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PHubbs Ballot for 2018 Preseason

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Aug. 16, 2018, 5:52 p.m.

Rank Team Reason
1 Alabama Crimson Tide The Tuaissance is upon us and for every other team that isn't Bama, that's a real problem. We STILL haven't seen Tua play an entire game, but he gets three warm ups in Lamar Jackson-less Louisville, Arkansas State, and a rebuilding Ole Miss to get ready for the meat of their schedule. We already all know about the rest of the roster. The only question won't be if Bama is a playoff team, but instead, can Georgia exact revenge in the SEC title game to finally knock them out of the playoff?
2 Georgia Bulldogs Right now, I think the bulldogs are the second best team in the country. I also think they won't be making the playoff. They should be favored in every game they play this year with their three hardest games being every one they have against Tigers (I think Mullen needs at least one year to build up Florida). They should win all of those games to set up a "win and you're in" scenario for the playoff at the SEC title, but until then, you should expect to watch an extremely efficient Georgia look every bit like a champion on the way there.
3 Clemson Tigers The Clemson D-line is the best unit in CFB this year by a wide margin. They fall to 3rd in my poll, though, because they seem to lack consistent production from every single unit on the other side of the ball. Being able to fall back on that D-line definitely helps an offense be conservative, but Kelly Bryant had 9 games throwing under 210 yards which killed them when they finally faced another elite team in the playoff. They should go undefeated all the way to the ACC title game since their hardest game is against a team coming off a 7-6 season with a complete coaching turnover. I will be shocked if they don't make the playoff, but they need more on offense to perform once they get there.
4 Wisconsin Badgers Is this year the year that Wisconsin finally runs through their schedule to claim their first playoff era B1G title? I think it is. They drew two of the best teams in the country for their cross division games with Penn State and Michigan, yet they still have an easier schedule than last year's unbelievable gauntlet. The winner of the Michigan/Wisconsin game will set themselves up to be the biggest challenger to Ohio State for the title this year, and as of now, I think Wisconsin's experience puts them in position to win that game on the way to the B1G title. They still need to improve, however, to win in the playoff against the 3 teams above them.
5 Ohio State Buckeyes If Ohio State can navigate all the current turmoil and get their potential turned into production, They have the best outside shot of knocking off the top 3 for a playoff victory. They are loaded with talent as always and have one of the most interesting out of conference lineups again this year to get in good experience before they hit their more difficult B1G play. I think that they'll be the second top 5 team to be on the outside looking in, though, because there is too much chaos and positional turnover for them to overcome.
6 Washington Huskies My last predicted playoff team for this season is Washington. They face a favorable conference schedule (no Khalil Tate or USC) and a blow to the cupcake argument with Auburn and BYU out of conference, assuming BYU is better. Most of the questions about this team will be answered in week 1 when we see if Auburn can live up to their hype while Washington vies for another playoff run. If they go 1-0, they should be heavily favored in every other game and sweep through the rest of their schedule into a PAC 12 title game against USC. This year is shaping up to have the most important Conference Championship weekend of the playoff era.
7 Oklahoma Sooners Last year was Oklahoma's shot at a title due to their unstoppable offense. Sadly, their can't-make-a-stoppable defense cost them their shot by giving us one of the wildest shootout games in CFB history against Georgia. Now they face the daunting task of replacing almost twice as much production as any other team in the top ten. They open this season with three teams showing tons of potential to possibly try and put the Sooners on upset alert. If Oklahoma makes it to 3-0 they have a good shot at an undefeated Big XII title, but I predict they'll lose a game or two along the way and find themselves on the outside looking in at the playoffs.
8 USC Trojans For the first time in 2 years, no one will have to listen to the over-the-top Darnold hype during every game. The problem with that, though, is that Darnold deserved "most" of that hype and will be next to irreplaceable for the Trojans heading into this season. By relying on a true freshman QB in Daniels, USC has set themselves up for either incredible success or demoralizing defeat. Even outside of QB, USC is replacing 60% of their offensive production and 35% on the defensive side of the ball. They have recruited at an elite level, but there is so much that can go wrong for them. I expect them to hold this spot by being more talented than the rest of their division, but they will have plenty of opportunity to crash and burn and are likely the leading candidate to fall out of the top 10 first.
9 Michigan Wolverines Having watched Patterson through his recruiting cycle and playing time in the SEC, I am completely bought into the hype that he can make a big difference for this Michigan squad. I'm more bought into their returning production, though, with 78% coming back on both sides of the ball from what was a very good team. The few new pieces and addition at quarterback might push this team over the edge for a B1G title, but until they prove they can do more than their 2017 version, OSU and Wisconsin have the edge.
10 Auburn Tigers I will admit that I think the Auburn hype heading into this season has gotten a little out of hand, and even with that, I have them in the top 10. There is no denying the talent on both sides of the ball. There is just too much talent in the rest of their conference and even division for them to expect to finish the year ranked much higher than this spot. They should have beat LSU last year but every game between such highly recruiting teams can become a toss up. They should avenge that loss this year, but their two underdog victories will likely be avenged too. Ending the season with the top 2 teams in their 3 last games sets them up for an incredible season that crashes down the stretch. This Auburn team is very good, but they have just as much potential for losses like they experienced in their two post-season games last year, and I don't see them making the leap past UGA and Bama just yet. I felt the same about them against those juggernauts last year, though, so we'll see if they can prove me wrong again.
