Back in April, I came out with an early college basketball poll. Today, with college football just over a month away, I'll take a stab at the college football poll:
College Football Top 25
1. Alabama - They return a lot from their Championship team, and only really have question marks on their offensive line entering the season. But in Saban I trust.
2. Ohio State - The Buckeyes are the only real threat to replace Alabama on top in the preseason. Remember, this team was undefeated last year but weren't eligible for the postseason. Urban Meyer has to replace a lot of defensive players, but he's got the incoming talent to do it.
3. Texas A&M - Manziel is making a lot of headlines off the field, but he is still the best quarterback in the nation entering the season. Will the defense hold up though in the SEC?
4. Stanford - Last year they overcame the loss of Andrew Luck and Coach Harbaugh to have a nice season. This year could be even better. Will they smell roses again?
5. Louisville - The Cardinals return 19 starters from a team that beat Florida in the Sugar Bowl. They are a legit title contender seeing as nobody in the Big East can challenge them.
6. Oregon - If Chip Kelly was still coaching, this team would make a case for a spot in the top 2 or 3. Without him, can they play with the same magic... better yet, will they be postseason eligible?
7. Michigan - Devin Gardner played well after replacing Denard Robinson at QB last year. I think that continues as the pro-style offense is installed even more.
8. South Carolina - There are a lot of injury issues with this team early on, but if they get healthy, they will be a threat once again under Coach Spurrier.
9. Clemson - They would love to play fast once again, and that seems likely with many of their stars back. The defense needs to continue to improve however.
10. LSU - This may be over-ranking the Tigers slightly, but it's LSU and they are always in the mix.
11. Georgia - The offense should be very good, the defense has a lot of question marks however. Seems to be the case with a lot of teams this year, but that's because so many defensive players were in the NFL Draft in 2013.
12. Florida State - There is a change at quarterback, but Jameis Winston looked great in the spring and the team could be better this year than last.
13. Florida - The Gators were carried by their defense last year, but they lost a lot. Can the offense pick up the slack?
14. Texas - I think Texas continues to climb back into the national picture, after going under the radar for a couple years.
15. TCU - It was a rough first season in a power conference, but they are much more prepared for the Big 12 this year than last.
16. Oklahoma State - They have an experienced defense returning, but have a lot of changes in the coaching staff. Their first decision will be to settle on a QB, because they have three good options.
17. Notre Dame - Last year's darlings took a huge hit when it was announced that quarterback Everett Golson cannot play this season due to academic issues. If they can find decent production there, they will be still be good however, and this ranking could end up being too low.
18. Oklahoma - The team must replace Landry Jones, their record-setting passer from a year ago, but they also need to improve their defense.
19. Boise State - One of America's favorite teams could make some noise again this season if they solve their cornerback issues.
20. Kansas State - Replacing QB Collin Klein is no easy task, but JUCO offensive player of the year Jake Waters may be a great fill-in.
21. UCLA - Had a very good season last year under new coach Jim Mora, I expect similar results in year 2.
22. Nebraska - Stop if you've heard this before... they enter the season needing to overhaul their defense. Sounds familiar doesn't it?
23. Northwestern - After their best season and first bowl game victory since 1949, Northwestern has a promising football program suddenly.
24. USC - I don't like Lane Kiffin as a head coach, but it's still USC and they have plenty of talent there.
25. Oregon State - Always an under the radar team in the Pac-12, I think they will be sneaky good again this year.
By: The Sports Guys
RB Carlos Hyde has been dismissed from the OSU football team. He had 17 TD's last year and was thought by many to be one of the best RB's in the nation entering the season. I'll keep them at #2 but the gap between them and #3 lessened considerably, and the gap between them and Alabama at #1 is now much larger.
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