2018 College Football Chatter

Status
Not open for further replies.

midswat

... soon
Joined
Apr 16, 2013
Messages
4,241
SN's pre-preseason top 25 for 2018

The 2017-18 season ended with the College Football Playoff championship game between Alabama and Georgia on Monday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

That doesn't mean it's too early to look ahead to the 2018 college football top 25 rankings. Keep in mind that last year's way-too-early top 25 had all four playoff teams — and four New Year's Day Six teams — in the top 10.

With that in mind, here is a look at Sporting News' pre-preseason top 25 rankings for 2018:

25. Texas A&M Aggies

Jimbo Fisher has arrived, and that's going to raise the bar in College Station to its highest point since the Aggies joined the SEC West in 2012. Some patience is required. The Fisher era starts with an early showdown against Clemson — and Dabo Swinney — that has College GameDay written all over it.

24. Memphis Tigers

Mike Norvell opted to stay at Memphis after the Tigers' 10-3 season, good news for an AAC program in the hunt for that New Year's Day Six berth. Memphis loses key playmakers on offense, but there's a reason Norvell stayed: This team can compete again.

23. South Carolina Gamecocks

Florida and Tennessee are breaking in first-year coaches, so this is a unique opportunity for Will Muschamp to lead the Gamecocks to a breakthrough in the SEC East. Quarterback Jake Bentley is back and should continue to improve with his supporting cast, too.

22. Texas Longhorns

Tom Herman returns after leading the Longhorns to a bowl win in his first season. Sam Ehlinger is a quarterback the program can build around. Texas lost to USC, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State by a combined 11 points; can the Longhorns close that gap next year?

21. UCF Knights

Scott Frost is back at Nebraska, but incoming coach Josh Heupel inherits a fun, talented team led by quarterback McKenzie Milton. A September showdown against Florida Atlantic will be huge for the Group of 5.

20. Oklahoma State Cowboys

The Cowboys lose the star connection of Mason Rudolph and James Washington, but Mike Gundy decided to stay in Stillwater despite a push from Tennessee. There will be growing pains, but the Cowboys will figure things out.

19. Florida State Seminoles

First-year coach Willie Taggart inherits a talented team. Deondre Francois' return, coupled with the emergence of star running back Cam Akers, should make that transition easier. Will the Seminoles get back to competing for an ACC championship? Those are the expectations Taggart faces every year now.

18. TCU Horned Frogs

Highly touted dual-threat quarterback Shawn Robinson will take over a team capable of making a run back to the Big 12 championship game. An early test against Ohio State on Sept. 15 will be telling.

17. Michigan Wolverines

Too high? The arrival of Ole Miss transfer Shea Patterson could be the missing piece that allows Jim Harbaugh to silence the critics after a disappointing five-loss season. To be honest, we wanted to go higher, but the Wolverines' schedule — which features road games at Notre Dame, Michigan State and Ohio State — leaves them with a lot to prove.

16. Michigan State Spartans

Brian Lewerke emerged as Michigan State's quarterback of the future in 2017, and that was the key to another successful season — and remarkable turnaround — in 2017 under Mark Dantonio. Running back LJ Scott is returning, and Ohio State and Michigan must visit East Lansing. As Dantonio likes to say, “It's never over."

15. Virginia Tech Hokies

Justin Fuente didn't entertain some big-time coaching openings in the offseason, a testament to his commitment to Blacksburg. The Hokies have proven they're good enough to compete for the ACC championship game again. They'll have to build around quarterback Josh Jackson to take the next step.

14. Stanford Cardinal

Running back K.J. Costello's continued development is imperative, especially if Heisman Trophy finalist Bryce Love declares for the NFL Draft. The Cardinal are always in the mix with David Shaw, but the September schedule is tough, with San Diego State and USC at home followed by road games at Oregon and Notre Dame.

13. LSU Tigers

Ed Orgeron kept the Tigers moving in the right direction in 2017, and the quarterback competition between Myles Brennan and Lowell Narcisse will be the focus of the offseason. The Tigers play Miami at Jerry World in the opener and have crossover games against Florida and Georgia in consecutive weeks. We'll know enough about this team before Alabama comes to Baton Rouge on Nov. 3.

12. USC Trojans

Sam Darnold is leaving for the NFL, so the focus will be on the quarterback battle among Matt Fink, Jack Sears and Thomas Holden. Running back Stephen Carr should have a breakout season, however, and coach Clay Helton has reestablished a winning culture within the program.

11. Washington Huskies

Chris Petersen has built a consistent winner at Washington. That will be tested when the Huskies and four-year starter Jake Browning take on Auburn in the season-opener in Atlanta.

