Preseason College Football Rankings 2016: Teams That Will Exceed Expectations

Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide rule the preseason college football rankings in 2016 with the Amway Coaches Poll out in the wild.

No surprise here, and neither is the presence of other mainstays in the Top 10 such as Clemson (second), Oklahoma (third) and Ohio State (fifth).

More interesting is the fate of teams ranked lower than they should be. Based on program trends and projections, several teams didn't get what seems like a fair shake, even if the Amway poll is one voted on by coaches. Here's a look at the poll, via USA Today:

Rank	Team	Points	1st-Place Votes
1	Alabama	1585	55
2	Clemson	1524	7
3	Oklahoma	1398	0
4	Florida State	1351	1
5	Ohio State	1321	0
6	LSU	1241	0
7	Stanford	1149	0
8	Michigan	1062	0
9	Notre Dame	1034	0
10	Tennessee	960	1
11	Michigan State	901	0
12	Mississippi	792	0
13	Houston	668	0
14	TCU	649	0
15	Iowa	579	0
16	Georgia	525	0
17	USC	468	0
18	Washington	454	0
19	Oklahoma State	426	0
20	North Carolina	422	0
21	Baylor	383	0
22	Oregon	361	0
23	Louisville	331	0
24	UCLA	296	0
25	Florida	245	0

Polls change in dramatic fashion over the first few weeks of a season, and it'll be the same story this year. Below, let's look at teams already poised to make a climb and buck the expectations slapped on them by the coaches.

Teams That Will Exceed Expectations

Louisville 

Louisville continues to get heralded as a team ready to make some noise in the ACC this year, and for good reason. 

The Cardinals skidded to an 8-5 finish last year, but did so under the direction of true freshman Lamar Jackson, a quarterback who struggled on his way to 1,840 yards and 12 touchdowns to eight interceptions, though he added another 11 scores on the ground.

Still, Jackson made strides when healthy and finished the season with a bang, gunning for 227 yards and a pair of scores in a bowl win against Texas A&M.

Despite the encouraging sign, the Cardinals landed at 23rd this preseason. Notable losses to the NFL (defensive lineman Sheldon Rankins) and close losses to major programs last year (Auburn, Clemson by seven points or less) has stuck head coach Bobby Petrino's team in ranking purgatory.

Simple growth will have the Cardinals rising the ranks, even if their third game of the season is an encounter with the Florida State Seminoles after a pair of cupcakes. A game against Clemson to start the month of October hurts as well, but if Petrino has his defense playing like he usually does and Jackson matches his preseason hype, there's no reason to believe the Cardinals cannot hang tough in both contests.

Tennessee 

Ignore for a moment that the Tennessee Volunteers received an odd first-place vote while landing 10th in the polls.

Given the growing consistency of head coach Butch Jones' tenure in Knoxville, the Vols entered last season with high expectations before those came crashing down. The Volunteers lost three of five to open the season, taking losses at the hands of notables such as Oklahoma, Florida and Arkansas.

Tennessee did come alive to close the season, though, beating a ranked Georgia team and losing to Alabama by just five points before winning out, a streak of six games including a 45-6 thumping of then-No. 13 Northwestern in the Outback Bowl.

As usual, Tennessee should field a typical powerhouse SEC defense in 2016. Where the Volunteers will crush the competition, though, is on the ground via the running game. Quarterback Joshua Dobbs, flanked by backs Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara, make for one of the most dominant triple-headed attacks in the nation.

The trio's numbers from a year ago speak volumes:

NAME	CAR	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Jalen Hurd	277	1288	4.7	48	12
Alvin Kamara	107	698	6.5	63	7
Joshua Dobbs	146	671	4.6	62	11

Keep in mind, too, Dobbs completed 59.6 percent of his passes last year with 15 touchdowns to five interceptions, something he can improve upon with another year of experience under his belt.

Though Tennessee gets notables such as Alabama, Georgia and others again this year, senior leadership under center and another influx of Jones' recruiting will have the Volunteers in contention to take the entire SEC, even better than what the preseason polls have suggested so far.

Oregon

The Oregon Ducks slot in 22nd in the preseason rankings, an interesting placement for a program on the upswing on the offensive side of the ball.

Clearly voters still have a sour aftertaste thanks to the way the Ducks ended last season, a triple-overtime loss to then-No. 11 TCU in the Alamo Bowl. The Ducks had only lost three games all season prior, two of those close and one an odd 62-20 blowout at the hands of Utah.

Alas, the Ducks have reloaded well, ripping Montana State transfer Dakota Prukop from Alabama and slotting him in as the quarterback this year. As Sports Illustrated's Gabriel Baumgaertner pointed out, the Ducks have plenty of talent around him:

"

They have one of the nation’s most underrated offensive players in Royce Freeman and two home-run threats in Darren Carrington and Devon Allen (who will be joining the team after he participates in the Rio Olympics). The key question is how dependable will all three be if Prukop is not. If Prukop instantly adjusts to the offense, then the Ducks could make a surge to the top of the loaded Pac-12 North.

"

Forget an improved defense and recall that Darren Carrington averaged 19 yards per catch last year on 32 snags. Royce Freeman averaged 6.5 yards per carry on his way to 1,836 yards and 17 scores.

CBS Sports Radio captured head coach Mark Helfrich's candid thoughts on Prukop and others:

This is a process. Oregon is a program in transition, but as Helfrich gets more of his guys in the door, it'll become apparent the Ducks aren't falling to a status as a second-rate team in the Pac-12.

The schedule is tough, with games against USC, Stanford and Utah, among others, most near the end of the season. But by then the Ducks should be firing on all cylinders and ready to climb well above where the preseason polls have them slotted.

Stats and information via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.