The college football season is just a month away – here is a look at the teams ranked six through ten in the preseason by Chop Chat.
With the sport of college football not always being an exact science, it’s sometimes impossible to look at the preseason rankings and know that all those teams will be in the exact same spots come the end of the year. It certainly didn’t take place that way last year, when just one team ranked six through 10 in the preseason polls – Ohio State – made it to the College Football Playoff.
Entering the 2017 season, the list of teams ranked in those spots by several different publications – including Athlon’s, Street and Smith and ESPN’s FPI Index – don’t come up with a consensus five teams since the field is so wide open this season. From Auburn to Michigan and Wisconsin to Clemson, everyone seems to have a seat at the table for the coming year.
So, entering the upcoming campaign, who do we at Chop Chat think are the teams ranked in the bottom have of the top 10? Here’s a look at our preseason rankings, No. 6 through No. 10, heading into the 2017 season.
No. 10 – LSU Tigers
Florida State Seminoles Football
For Ed Orgeron, the time has come for the Louisiana native to be able to coach in his home state and make the Tigers a team that can compete with Alabama for the SEC West title. The biggest point of contention for LSU will again be on offense, which has seemed to be the Achilles’ heel starting with the quarterback position.
All that won’t matter too much if running back Derrius Guice can come in and fill the shoes of Leonard Fournette. Guice has the chance to be the top back in the country, which will take pressure off of whoever is under center and the defense – which lost its usually amount of talent but shouldn’t fall off too much with what is coming back.
Most Important Game – November 4th at Alabama: It’s not a cop out to pick the game with the Crimson Tide because if LSU can get past Florida and Auburn several weeks before, there is a chance both teams could be unbeaten. Anything is possible and the Tigers could put themselves in a position to again be the big dogs in the division – IF they can avoid the traditional let down game of late.
No. 9 – Michigan Wolverines
This is the chance for Jim Harbaugh to show how good of a coach he really is when he takes the field with 17 new starters on offense and defense from last year’s team. The biggest thing for the men in Ann Arbor is that quarterback Wilson Speight is back from last season – something huge for Harbaugh when he is breaking in almost an entirely new offense.
On the defensive side of the ball, the only player returning from last year’s team is linebacker Mike McCray – while players like Jabril Peppers have moved on to the next level. For Michigan, players like Rashan Gray, Devin Bush Jr. and Maurice Hurst among others, are going to get a chance to get out from the reserve role and take things over. All have talent to play at the college level, so don’t expect the Wolverines to take too much of a dip.
Most Important Game – October 21st at Penn State: Yes, the big game at the end of the year with Ohio State is the most important one for the fans, but having to travel to Happy Valley at this point in the schedule could spell trouble as a loss might be too late to overcome and get to the College Football Playoff.
No. 8 – Washington Huskies
For the men in purple from Seattle, last season brought a conference title for the first time in over a decade along with a trip to the College Football Playoff. In 2017, there are still plenty of pieces from last year’s team to make them competitive, but the Huskies will also be looking to fill some major holes on both sides of the ball.
While quarterback Jake Browning is back on the field for head coach Chris Petersen, he will not have speedster John Ross to throw it to this season. The front seven on defense is one that could rival almost any of the best in the sport, but the secondary will be rebuilding and could give up plenty of big plays early on while still learning to play together – not good against teams like Stanford, Oregon and UCLA.
Most Important Game – November 10th at Stanford: With no USC on the schedule this year unless they meet in the Pac-12 title game, this might be the best chance for the Huskies to lose in the regular season. Washington has games earlier in the year with both Oregon and UCLA, but neither one of them has a better chance of pulling off the upset than the Cardinal do.
No. 7 – Clemson Tigers
Normally, I am the first person to say that the defending champs of college football are the top team the following year until they get knocked off. But, with all the talent that has left the Palmetto State following last year’s championship, it’s not hard to see a potential drop off. On offense, the loss of Deshaun Watson, Wayne Gallman, Mike Williams and more is going to be huge.
Kelly Bryant will take over under center and has some playmakers around him in Deon Cain, Ray-Ray McCloud and others, but they can’t expected to be the same as what was lost. On defense, names like Ben Boulware won’t be on the field this season – but they will have a man by the name of Christian Wilkins at defensive end and Dexter Lawrence at tackle who should keep everyone afraid entering 2017.
Most Important Game – September 16th at Louisville: While the game in November against Florida State is being described as one of the top games in college football this season, if the Tigers show their newness early on and get knocked off by the Cardinals, some of the luster and importance will be off that game with the Seminoles almost two months later.
No. 6 – Oklahoma Sooners
Perhaps the biggest loss for any team this season was the men from Norman finding out this summer that Bob Stoops would no longer be their head coach. The man who helped to rebuild the program is turning the keys over the Lincoln Riley, an offensive guru who should be able to keep things as close to normal as possible.
Of course, close to normal is a lot easier when you have Baker Mayfield returning under center. While he doesn’t have Dede Westbrook to throw it to anymore, the Sooners don’t have a shortage of talent on both sides of the ball. In a Big 12 where defense is optional, Oklahoma may have the best one in the conference but still needs to find another pass rusher to cement things.
Next: Top FSU Football Rivalry Wins Over Florida and Miami
Most Important Game – October 14th vs. Texas (in Dallas): Even if the Sooners lose their second game of the season on the road at Ohio State, they are still able to make the playoffs by winning their conference. While the Longhorns have been the butt of jokes lately, it’s a rivalry game and anything can happen…just go back to the 2015 season for proof of what happens when you overlook a rival.