2015 Preseason College Football Rankings: Predicting Post-Championship Poll
The 2014 season was one of the wildest in recent memory, and Monday’s College Football Playoff National Championship was the perfect finale for a year filled with major upsets and unforgettable moments.
Many college football fans are still coming down from the shock resulting from the Ohio State Buckeyes beating down the Oregon Ducks, 42-20, but for the rest of the nation, the focus has shifted to the release of the preseason rankings and how the Top 25 will shake out.
Here are the projected preseason college football rankings heading into the 2015 season.
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| 1 | Ohio State | Ohio State |
| 2 | Oregon | Alabama |
| 3 | TCU | Oregon |
| 4 | Alabama | TCU |
| 5 | Michigan State | Baylor |
| 6 | Florida State | Ole Miss |
| 7 | Baylor | Georgia Tech |
| 8 | Georgia Tech | Florida State |
| 9 | Georgia | Michigan State |
| 10 | UCLA | Mississippi State |
| 11 | Mississippi State | Arizona State |
| 12 | Arizona State | LSU |
| 13 | Wisconsin | Kansas State |
| 14 | Missouri | Arizona |
| 15 | Clemson | Georgia |
| 16 | Boise State | UCLA |
| 17 | Ole Miss | Auburn |
| 18 | Kansas State | Boise State |
| 19 | Arizona | Clemson |
| 20 | USC | Missouri |
| 21 | Utah | USC |
| 22 | Auburn | Wisconsin |
| 23 | Marshall | Louisville |
| 24 | Louisville | Michigan |
| 25 | Memphis | Penn State |
*Associated Press poll via AP.org.
Dark-Horse Top 25 Contender: Penn State Nittany Lions
Now that the bowl ban has been lifted from the Penn State Nittany Lions, the legendary program must be considered a dark-horse contender to make the Top 25 in the college football preseason rankings.
While a 7-6 season wasn’t enough to get the program ranked in 2014, it was a great start for the 2015 season. Penn State played Ohio State tough and almost beat the team in a two-overtime thriller, but it was the Nittany Lions' overtime victory over Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl that showcased the ability of the young core of players.
Penn State head coach James Franklin made serious upgrades in his first season with the team, but his second year should be even better with another elite recruiting class and several key returning players. The biggest upgrade will come on the offensive line, as early enrollees Paris Palmer and Sterling Jenkins have already arrived on campus.
When asked about the lack of depth on the offensive line last season and how it hurt his program, Franklin told Derek Levarse of TimesLeader.com, “I mean, we only (had) one scholarship offensive tackle in the senior, junior, sophomore class. No seniors, one junior and no sophomores, which is unheard of. I think if you guys did a study and looked around I don’t know if you can find another program in the United States like that.”
One of the biggest keys to climbing into the preseason rankings will be the clear development of Christian Hackenberg as he enters his junior season. He took a step back in his sophomore season, but he has all the tools to be an elite college quarterback.
Mike Poorman of StateCollege.com talked about Hackenberg’s success in the Pinstripe Bowl:
The Nittany Lions will face elite competition in the Big Ten this season, though, and will have to square off against the Buckeyes, the Michigan State Spartans, the Michigan Wolverines with new head coach Jim Harbaugh and the rest of the ever-improving conference.
If the defensive unit plays as well as it did last year—it finished the season seventh in the nation, allowing just 18.6 points per game—and the offense continues to develop in the offseason, Penn State is a worthy Top 25 team.
*Stats via ESPN.com.
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