Biggest takeaways from Sports Illustrated’s preseason college football top 25
Sports Illustrated released their preseason top 25 for the 2015 college football season and to the surprise of nobody, the Ohio State Buckeyes came in at the No. 1 spot, but surprises came soon after.
Ohio State is at the top of another preseason poll as the defending champions are the No. 1 team in Sports Illustrated preseason college football top 25 that was released on Wednesday morning and will appear in the Aug. 10 issue of the magazine.
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The Buckeyes may have the easiest path to returning to the College Football Playoff considering their schedule and the lack of depth in the Big Ten outside of a test vs Michigan State and potentially Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game.
After Ohio State is where the real fun began in SI’s poll where the Auburn Tigers came in at No. 2 despite an 8-5 record a year ago, an inexperienced quarterback in Jeremy Johnson but featuring a defense that should be markedly better under coordinator Will Muschamp.
The TCU Horned Frogs came in at No. 3, which is where they ranked in the eyes of the Playoff committee in the final week of the season until they dropped to No. 6 after a 55-3 win over Iowa State. Logic, right?
Perhaps the biggest surprise is seeing the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at No. 4, one spot ahead of the Alabama Crimson Tide, and while the Irish have traditionally been ranked on reputation in the past, this ranking holds weight as they’re a legit contender for the Playoff.
You can see the full top 25 below:
- Ohio State
- Auburn
- TCU
- Notre Dame
- Alabama
- Baylor
- Michigan State
- USC
- Florida State
- Oregon
- Georgia
- Clemson
- Ole Miss
- UCLA
- Arizona
- Boise State
- Arizona State
- Stanford
- Georgia Tech
- Missouri
- Oklahoma
- Arkansas
- LSU
- Wisconsin
- Mississippi State
What’s the biggest surprise in SI’s top 25? Who is ranked too high? Who is ranked too low? Which teams not ranked in the preseason poll will crack the top 25 during the season?
Let us know your answers to those questions in the comments section.
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