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Athlons Way Too Early Top 25

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Spartan13's picture
January 11, 2020 at 11:57am
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https://www.google.com/amp/s/athlonsports.com/college-football/top-25-co...

Athlon released their way too early top 25 and here is a quick rundown

  1. Clemson- There are two teams clearly at the top and Clemson just beat the other one so hard to argue. They lose 4 offensive lineman, Tee Higgins, Etienne, Isiah Simmons and a couple other defenders but they shouldn’t see much drop off. Very good chance we will be seeing them again.
  2. OSU- The reasoning these two teams are at the top is QB. You know what we lose; question is can we be better than Clemson come playoff time.
  3. Bama loses a lot but not as much as expected. The biggest question is can the defense improve enough to mask a Mac Jones lead team. 
  4. LSU- this is where I disagree with the rankings. They really don’t lose many players but Joe Burrow just had the greatest QB season ever no matter who plays will be a big step back. They also lose multiple high round starters on defense. I think they will be good but top 4 is a stretch imo.
  5. Oklahoma will be taken a bit less serious after this blowout but they should win the big12 with ease. Spencer Rattler May be better than Hurts and despite the loss of CeeDee Lamb they should be very good at receiver. Can the defense continue the steady improvement? How far is the gap between the top 2 and Oklahoma?
  6. PSU only loses K.J. Hamler on offense and brings back most of the defense including Micah Parsons. This will be one of Franklins best teams and they have a reasonably easy schedule. OSU is at home. The only question is there enough talent at receiver and QB to threaten elite teams (OSU) through the air. (spoilers:no)
  7. Florida returns quite a bit on offense and could be a dark horse pick to win the SEC because Bama/LSU may not be as good as they have been. Their tough games are all at home (or Jacksonville) but they have to replace a decent amount on defense
  8. Georgia - but this was before the Newman transfer. I would put Georgia at 4 myself with Newman. They will likely have the best defense in the country, their skill positions are actually very good, and the line should be fine despite the losses. Only question is will the scheme let them be good.
  9. Notre Dame - Ian Book returns but they have a difficult schedule playing Clemson at home in November and Wisconsin at Lambeau Field
  10. Wisconsin loses Jonathan Taylor and a couple receiver but their line should as always be good, their defense returns 8 starters and should be a strong point.
  11. Oregon missed big on not getting Newman. They will be the Pac-12 favorite, but with some statue at QB, I’m not sure they can challenge OSU. They lose Herbert and 4 offensive lineman but have just about everybody else back
  12. Michigan-They are in for another fine year I believe. They will be in the 9/10 win range and be decent but likely losing to OSU by a lot of points, before the worst bowl coach in America takes them to Florida to lose to an SEC team
  13. Minnesota has almost every player on offense back, however they lose almost every player on defense. If Fleck has another great year, he may be a Trojan.
  14. Texas will be Texas next year. They should be better but not good enough to beat Oklahoma or LSU or a random upset. Don’t let the facts stop them from being hyped up tho.
  15. Texas AM - anxiety riddled season in store for AM. The SEC is down at the top, and if there was anytime for AM to compete it would be this season. They return everybody. LSU is at home, and Clemson is off the schedule. Jimbo will feel some pressure if he can’t get to 10 wins.
  16. Auburn is Auburn and the question is can Bo Nix improve enough to overcome losses on defense.
  17. Cincy is the early favorite for the G5 race with basically everybody back. They have a brutal schedule though, and normally G5 teams can’t survive multiple loses. @Nebraska will be very interesting.
  18. Boise State
  19. Oklahoma State
  20. Virginia Tech will host PSU, and they actually have almost 20 starters back; this will be an interesting conference pride game. VT should be the second best ACC team next year.
  21. Iowa
  22. North Carolina
  23. Iowa State
  24. Memphis 
  25. Baylor

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