College Football Rankings 2015: Final NCAA Overview of Week 1 Standings

This is going to be a great year for Ohio State. At least that's what the pollsters are saying.

A year after winning the first College Football Playoff, the Buckeyes start the season as the unanimous No. 1 team in the nation. They received all 61 votes in the first AP poll of the year, and as they begin the year, there doesn't appear to be many pitfalls on their way to repeating.

However, they start their season Monday night with a game at Virginia Tech. Few expect the Hokies to give Ohio State a four-quarter challenge in Blacksburg, Virginia, but the home team has not been consulted. While the oddsmakers have installed the Buckeyes as a 14-point favorite, courtesy of OddsShark, Virginia Tech does not need to be reminded that it went into Columbus and handed Ohio State its only defeat last year.

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We all had fun watching Cardale Jones' run to the title, but J.T. Barrett can do so much more. http://t.co/Gy95ktYpU2 pic.twitter.com/ZAxbstBcjs

— Sporting News (@sportingnews) September 4, 2015"

Now they see the defending champions coming into their stadium as a double-digit favorite, and it may not be quite so easy. Virginia Tech should be prepared to play an excellent game. Head coach Frank Beamer knows how to get a team ready for its opener, and he can play the disrespect card as well as anyone.

No. 2 TCU got started with a less-than-stellar opener at Minnesota. The Golden Gophers were in the game for 60 minutes, but the Horned Frogs held on for 23-17 victory. Trevone Boykin is one of the Heisman contenders as the season gets underway, and he started off by completing 26-of-42 passes for 246 yards and a touchdown and also ran for 92 yards and a score. The TCU quarterback will almost certainly see a wider gap on the scoreboard in many of the coming weeks.

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Despite the narrow victory, @TCUFootball's Trevone Boykin showed some serious promise. http://t.co/ZHAIQjNaXJ pic.twitter.com/qsRHbKRq2k

— Campus Insiders (@CampusInsiders) September 4, 2015"

Alabama starts the year as the No. 3 team in the nation, and that does not make Nick Saban happy. He is much more used to seeing his Crimson Tide in the No. 1 or No. 2 slots, but it really doesn't matter that much any longer. If the Tide can land one of the top four spots in the nation at season's end, they will be in the College Football Playoff for a second consecutive year.

Pos.	Team	Points (First-Place Votes)
1	Ohio State	1,525 (61)
2	TCU	1,428
3	Alabama	1,322
4	Baylor	1,263
5	Michigan State	1,256
6	Auburn	1,192
7	Oregon	1,156
8	USC	1,085
9	Georgia	991
10	Florida State	959
11	Notre Dame	873
12	Clemson	862
13	USC	698
14	LSU	675
15	Arizona State	605
16	Georgia Tech	588
17	Mississippi	563
18	Arkansas	410
19	Oklahoma	394
20	Wisconsin	393
21	Stanford	347
22	Arizona	311
23	Boise State	240
24	Missouri	219
25	Tennessee	114

While Saban lost T.J. Yeldon and Amari Cooper, Alabama still boasts strength along the front. The team has powerful offensive and defensive lines, and that should allow its skill position players to have plenty of opportunities.

The Crimson Tide open up with a huge national TV game against Wisconsin in Dallas at AT&T Stadium, and Alabama is a 10-point favorite. Alabama often plays power opponents from the top conferences in its openers, so don't expect Alabama to come through with anything but its best game here.

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Boarding the plane in Tuscaloosa. Next stop ... Texas! #RollTide #WISvsBAMA pic.twitter.com/l12PsosGf3

— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) September 4, 2015"

The Baylor Bears have been dominant in earning a share of the Big 12 title the last two years and have a powerful offense that has the ability to strike quickly from all over the field. Look for running back Shock Linwood to make a run at 1,300 yards or more this season.

Michigan State started its season with a win Friday night at Western Michigan, but all eyes will be focused on East Lansing Sept. 12 when the Oregon Ducks, rated seventh in the AP poll, come calling. The Spartans played a credible game for 30 minutes at Eugene last year before falling short, and they would like to return the favor this year.

Oregon has quite a bit of competition this year in the Pac-12 from USC, UCLA, Stanford and Arizona. The Trojans could be the best of the bunch with Cody Kessler at quarterback. He threw for more than 3,800 yards and 39 TDs last year, while completing 69.7 percent of his passes. If he can continue along that path this year, the Trojans could end up at the top of the Pac-12.

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USC's Cody Kessler is back one season after rewriting the Trojans' star-studded record book: http://t.co/KdnEUbNVda pic.twitter.com/IUBImmXcdd

— NCAA Football (@NCAAFootball) September 2, 2015"

Notre Dame starts the season as the 11th-ranked team in the nation, and Brian Kelly's team could be formidable with Malik Zaire at quarterback. Zaire beat out Everett Golson in the spring, and that's why Golson transferred to Florida State. Zaire will throw to a pair of standout receivers in Corey Robinson and William Fuller.

Louisiana State starts the year as the No. 14 team in the nation, and if the Tigers are going to jump into contention they need to fix an offense that has become one-dimensional in recent years. Leonard Fournette looks like a stud at running back, but Brandon Harris is going to have to pick it up at quarterback if the Tigers are going to be dangerous.

It has been a while since Tennessee was a relevant college football program, but the Vols posted their first winning record last year (7-6) since 2009, and they start the season as the No. 25 team in the nation. Quarterback Joshua Dobbs helped turn the Vols around and head coach Butch Jones is counting on the quarterback to be even better this year. Jones has also brought a solid recruiting class to Knoxville, and the Vols could be very difficult to beat this year.