10. Penn State Nittany Lions

The Nittany Lions were four points away over two games from an undefeated season. James Franklin continues to build through recruiting. Penn State, however, must deal with the loss of Saquon Barkley, along with finding a new offensive coordinator to replace Joe Moorhead. But we like running back Miles Sanders' breakout potential. How much pressure will that put on quarterback Trace McSorley if he returns?

9. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

A November that saw the Irish go 2-2 overshadowed a 10-3 season, and the offensive line must replace two All-Americans in Quenton Nelson and Mike McGlinchey. Brandon Wimbush has a talented group of receivers with which to work, and that's an area of development that could put Notre Dame over the top.

8. Auburn Tigers

Gus Malzhan opted to stay at Auburn, and with good reason. There's enough talent on both sides of the ball to repeat as SEC West champions, and perhaps finish the job this time around. Jarrett Stidham is back, but leading rushers Kerryon Johnson and Kamryn Pettway are gone and the defense loses Jeff Holland and Carlton Davis to the NFL. The Tigers do have to travel to Tuscaloosa and Athens this time around.

7. Miami Hurricanes

Mark Richt and the Hurricanes arrived earlier than expected this year and — despite three losses to end the season — should be back in ACC contention with Malik Rosier and a core that includes running back Travis Homer and cornerback Malek Young. Miami's nonconference schedule features a monster opener against LSU at Jerry World and a road trip to Toledo.

6. Wisconsin Badgers

Wisconsin returns quarterback Alex Hornibrook and star running back Jonathan Taylor. Paul Chryst continues to improve the skill positions while following a familiar pattern with the offensive line and defense. The next step is finishing the job at the Big Ten championship game. If the Badgers can do that for the first time since 2012, they'll make the Playoff once and for all.

5. Oklahoma Sooners

Lincoln Riley couldn't have done a better job replacing Bob Stoops, but the Sooners will lose Baker Mayfield to the NFL and a few other key pieces. Kyler Murray — a Texas high school legend — should be ready to take the job, but early tests against Florida Atlantic (yes, really) and UCLA accelerate that learning curve.

4. Ohio State Buckeyes

Dwayne Haskins has the early lead on what promises to be a fierce quarterback battle in Columbus, and Urban Meyer faces the usual attrition to the NFL Draft. J.K. Dobbins and Nick Bosa are back, however, and Ohio State is still the team to beat in the Big Ten despite trips to TCU, Penn State and Michigan State.

3. Georgia Bulldogs

The Bulldogs were one of the big winners at the NFL Draft entry deadline last year. The defending SEC champions now have holes to fill, but the offense can build around sophomore Jake Fromm. Kirby Smart has what looks like the nation's top class coming in, however, and the Bulldogs are in great position in the SEC East.

2. Clemson Tigers

Business as usual for Dabo Swinney. The Tigers will suffer losses to the NFL Draft, but Kelly Bryant is back, running back Travis Etienne is a value pick for the Heisman Trophy and the defensive line can re-tool around Dexter Lawrence. The arrival of five-star freshmen Trevor Lawrence and Xavier Thomas only reinforces the point: Clemson isn't going anywhere.

1. Alabama Crimson Tide

Yes, we put Alabama at No. 1 again. Chances are it will be atop the preseason polls that come out in August. Nick Saban may have a QB controversy between Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa, but he's working with the same talented stable of skill position players. One possible concern: Saban will be working with his third different defensive coordinator in four seasons.

Others receiving votes: Mississippi State, Louisville, Florida Atlantic, Arizona.
 

midswat

... soon
Joined
Apr 16, 2013
Messages
4,241
My hopes for 2018, unrelated to my team:

  • FSU excels under Taggart. Just tired of Dabo/Clemson.
  • UGA drops a game or two, but honestly I don't see anyone in the East giving them a legit fight.
  • Michigan is competitive and beats Ohio State. Dislike Harbaugh, but I hate Urban.
  • Miami continues to improve. Idk why, but college football is just better when Miami is good.
  • Virginia Tech loses every game.
 

Cotton

One-armed Knife Sharpener
Staff member
Joined
Apr 7, 2013
Messages
119,713
My hopes for 2018:

  • Kliff Kingsbury gets fired
 

midswat

... soon
Joined
Apr 16, 2013
Messages
4,241
 

midswat

... soon
Joined
Apr 16, 2013
Messages
4,241
 

DLK150

DCC 4Life
Joined
May 16, 2014
Messages
8,789
Evidently Clark Lea was promoted to DC at Notre Dame after Elko bolted for T A&M. Should make a relatively smooth transition since the scheme and language will probably be pretty similar. Kind of surprised he didn't follow Elko to Texas but maybe he wants to make a name for himself. Or something.
 