11 Michigan State Spartans Michigan State surprised everyone last year by following up their 3-9 season with a 10-3 campaign that saw victories over Penn State and Michigan. They now come into this year with the highest returning production in FBS at 92%. They have all of the potential for another 10+ win season, but with 3 top 15 teams in their division, they still have alot standing in their way.
12 Miami Hurricanes Miami enters this season as my second best team in the ACC, yet I'm still not very high on them actually unseating Clemson from the top spot. This should be a down year for the ACC with Clemson in the drivers seat, a good Miami in the back, and no one else even in the car. Virginia Tech and FSU have some possible potential and will likely end up in the bottom of half of the top 25 at season's end. But Clemson and Miami are the only two teams vying for new year's bowl spots with Clemson being the closest thing in the country to a playoff lock.
13 Penn State Nittany Lions You know a division is loaded when its 4th best team is ranked 13th in the country. Penn State will suffer this year not from a lack of coaching or talent but instead a murder's row scheduler that will be next to impossible to complete unscathed. I don't mean to disrespect a defending conference champion, but they will need that little bit of luck they had in close games last year to come through again if they expect to defend their title. They proved last year that they can take down the B1G's giants when given the chance. Four giants maybe too many for anyone to take down in one season though.
14 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Every year it's a toss up with Notre Dame that you never know just how they'll fare despite who they recruited and how much they return. They come into this season off of an incredible 2017 campaign with most returning production on defense in all of FBS and near the bottom amount returning on the offensive side of the ball. With their top RB gone, they'll need the replacements to be good since they ranked 110th in passing efficiency last season. The passing attack obviously has no where to go but up and I expect them to improve there slightly while holding things tight on defense and keeping the running game going. I don't think these Irish have the potential to move up much past this point, especially with their loaded schedule, but they will compete in almost every game and should finish with 9 wins by the time the season's over.
15 LSU Tigers LSU was heading into this season with a big question mark at QB even before the 3rd and 4th members of the depth chart announced their transfers. With Lindsey Scott already off setting the JUCO ranks on fire last year with his performances, LSU is putting alot of hope into the future of Myles Brennan going forward as a legit QB threat. He should get another year to learn, though, as Burrow, a former Ohio State backup QB, takes the reigns into this season. Could you have a more LSU QB situation than this? Like in several years past, LSU brings a likely top 10 defense into the season, but unlike many other years, LSU doesn't have an early season Heisman-hype RB to help alleviate the pressure on the QB position. If Burrow and Brennan don't pan out or, even worse, get injured, this could be a disaster of a season. The tigers should still put up some impressive performances, though, while winning a few underdog matches to likely get 9 wins before seasons end. Can they play spoiler to the top two teams in the country both coming to Death Valley? Maybe. But everybody in their backfield needs to show that they're capable first.
16 UCF Knights The best team in UCF history capped off last season with one of the more impressive bowl wins of the 2017 season and departure of their program building coach. It will be next to impossible for this UCF squad to match those highs, but they should still be a top 20 team that will be a tough outing for any opponent from any conference. Look to their week 4 matchup against FAU to decide if either of those teams have a shot at sneaking into the top 15 with the potential to end the season as the highest ranked team in Florida.
17 West Virginia Mountaineers Oklahoma's biggest challenger for the Big XII title will not come from the state of the Texas. Instead West Virginia and even more so Will Grier's arm will be the main hurdle for Oklahoma to overcome. Just like last year, this squad comes into the season with loads of offensive potential, but questions about depth and production on the defensive side of the ball. I don't expect WVU to drop more than 1 if any games heading into their last week showdown with OU. They just have to be prepared to take on the Sooners 2 times in two weeks if they want to go beyond a good 10+ win season and start talking playoff potential.
18 Stanford Cardinal Bryce Love might be even better this year than last year, and if he is, Stanford could surprise a ton of people as the PAC 12 favorite. The most consistent PAC team of this last decade has set themselves up for a great season if they can get all of their new pieces on the defensive side of the ball to produce. History says that Shaw's squad will be ready, but even if they're not, Love might drag this team to a PAC title by himself.
19 Mississippi State Bulldogs Mississippi State returns over 80% production on both sides of the ball, including one of the best weapons in the country with Nick Fitzgerald at QB. MSU faces the same problems as their fellow acronym brothers from the north that they have created a winning culture but play in a division with 3 yearly top 15 recruiters. Just like Stanford above them, MSU will ride on their Heisman hopeful candidate to carry them as far as he can. We'll see if Fitzgerald is up to the challenge.
20 TCU Horned Frogs Every Gary Patterson coached team has the potential to surprise people and contend for a title. Most times in the past when they did, though, there were fewer question about the QB position. If the Horned Frogs get consistent production out of their signal caller, they should be poised to ride a defense into a 9+ win season. Whoever takes snaps better learn quick, though with Ohio State looming in just the 3rd week before a brutal stretch of conference games.
21 Oklahoma State Cowboys
22 Virginia Tech Hokies
23 South Carolina Gamecocks
24 Northwestern Wildcats
25 Florida State Seminoles

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