Preseason top-25 for the 2021-22 college football season

#7: Iowa State Cyclones (10-2)

It is the craziest thing: the last two entries on this list both look the part but cannot execute, while ISU fails to look like a contender while being ranked the highest of the three.

Cyclones head coach Matt Campbell has done a fascinating job building up the program and has even gone as far as garnering some playoff hype. But as cool as that would be, it just sounds too good to be true.

#6: Notre Dame Fighting Irish (11-1)

Notre Dame may be coming off of a playoff season, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that this next one will have the same attributes, as their 2021 slate has some trap games placed throughout it.

ND will likely have at least one loss, but nothing much worse than that. Sadly, that will still be enough to keep a non-conference champ out of the playoff bracket (especially considering their history in said bracket).

#5: Georgia Bulldogs (11-1)

The Dawgs are listed here as the first one to be left out of the CFP, but that will actually not be because of their inevitable regular-season loss to Clemson.

Instead, the final nail in the coffin will be losing in the SEC title game to Alabama, consequently leaving them with two losses heading into the selection process.

If UGA somehow manages to down the Tigers, then America will just have to brace itself for another playoff with two Southeastern powers.