NCAA Football Preseason Rankings 2015: Analyzing List of Top 25 NCAA Teams

Whether you want to acknowledge the college football preseason polls or not, they have a lot of importance as we head toward the upcoming season.

With a committee now deciding the postseason fates for the top teams in the nation, some believe you can ignore the opening rankings as meaningless. However, all four representatives in the inaugural College Football Playoff began the year in the Top Five of the preseason Associated Press Poll and the Top Six of the preseason USA Today Amway Coaches Poll.

This doesn't necessarily guarantee success for those near the top this year, but it's clear this is something we should take seriously. With that in mind, here is a look at this year's preseason USA Today Amway Coaches Poll with a breakdown of what it means for the upcoming season.

Rank	School	Points	1st-Place Votes
1	Ohio State	1,598	62
2	TCU	1,487	1
3	Alabama	1,452	1
4	Baylor	1,365	0
5	Oregon	1,260	0
6	Michigan State	1,230	0
7	Auburn	1,103	0
8	Florida State	1,057	0
9	Georgia	1,026	0
10	USC	1,014	0
11	Notre Dame	883	0
12	Clemson	838	0
13	LSU	727	0
14	UCLA	697	0
15	Ole Miss	668	0
16	Arizona State	577	0
17	Georgia Tech	573	0
18	Wisconsin	470	0
19	Oklahoma	407	0
20	Arkansas	377	0
21	Stanford	365	0
22	Arizona	299	0
23	Missouri	229	0
24	Boise State	190	0
25	Tennessee	166	0

Ohio State deserves the No. 1 spot in the preseason rankings, and it is almost a mystery why two voters disagreed. Not only is the squad coming off an undisputed national championship with postseason victories over Oregon and Alabama, but it also returns most of its key contributors from that run.

The most intriguing storyline for those following the Buckeyes is the quarterback competition, which arose after a couple of injuries last season.

Preseason Heisman Trophy candidate Braxton Miller got hurt before Week 1, which opened the door for J.T. Barrett. He was excellent until an injury forced Cardale Jones into the spotlight, and he responded with a handful of impressive performances that led to Big Ten and national titles.

Miller has moved to receiver and will hope his athleticism allows him to be successful, while the other two options will keep competing until the opening kickoff against Virginia Tech.

The amazing part is it doesn't matter much who ends up at quarterback because Ohio State will be in great shape either way. The squad is loaded with talent on both sides of the ball, including a pair of players considered the two best in the nation by ESPN: defensive tackle Joey Bosa and running back Ezekiel Elliott.

This is why the Buckeyes have such a good chance to run the table in 2015, according to ESPN Stats & Info:

Of course, a number of teams could prevent the Buckeyes from defending their title. Probably the most intriguing is TCU, which barely missed last year's playoffs after an outstanding regular season. However, the Horned Frogs won't be sneaking up on anyone this time around.

Quarterback Trevone Boykin returns to lead an offense that ranked second in the nation with 46.5 points per game and never finished with fewer than 30. A 42-3 win over Ole Miss and its elite defense sent a message to those who doubted the program.

Ashley Landis/Associated Press

While last season was all about putting up huge numbers, head coach Gary Patterson explained this year is all about winning, per ESPN.com's Max Olson:

"

I think our frustration is understanding that winning is the most important thing and all the rest will come. They don't have to score more points, have more yards. It's going to be we play on the road six tough road games. If you're going to win those ball games, it's going to be hard to win by a couple of margins that we did last year.

"

It will be different for TCU to be the hunted team all year, but this squad has the talent to pull it off, especially if it can beat conference rival Baylor.

Meanwhile, top programs such as Alabama, Oregon, Florida State and Auburn are once again loaded with talent, although the rosters might not be filled with household names. Still, the coaching staffs have proved they know what to do to win.

As far as squads that should be ranked higher, the one that immediately jumps out is Arizona. The Wildcats won the Pac-12 South last season and return an offense loaded with playmakers, including quarterback Anu Solomon, running back Nick Wilson and receiver Cayleb Jones. 

Still, the main attraction for Arizona is on the defensive side in linebacker Scooby Wright:

If Wright can anchor the defense, the Wildcats could once again surprise people in 2015.

SEC regulars such as Ole Miss, Arkansas and LSU could also move up the rankings over the course of the year with some big wins.

On the other hand, Georgia could see itself slip in the polls as the season progresses. The running game in Athens should remain strong even after losing Todd Gurley to the NFL, but there are major question marks at quarterback with a complete lack of experience at the position. Add this to a defense that could slip from last year, and the SEC could be too challenging to survive.

All of this can change once the season starts, however, with teams that aren't even ranked capable of flying up to No. 1. All we can do now is wait until things kick off on Sept. 3.

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