D

Deuce

Guest
Miami lock.
 

L.T. Fan

I'm Easy If You Are
Joined
Apr 7, 2013
Messages
21,689
My observation of the teams that competed in the National Championship playoffs is that three of the teams are very close as competitors. Any of the three (Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma) could have won the title give or take a few critical plays. The biggest misrepresentation was that the # 1 ranked team, Clemson, which was expected to be the best had the poorest appearance in the tournament. They were not up to the play shown by the other three.

Had Alabama stuck with their starting QB, they likely would have been drummed out of the title by Georgia. Funny how things work out sometimes.
 

1bigfan13

Your favorite player's favorite player
Staff member
Joined
Apr 7, 2013
Messages
27,122
How in the hell does Texas have a 20/1 chance of winning the championship?

They haven't come close to appearing in a significant bowl since the 2009 season. Hell, they barely qualified for a bowl game this year after failing to qualify the previous two seasons.

This is exactly why programs like UCF will never got a seat at the table because the powers that be always give blue blood programs a head start in the rankings. UCF will be made to start off in the 20s at best while the programs like Notre Dame and Texas will always be afforded the benefit of the doubt, even when they don't deserve it.

I don't even think Oklahoma should be a top 5 team going into next season but I've already seen a couple of national sites list them there in their "way too early top 25 for 2018" polls. We're losing Mayfield and a few more All-Conference/All-Americans on offense. I'm expecting 3 or 4 losses next year.
 

Texas Ace

Teh Acester
Joined
Apr 7, 2013
Messages
23,400
How in the hell does Texas have a 20/1 chance of winning the championship?

They haven't come close to appearing in a significant bowl since the 2009 season. Hell, they barely qualified for a bowl game this year after failing to qualify the previous two seasons.

This is exactly why programs like UCF will never got a seat at the table because the powers that be always give blue blood programs a head start in the rankings. UCF will be made to start off in the 20s at best while the programs like Notre Dame and Texas will always be afforded the benefit of the doubt, even when they don't deserve it.

I don't even think Oklahoma should be a top 5 team going into next season but I've already seen a couple of national sites list them there in their "way too early top 25 for 2018" polls. We're losing Mayfield and a few more All-Conference/All-Americans on offense. I'm expecting 3 or 4 losses next year.
Yea, like when we were ranked going into last season and I couldn't understand why.

We've been awful for the better part of 7 years now. We have no business being ranked headed into any season until we can actually win 8 or 9 games and have some marquee wins in there as well.
 
D

Deuce

Guest
The Colley Matrix finished the season with UCF #1 and Bama #2. This is one of the former BCS polls that is recognized and legitimized by the NCAA. So basically the National Championship claim is legit.

In short...FACE!
 

1bigfan13

Your favorite player's favorite player
Staff member
Joined
Apr 7, 2013
Messages
27,122
This is music to my ears. The douchenozzle is done.
Roger Goodell: "With the 19th pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys select.....Baker Mayfield, Quarterback, University of Oklahoma."

~Skid and Rev Scanners-like head explosion~


 

Cowboysrock55

Super Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 7, 2013
Messages
52,464
Roger Goodell: "With the 19th pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys select.....Baker Mayfield, Quarterback, University of Oklahoma."

~Skid and Rev Scanners-like head explosion~


Haha I kind of like him but I get a bit of a Rex Grossman vibe from him in terms of talent.
 

midswat

... soon
Joined
Apr 16, 2013
Messages
4,241
The Colley Matrix finished the season with UCF #1 and Bama #2. This is one of the former BCS polls that is recognized and legitimized by the NCAA. So basically the National Championship claim is legit.

In short...FACE!
 

skidadl

El Presidente'
Staff member
Joined
Apr 7, 2004
Messages
11,888
Roger Goodell: "With the 19th pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys select.....Baker Mayfield, Quarterback, University of Oklahoma."

~Skid and Rev Scanners-like head explosion~


That's not funny
 

midswat

... soon
Joined
Apr 16, 2013
Messages
4,241
Sleep not on Jeremy Pruitt’s to-do list while rebuilding Tennessee football

jbrice@gridironnow.com'
By John Brice

He waited too long for this opportunity; too long to run his own show.

Plus, let’s be clear: Pruitt had just landed the University of Tennessee’s top job while he also embraced the task of preparing Alabama for an eventual, magical, final national championship run in charge of the Tide defense – his fifth title-winning stop-unit.

So once he landed in Knoxville on Dec. 7, 2017, to be introduced as this storied program’s 26th head coach, Pruitt didn’t find time for a nap until after he had welcomed in Tennessee’s first group of official visitors and continued his work inside the Anderson Training Center well into Saturday morning.

