The *Way Too Early, Probably Not Accurate (But We Need Something To Fight About) Pre-Season Power Rankings* (TM)1. Oklahoma - winning back-2-back LC's will do that for you.
2. Michigan - our first surprise pick? perennial contender & Devin Bush is a nightmare-machine.
3. Rutgers - AD has done everything short of getting to the Big Game. Time is running out and the Buckeyes are on their way up in the country's toughest conference.
4. South Carolina - 3 straight double-digit win seasons and 2 SEC East crowns. Ready to break the door down this year.
5. Oklahoma St. - Only missed the bowl games once in the last 6 seasons (1LC). Imagine if they didn't have to play Oklahoma 2x a season.
6. Texas A&M - Talented squad, competent AD - time to take a step forward in the competitive Super Conf.
7. Navy - No respect to the LC runner-up from last season. Indy champ loses in the Finals, BIG shocker there.
8. Clemson - Deceptively good, plays their best when the cold winds blow at the end of the season.
9. USC - Gifted a trip to the Bowl games each season, but hasn't done much with it. Softest schedule in the country this season.
10. BYU - Probably too high. Can't win the big one & QB Carrion was cursed at mid-season and has lost his spot at QB1. Time's run out on the Cougars.
11. Notre Dame - If they ever got a QB that protected the ball, there would be NO stopping them!
12. LSU - Lit-up scoreboards across the nation, needs to learn how to win in the Bowl play-off.
13. UCLA - New AD brings breath of fresh-air into the Bruins. Which direction will they go?
14. Kansas - Play's the best teams tough, had a Heisman-worthy season from their young QB. Best-kept secret in college football. AD is a real sport too.
15. Oregon - Lowest-seeded Conference winner from last season despite putting up a strong showing vs Rutgers. Need some fine-tuning to get into the upper echelon.
16. Texas - With the exception of their meteoric-rise during the previous administration, largely pedestrian results overall. Need to catch lightening in a bottle just to make a Bowl game.
17. Washington - For the first time the Pac-12 North rests outside the state of WA and there's a new transfer QB tasked with re-igniting the Purple Reign.
18. Auburn - War Eagles have been treading water but need a real spark to gain relevance. New AD is putting his mark on the squad but they're still a few years away.
19. Ohio St - Gets the nod because of past performance, but another season like last year and the AD might get thrown from the roof of The Horseshoe!
20. Alabama - Best (luckiest?) signing period AD in the business, but doesn't have much to show for it, save for 1 Cinderella-run to the Finals 8-years ago.
21. Miami - Has typically seen only the highs of college football, don't expect to see them mired in the low's for very much longer.
22. Georgia - Had a rare season in which they were better than .500 in their Conference, that will need to be the norm if they're ever able to make the jump to a Bowl squad. (Would also help if they sent out offer letters to the correct recruits! - sorry JWS, I had to.)
23. Florida - Lots of pieces in their prime, it's criminal this team hasn't been able to put it all together. Time to shape-up!
24. Syracuse - AD has a real eye for talent, but they always fade in the second half. Have to put together a full 16-game season.
25. Washington St - Mired in the seas of mediocrity with the rest of the Conference. Making it worse, they've proved in the past to be a real tough piece of business. Seem to have caught a case of the Yips.
26. Northwestern - Was that the faintest echo of a heartbeat returning to Eastern Illinois? Will need to have a lot of things go right to do well in the B1G.
27. Army - They were good once. It might have been during the Ford administration. New AD is still workin on putting their stamp on the squad and bringing in 'their' guys. Build slow, this Conference is ripe for the taking!
28. Stanford - They have the Midas touch during allocation drafts. Only, like, the reverse. Still battling back from a program-killing incident early in their history, and not making it any easier on themselves.
29. Florida St - -2,055pt-differential (avg -137/year), honestly surprised it's not more. Live & die by the blitz.
30. Arizona - Current team management has only managed a high-water-mark of 5Wins across each of the last 7 seasons (incl 2 @ 1-15, and 1 @ 0-16).
31. Utah - New AD starting out and the cupboard is bare. Fans & boosters will be patient that *this* rebuild will be different.
32. Tennessee - Ended the season going 0-10. Rumors swirling that the AD was abducted by aliens, there's no way the same person that presided over the first 2 LC's in the history of the league is running this team!
Last edited at 5/29/2020 8:13 pm
