Preseason College Football Rankings 2015: Predicting NCAA Top 25
College football season is nearly upon us.
It seems like yesterday Urban Meyer's Ohio State Buckeyes seized the throne. Now they're doing so again when it comes to the 2015 iteration of college football rankings, first and foremost with the Amway Coaches Poll.
Call it the first of many epic releases with so many poll iterations running right on through the season and to the ever-important College Football Playoff. For now, preseason polls walk a tightrope of on-paper analysis, production from last year and simple projections.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Let's take a stab at the NCAA Top 25 below while awaiting the start of the season.
NCAA Top 25 Predictions
| 1 | Ohio State Buckeyes |
| 2 | TCU Horned Frogs |
| 3 | Alabama Crimson Tide |
| 4 | Auburn Tigers |
| 5 | Michigan State Spartans |
| 6 | Baylor Bears |
| 7 | Oregon Ducks |
| 8 | LSU Tigers |
| 9 | Florida State Seminoles |
| 10 | USC Trojans |
| 11 | Clemson Tigers |
| 12 | Georgia Bulldogs |
| 13 | UCLA Bruins |
| 14 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish |
| 15 | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets |
| 16 | Mississippi Rebels |
| 17 | Wisconsin Badgers |
| 18 | Arizona State Sun Devils |
| 19 | Stanford Cardinal |
| 20 | Arizona Wildcats |
| 21 | Oklahoma Sooners |
| 22 | Arkansas Razorbacks |
| 23 | Mississippi State Bulldogs |
| 24 | Texas A&M Aggies |
| 25 | Boise State Broncos |
Prediction Breakdown
The Obvious: Ohio State Tops All
There's no reason to knock the Buckeyes out of the top slot.
After all, most figured this would be the year Meyer morphed his impressive recruiting classes into a title contender, not last year when they took home the inaugural CFP.
Feel free to call it an embarrassment of riches in Columbus. Joey Bosa and Adolphus Washington lead a ridiculous defense, while Cardale Jones and J.T. Barrett form perhaps the best quarterback depth chart in the country.
Offensive weapons weren't a problem either thanks to wideouts such as Michael Thomas and Corey Smith, but the spot got an added boost when former quarterback Braxton Miller decided to change positions. He explained the decision to ESPN.com's Austin Ward:
"Because you know, my main focus was playing quarterback. Coming back from my injury, the thing was, my distance on the ball wasn't all the way there yet. I was thinking about, ‘Hey, why am I still working on quarterback when I can do something else that can prepare me for the future and be the best at what my craft is?' Get the ball in my hands, make plays.
"
Again, an embarrassment of riches.
Ohio State's schedule looks great for an undefeated run, too, although an opening-week showdown at Virginia Tech might prove difficult. After, Michigan State and Michigan to close the season stands out.
Regardless, as far as preseason polls go, Ohio State rules.
The "For Now" Rank: TCU
The biggest surprise of last year now has to live up to the hype with a target on its back.
Of course, this refers to the TCU Horned Frogs, a 4-8 team before last year's epic 12-1 campaign cut just short of the CFP thanks to a 61-58 loss to Baylor.
Then again, the same offense capable of putting up such basketball-esque totals returns this year. Surefire Heisman Trophy contender Trevone Boykin, who is one season removed from throwing for 3,901 yards and 33 scores with another 707 yards and eight scores on the ground, is the leader of the pack.
ESPN.com's Max Olson explained why Boykin stands such a sound chance at the Heisman, and in doing so also helps to show why the Horned Frogs deserve a strong nod in the preseason polls:
"That includes four starting offensive linemen, three of the top four running backs, and eight of the top nine wide receivers from a year ago. In all, TCU's offense will feature nine senior starters. That level of experience and familiarity is insanely valuable."
Granted, there is some turnover the Horned Frogs will need to deal with on defense, but with an offense this potent and experienced, the pros look to outweigh the cons.
For now, the Horned Frogs get to enjoy a high rank. To keep it, the experience must shine through with nobody sleeping on them this time.
The Shocker: Arkansas
Things are looking up for the Arkansas Razorbacks and coach Bret Bielema.
Everyone seemed ready to write off the Razorbacks once again last year after a rough season-opening loss to Auburn, which made sense given the program's recent history.
Then things turned around for the team after a 35-28 overtime loss to then-No. 6 Texas A&M, followed by a 14-13 loss to then-No. 7 Alabama. Fast forward a few weeks and the team almost did the unthinkable before suffering a 17-10 loss on the road at the hands of then-No. 1 Mississippi State.
Winning did happen soon after. The Razorbacks took down a ranked LSU squad 17-0, a then-No. 8 Ole Miss team, 30-0 before a 31-7 romp of Texas in the Advocare V100 Texas Bowl.
Now the Razorbacks look to build on the foundation. The team returns a whopping 14 starters, including five along the offensive line and quarterback Brandon Allen. Running backs Alex Collins and Jonathan Williams are back, too, after acting as college football's lone 1,000-yard duo last season:
| Jonathan Williams | 211 | 1190 | 5.6 | 90 (TD) | 12 |
| Alex Collins | 204 | 1100 | 5.4 | 84 (TD) | 12 |
The approach doesn't change—Bielema wants to pound the rock and play shutdown defense. Teams knew it was coming last year and some of the most notable couldn't stop it.
Sprinkle in another year of experience and things should improve despite the depth of the SEC. The schedule isn't easy, but Bielema and the Razorbacks deserve the preseason spotlight before getting to work.
Stats and information via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
