College football's opening weekend is here!
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To celebrate, we have FanBuzz's preseason Top 25 handy, where we will do our best to project the 2016 season. As always, take the list with some consideration that a preseason poll is never perfect, and in the end, it is just one man's opinion.
Still, let us know what you agree and disagree with! Who should be higher? Who should be lower? Let's take a look!
1. Alabama
2015 record: 14-1
It is really hard to rank Alabama anywhere but No. 1 right now. The Tide are coming off of another national championship, and they will likely be contenders again in 2016. Even with a hit-or-miss quarterback situation, I still trust Alabama to be one of the best teams in all of college football with the talent they have at every other position.
2. Clemson
2015 record: 14-1
Clemson did lose quite a bit of defensive talent, but QB Deshaun Watson has been fantastic in his first two years as a college football player. I have a hard time believing that stops in year three, as Watson will once again be a favorite for the Heisman Trophy.
3. Florida State
2015 record: 10-3
It will be interesting to see just how Florida State's quarterback situation pans out. Sean Maguire will miss a couple of weeks in his recovery from foot surgery, and that leaves redshirt-freshman Deondre Francois at the helm for Week 1. With Dalvin Cook behind him in the backfield, can Francois gain enough momentum to keep the job?
Regardless of who is at QB, Florida State has a ton of talent on defense, and once again, they have Dalvin Cook to rely on for the offense. They should be really good.
4. Oklahoma
2015 record: 12-2
Oklahoma is a weird team. They have a lot of talent returning, but they have two major tests early on in the season with Houston and Ohio State. With how they got dominated by Clemson in the Playoff last year, it will be difficult to rebound if they lose one of those games, too.
5. TCU
2015 record: 11-2
I like TCU a lot. (they're No. 5 here — that should be obvious) Their defense should show some improvement after an injury riddled 2015, and I believe Kenny Hill can do enough to replace Trevone Boykin at quarterback.
They do have to play at Baylor this year, but otherwise, TCU gets all of their toughest games at home. If they can beat Arkansas and Oklahoma early on in the season, then they have a good chance to go undefeated, which would secure them a spot in the College Football Playoff.
6. LSU
2015 record: 9-3
Brandon Harris is really the key for LSU. Yes, they have Leonard Fournette and he is about as fantastic of a running back as you can have. However, Harris was just dreadful last year. He ranked 95th out of 100 qualified quarterbacks in completion-percentage, and that is really the thing; he doesn't have to make perfect, down-the-field passes, but he needs to be accurate enough on short to mid-range throws to open up the field for Fournette.
7. Stanford
2015 record: 12-2
Stanford may have to replace Kevin Hogan, but they should still be the cream of the crop in the Pac-12. Christian McCaffrey will be in the Heisman conversation once again, and their defense will be solid. Yes, a Pac-12 team with a good defense; that's what sets them apart.
8. Ohio State
2015 record: 12-1
Ohio State's youth at multiple positions aside, let's talk about the Big Ten for a minute. The conference as a whole has a few really good teams, but right now, I don't see one of them — Michigan, OSU, Michigan State, Iowa, etc. — as a truly great team. There's a lot of potential for the entire conference to beat each other up, costing the Big Ten a spot in the Playoffs.
9. Notre Dame
2015 record: 10-3
I was actually higher on Notre Dame until recent events. Max Redfield got booted from the team, and that is a real blow to their secondary. The quarterback situation is unsolved, too, and if that really starts to spill over through the length of the season... that won't be good.
The sooner the Fighting Irish name a starter, the better.
10. Houston
2015 record: 13-1
Houston might not put up another 13-1 season, but I think they have the potential to be a more impressive team in 2016. Greg Ward Jr. is back at quarterback, and they should have a decent defense to compliment his offensive abilities.
We will know if Houston is the real deal right away; they play Oklahoma on Saturday to open the season. If they win that game, they will have A LOT of people talking.
11. Louisville
2015 record: 8-5
Quarterback Lamar Jackson easily has the potential to become a Top 5 player in the ACC this year. Jackson is lightning-quick as a runner, but he still does need some polishing in the passing game. Regardless, he and Louisville are good enough to give Clemson and Florida State some competition in what has become a two-team race in the past few years.
12. Michigan
2015 record: 10-3
We need to slow down the Michigan hype-train some. They will be very good, and perhaps they can even make the College Football Playoff. However, their schedule is a joke for most of the year, and that could really hurt them. If they get hammered by either Michigan State or Ohio State (both of the road), that could completely derail their season. Even if they win the Big Ten.
