cardinal’s fate in 2016. David Shaw has proven himself to be an elite coach, and Stanford will attempt to defend its conference title and make a run for the CFP, despite a very difficult road schedule in 2016. – Donald King
9.		NOTRE DAME	258	Notre Dame was hit hard by injuries and graduation last year, but DeShone Kizer and half of the defense are back this year. The Irish were 4 points from being undefeated during the regular season last year. –Yesh Ginsburg
10.		TENNESSEE	248	This is the year for Butch Jones & Company in Knoxville. The talent is there; can the Vols close the deal and return to Atlanta? –Mike Loveall
11.		HOUSTON	234	Is this the year that a Group of 5 team makes a serious run at the CFP? If Houston can pull the upset against Oklahoma in Week 1, there’s no reason why Houston and Greg Ward shouldn’t finish 13-0. –Yesh Ginsburg
12. (t)		MISSISSIPPI	194	The Rebels return arguably the best quarterback in the SEC and the defense should be a strong unit again. Can Hugh Freeze finally find the consistency to put Ole Miss in the race for a playoff spot at the end of the season? –Matthew Atkinson
12. (t)		MICHIGAN STATE	194	The defending Big Ten champions have to replace a lot of key personnel, including the most prolific quarterback in program history Connor Cook. Expect Tyler O’Connor to take the reins in Cook’s place and tenth year head coach Mark Dantonio to implement more of a ground and pound scheme on offense. This could be running back LJ Scott’s year to break out. –Johh Bava
14.		USC	155	Clay Helton removes the interim tag as head coach and guides a USC team that has a lot of experience — except at quarterback. Look for the Trojans to start the season with a power ground game behind a huge offensive line. –Tony Siracusa
15.		TCU	145	The quarterback battle between Foster Sawyer and transfer Kenny Hill dominates TCU’s early season headlines as the Horned Frogs enter the post-Trevone Boykin era. Game-breaker KaVontae Turpin will likely have an expanded role in TCU’s offense this year, in addition to his responsibilities on special teams. –Brendan Dzwierzynski
16.		WASHINGTON	144	QB Jake Browning and RB Myles Gaskin return to make UDub’s offense potent in 2016. Chris Petersen’s team also returns 7 starters from the PAC-12’s leading scoring and total defense in 2015. The Huskies will contend for the PAC-12 North title. – Donald King
17.		UCLA	129	The Bruins flat lined at the end of last season and Jim Mora has acknowledged that another 8-5 record will be unacceptable. UCLA has one of the better QB arms in the country in Josh Rosen and plenty of skill position experience, but still looking for a solid offensive line. –Tony Siracusa
18.		LOUISVILLE	115	In a conference dominated by Clemson and Florida State, Louisville is bringing back 17 starters and gets FSU at home. A late season showdown with Houston might be a Group of Six bowl play-in game. –Al Prezisoi
19.		IOWA	109	The Hawkeyes are coming off the schools first undefeated season. They return a great Quarterback in CJ Beathard and one of the nation’s top DB’s in Desmond King. Look for Iowa to be good once again. –Connor Ferguson
20.		NORTH CAROLINA	89	The defending Coastal champions will look to replicate a surprising 2015 season. They’ll have to do without Marquise Williams and traveling to FSU and Miami. –Al Prezisoi
21.		OKLAHOMA STATE	85	After splitting time with JW Walsh in recent years, Mason Rudolph is now Oklahoma State’s undisputed starting quarterback. The Cowboys look to improve upon their second-place finish in the Big 12 in 2015, a year in which they started 10-0 before losing their last three games. –Brendan Dzwierzynski
22.		GEORGIA	80	Georgia alum Kirby Smart was hired to bring the Bulldogs SEC Championships. The biggest question marks for Georgia are on the offensive side of the ball. Can the quarterback and offensive line play improve? If not, it could be another disappointing season for the Georgia faithful. –Tommy Tabler
23.		OREGON	72	Behind stars, Charles Nelson and Royce Freeman the Oregon Ducks will continue to be a national power. Their biggest question marks will be both their offensive and defensive lines. If they can get solid play out of those guys, look for the ducks to crack the top 10 rapidly. –Scott Brouillard
24.		BAYLOR	65	After a tumultuous off-season and the dismissal of coach Art Briles, the situation at Baylor is uncertain. Baylor does get back some key offensive talent in QB Seth Russell, RB Shock Linwood and WR K.D. Cannon, but they have questions almost everywhere else and because of that, it is hard to see them returning to the same great form of recent years. –Sean Garmer
25.		FLORIDA	41	New head coach Jim McElwain made impressive strides in the SEC East in 2015, renewing the confidence in the Swamp. With key players being replaced throughout the team, the defensive play should remain solid. On the offense, transfer quarterback Luke Del Rio impressed at the Spring Game. –Lauren Beasley

Also receiving votes: Miami (36), Pittsburgh (22), Auburn (19), Boise State (17), Utah (15), Nebraska (14), Wisconsin (12), Texas A&M (10), Texas (9), BYU (7), Washington State (6), Western Kentucky (5), Arkansas (2), Appalachian State (2)

Here’s where it begins. The LWOS College Football Preseason Top 25 is set and that means the offseason is over and college football is upon us. Will it wind up this way? Likely not. Injuries, weather, clock mismanagement, bad bounces will all affect the hierarchy of college football. More importantly, emotion and chance will wreak havoc with the championship dreams of all but a few fan bases. But that’s what makes college football so special — the emotion, the pageantry, and the pure excitement of each and every game.

It’s here. Enjoy.

Final 2015 LWOS rankings are here.

About the poll: Sixteen Last Word on Sports writers submit ballots and points are awarded on a inverse-scale (a first place vote receives 25 points, a 25th-place vote receives 1 point).

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