Remember, Pruitt had been introduced to Vol Nation alongside new athletics director Phillip Fulmer during a late-afternoon press conference Thursday of that week.

“It was crazy, the day of the press conference, full-time staff didn’t leave ‘til 4 a.m. the next day,” said a UT staffer. “…Love them. Great group of coaches and more importantly, actually REALLY good people. They are crazy hard workers though, those first couple days Pruitt literally didn’t sleep.”

Added another UT coach, “The first 40, 42 hours there, we didn’t sleep at all the night after the press conference. It was about 3 a.m. Friday night (Saturday morning). We’ve got to get (big-time) guys.”

During press conferences for the College Football Playoffs, Pruitt made clear his only hat on the recruiting trail was a ‘Power T.’

“What was interesting, (recently) we’re in a (Tide) staff meeting and they’re starting to set up calls for (Nick) Saban,” Pruitt said. “And they’re kind of going down the list, (defensive assistant) Tosh (Lupoi) is, he’s like, ‘We need to call this guy, this guy, this guy.’ And then he pauses and says, ‘We got a couple more that you need to call, Coach.’ And Coach Saban kind of looked at him, nobody said anything, and he goes, ‘Well, who?’

“And Tosh just kind of paused, and I said, ‘Tosh, do you need me to leave the room?’ So everybody kind of got a kick out of it, but we all recruit the same guys.”

That was evidenced that same sleepless opening weekend, when Pruitt ran point and his staffers immediately jetted around the country in the onset of a continued relentless effort to not merely salvage, but lift up the Vols’ 2018 signing class. Pruitt & Co. signed 13 players in the early period and have since trended upward for numerous national recruits – evidenced most recently by the commitment of the uber-talented J.J. Peterson.

“We’re going to recruit the same guys that Florida State does, that LSU does, that Auburn does,” Pruitt explained. “The thing about it is the guys on these staffs, we’re all friends, and there’s not going to be any recruit that gets in the way of our friendship. If we’re not recruiting the same guy that Alabama and Florida State and Auburn and Georgia’s recruiting, and Ohio State, then I think we’re probably recruiting the wrong guys.”

Added a current SEC staffer who previously worked with Pruitt, “He never walks into a house or home where he’s meeting with a family, kid or coach where he’s uncomfortable. It goes back to the communication thing, when he walks into a room he’s comfortable with himself and everybody there is comfortable with him. He has an ability to make everybody comfortable and that in and of itself gets him in the door and then he sells it. He’s so comfortable in any situation, no matter whose house it is.”

By the time Pruitt returned to Rocky Top with just the Tennessee duties outlined in his six-year pact, he once again really had not had much in the way of sleep.

Crimson Tide players and coaches did not depart Mercedes-Benz Stadium Tuesday until approximately 1:30 a.m.; the majority of coaches and staffers celebrated ‘Bama’s stirring triumph in the team’s hospitality suites upon their return to the hotel. Buses loaded later Tuesday morning, the Tide flew back to Tuscaloosa and then UT spirited Pruitt to his new perch on Rocky Top.

In addition to his need to close out his inaugural Tennessee staff and continue the Vols’ recruiting surge since his hiring, Pruitt also will meet with media on campus Wednesday afternoon at 1:30.

“He knows exactly what he wants and what it takes to win at the highest level,” emphasized a UT athletics employee. “And he will not accept anything less than that.

“Just a crazy drive to be successful.”

Sleepless in Knoxville. Right now, that’s just part of Pruitt’s process.

-------------------------


Vols got a good one. :towel
 

L.T. Fan

I'm Easy If You Are
Joined
Apr 7, 2013
Messages
21,689
How in the hell does Texas have a 20/1 chance of winning the championship?

They haven't come close to appearing in a significant bowl since the 2009 season. Hell, they barely qualified for a bowl game this year after failing to qualify the previous two seasons.

This is exactly why programs like UCF will never got a seat at the table because the powers that be always give blue blood programs a head start in the rankings. UCF will be made to start off in the 20s at best while the programs like Notre Dame and Texas will always be afforded the benefit of the doubt, even when they don't deserve it.

I don't even think Oklahoma should be a top 5 team going into next season but I've already seen a couple of national sites list them there in their "way too early top 25 for 2018" polls. We're losing Mayfield and a few more All-Conference/All-Americans on offense. I'm expecting 3 or 4 losses next year.
Don’t pull the trigger to quickly on Mayfields departure. The Murray kid is a top notch replacement. I saw him all his high school years and he has had some college exposure before coming to OU. He is faster than Mayfield and his arm is as strong. Whether his accuracy and position knowledge is up to par remains to be seen but he is an exceptional athlete.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom