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woakley Ballot for 2022 Preseason

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Aug. 14, 2022, 8:30 p.m.

Overall Rationale: Started with last seasons ending top 25, made adjustments (the best I could) for returning production (based on this Espn list: https://www.espn.com/college-football/insider/story/_/id/33237908/college-football-teams-returning-production-2022-season) and 2021 recruiting classes from 247 (as I feel 2022 recruits likely won't make immediate impacts). I realize this isn't perfect, or even the best way to do things probably, but preseason is a complete crapshoot anyways.

Rank Team Reason
1 Alabama Crimson Tide Prior year runner up, returning more production than Georgia and had the top 2021 recruiting class. Argument could be made for keeping Georgia 1, but Alabama gets the early nod from me
2 Georgia Bulldogs Prior year champion, lost a lot of production (#93 in returning production), but routinely have top 5 recruiting classes and have a good coaching staff.
3 Ohio State Buckeyes Missed out on the playoff last year, but ended with a win over Utah. #2 recruiting class in 2021 and #21 in returning production
4 Michigan Wolverines Lost in the playoff to last years national champion, but returning a decent amount of production. Recruiting in 2021 wasn't strongest (right outside of top 10)
5 Texas A&M Aggies Texas A&M has been recruiting strong for years. One of these years they have to put it together right???
6 Utah Utes Middling in terms of returning production (#58), but strong season last year headlined by giving Ohio State all they could handle.
7 BYU Cougars BYU is #2 in returning production this year. This returning production on a team that was top 20 last year makes me think that BYU has a chance to be very strong this year.
8 Notre Dame Fighting Irish A lot of production to replace, and a new head coach. This makes Notre Dame hard to predict. I think Marcus Freeman is up to the challenge and the team does have a strong 2021 recruiting class to build from.
9 Oregon Ducks A new coach makes Oregon a big question mark (just like Notre Dame above). I think they can keep positive momentum up, and a top 10 recruiting class in 2021 can't hurt either
10 Baylor Bears Baylor is hard to predict as they were a very good team last year, but they lose a lot of production in their secondary and WR groups. Their recruiting in 2021 also wasn't the strongest, but Aranda has been able to do more with less
11 Arkansas Razorbacks The turnaround that Arkansas has had since Sam Pittman arrived is notable. The recruiting hasn't fully come in and they are going to be replacing a good amount of production, but they still should be a top team
12 NC State Wolfpack #12 in returning production and they were a ranked team last year.
13 Oklahoma State Cowboys Near the bottom in terms of production returning. Will have to wait and see how they restock
14 Cincinnati Bearcats Also towards the bottom in returning production. Obviously Luke Fickell is a talented coach, but will have to see how this team can replenish before pushing them too high
15 Michigan State Spartans Top 50 in returning production, and finished strong with a win over Pitt last year that they can build on
16 Oklahoma Sooners Obviously a whole lot of question marks here, new coach, new QB, and a lot of movement in the program. Oklahoma has been a strong program in recent years, but so much still remains to be seen
17 USC Trojans USC was the recipient of a lot of the question marks from Oklahoma above. USC has been dormant for years, but bringing in a top QB and top WR that can immediately contribute is big.
18 Clemson Tigers Last year was a down year for Clemson, but they never stay down for too long with their recruiting ability. I strongly considered moving them a little bit higher given their recruiting and returning production, but something just didn't seem right last year, and it remains to be seen how losing one of their rocks in Venables hurts the team
19 Ole Miss Rebels Ole Miss has a lot to replace, including a talented QB, but the Lane train has always been capable of producing explosive offenses and I think that will continue.
20 Kentucky Wildcats Kentucky is in the 60s for returning talent. Not a bad ranking for a basketball school
21 Iowa Hawkeyes Iowa in top 30 in returning talent, and they're always a danger in the big 10
22 Houston Cougars Houston is top 35 in returning talent on a team that was 12-2 last year. They could be this years AAC darling instead of Cinci.
23 Pittsburgh Panthers Pitt lost their QB and WR, so it's possible they can't replicate last years run. But I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt for now. Even with losing this production, they're still top 30 in returning production
24 UCF Knights I've always had a sweet spot for UCF, so this may be a homer pick. But Gus has something cooking in Orlando, and they've hit the transfer market pretty hard. They lost their QB, but UCF has been quick to rebound before.
25 UTSA Roadrunners Meep Meep! I had UTSA top 25 in my ending poll last year, and their returning production ranks 22. Given that, I have a hard time keeping them out of my top 25 this year.

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