Preseason College Football Rankings 2018: Predictions for Initial AP NCAA Top 25
The second of two preseason college football polls comes out Monday.
The AP Top 25, which is voted on by members of the media, makes its debut at noon ET, with Alabama hoping to hold on to the No. 1 spot it had at the end of the 2017 season.
Alabama earned its first top ranking of the season, when the Amway Coaches Poll almost unanimously voted the Crimson Tide the top team, with Clemson and Ohio State sharing four of the 65 first-place votes that didn't go to Nick Saban's team.
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Most of the same perennial championship contenders who topped the coaches poll should feature near the top of the AP poll, as there usually isn't a major difference between the rankings at the start of the season.
Below is a look at what to expect from Monday's release of the AP Top 25.
Predictions for Initial AP Top 25
Alabama Claims No. 1 Ranking
Alabama is more than deserving of the No. 1 ranking, as it comes off its fifth national championship of the Saban era.
The Crimson Tide have plenty to prove throughout the 2018 season, as they have to replace a plethora of players who left for the NFL.
Few programs can lose stars such as Minkah Fitzpatrick and Calvin Ridley and end up in good shape for the next campaign, but because this is Alabama we're talking about, it is business as usual.
A talented sophomore class that earned playing time a year ago should fill plenty of key roles, especially at wide receiver.
The only uncertainty surrounding Alabama is the quarterback competition between Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa.
No matter which player earns the starting nod, there will be an intense focus on the position throughout the season, as fans will call for the backup the second the starter makes one mistake.
If the Alabama we all know and love, or hate in the hearts of some, shows up for the first seven games, it will enter a stretch of two road games against Tennessee and LSU at 7-0.
Alabama's schedule is much more difficult at the end of the regular season, but for the first two months of the campaign, there could be a familiar crimson logo on top of the AP poll, starting with Monday's release.
Big Ten Continues To Receive Preseason Love
The top-heavy Big Ten received a generous heaping of votes in the Amway Coaches Poll, as five teams cracked the top 15.
Expect much of the same in the AP poll, as Ohio State, Wisconsin, Penn State, Michigan State and Michigan make up an impressive collection of ranked teams.
Ohio State, who received one first-place vote in the coaches poll, should be the highest-ranked Big Ten team, while Wisconsin has a case to be in the top five.
The Buckeyes and the Badgers appear to be the safest bets to lead the Big Ten at the moment, as the other three ranked teams have some questions to answer.
Penn State has to prove it can find a way to replace the dynamic playmaking skills of Saquon Barkley; Michigan needs consistency from the quarterback position; and Michigan State must survive a rigorous first six games, with three coming on the road.
The Big Ten could eventually put a sixth or seventh team in the rankings if Iowa or Northwestern play up to their potential, and if Nebraska surges at the start under first-year head coach Scott Frost, it could be in the mix as well.
Even if Iowa, Northwestern and Nebraska play well, they might not be able to pack a punch against the five preseason top-25 teams, who should all be in the top 12 or 13 of the AP Top 25.
However, the one downfall of having five teams in the top half of the polls is the potential for all of them to beat each other and for the conference to miss out on the College Football Playoff, which is the extreme worst-case scenario for the Big Ten.
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