13. Tennessee
2015 record: 9-4
Not quite on the Tennessee hype train yet, but they do have a lot of things going for them. Josh Dobbs and Jalen Hurd should make a great 1-2 punch on offense, and their defense has the potential to be elite.
However, they do have a pretty rough schedule early on. They will have Florida, at Georgia, at Texas A&M, and Alabama in a four-week stretch, and I think they will end up with two losses from it. They could win the rest of their games outside that stretch, but the two losses there will end their title hopes.
14. Michigan State
2015 record: 12-2
Michigan State will take a step back without Connor Cook, but as we have seen in the past few years, head coach Mark Dantonio always manages to keep the Spartans near the top of the Big Ten. Their defense will still be good, and that will keep them in every game, but they have a lot of things to figure out on offense before they can reach "Playoff-contender" territory.
15. Ole Miss
2015 record: 10-3
They lose some talent from a good defense, so we will have to wait and see if they are able to replenish after those losses. They will have a good offense with quarterback Chad Kelly back, and that could be a major key in the SEC; no one in the conference has a QB that is near Kelly's level right now, so it will be interesting to see if they can be an offensive powerhouse.
16. Oregon
2015 record: 9-4
People are weirdly down on Oregon this season. Their No. 22 spot in the AP preseason poll was their worst in a decade. They probably won't be legitimate contenders like they have in the past, but they should still be really good with running back Royce Freeman and transfer quarterback Dakota Prukop running the offense.
Oregon also gets both Stanford and Washington at home, and that could be a real boost when we start to get late into the regular season.
17. North Carolina
2015 record: 11-3
Their defense is still a wildcard, but their offense should be very good once again. For all intents and purposes, North Carolina could be the same team as last year, maybe even better, but one problem still looms: they have a much tougher schedule with Georgia and at Florida State on the docket. They could be better, but they might not have the same success as last year.
18. UCLA
2015 record: 8-5
I've seen a lot of people that are really high on UCLA, and even though I'm a fan of sophomore quarterback Josh Rosen, I just don't see it. Running back Paul Perkins is gone, and that might hurt them more than people think.
Once again, I think they are good, but more like nine wins good; not "Playoff-contender" good.
19. Washington
2015 record: 7-6
I could almost put a "ditto" from UCLA here. They are a lot of really respected football analysts that are really high on Washington, and they should be improved from last year's 7-6 team. They lost a couple of close games last year, but I think they will have a similar problem in 2016. That won't make them a six-loss team again, but predicting them to be a Top 10 team seems like too much hype.
20. Georgia
2015 record: 10-3
I definitely have reservations about Georgia after naming Greyson Lambert the starter for Week 1. We know what Lambert is at this point, and it isn't that inspiring. How quickly do they go with Jacob Eason at quarterback? Do they go to him at all this year if they are having moderate success with Lambert at the helm? A lot of questions face them, so they are difficult to rate.
21. Iowa
2015 record: 12-2
After the near-Cinderella run last year, Iowa should still be really good, but they just won't have that same success. They do have a weaker-schedule once again, but they have to play at Michigan this year; that will likely be the game that ends any potential Iowa hype train.
22. Oklahoma State
2015 record: 10-3
Oklahoma State is almost in the same boat as North Carolina. Even if they are better, their schedule might prevent them from improving on their 2015 record. Oklahoma State has at Baylor, at Kansas State, at TCU, and at Oklahoma this year. That is not a every promising slate for the Cowboys, and it will keep them from the national title conversation like they were in briefly last year.
23. Pittsburgh
2015 record: 8-5
Running back James Conner is back after sitting almost all of the 2015 season with a knee injury and Hodgkin's lymphoma. In 2014, Conner was one of the best running backs in all of college football; he ran for 1,765 yards and he literally provided half of Pitt's offense by scoring 26 touchdowns. Pitt was decent last year without him, but they have the potential to be really good if Conner can regain that elite form.
24. Texas A&M
2015 record: 8-5
Considering the quarterback problems the Aggies have had in the past two years, having Trevor Knight as the starter should be a revelation. Knight is definitely good, and there will be no need for him to split time with anyone else.
25. Baylor
2015 record: 10-3
Even with all the controversies they have been going through with the sexual assault scandal, they should still be a decent team. Seth Russell should be recovered from his neck injury, and he was a legit Heisman contender before he went down. They also have one of the weakest schedules out there, so it won't be hard for them to get to nine wins.
