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Lefunnymaymays4lief Ballot for 2025 Preseason

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Aug. 18, 2025, 4:28 p.m.

Overall Rationale: Pure ball knowledge

Rank Team Reason
1 Texas Longhorns Only question I have on this team is how the 4 new OL starters gel. Arch will be as advertised, playmakers are young but uber talented. Back 7 also loaded with All-American level players
2 Penn State Nittany Lions They’d be #1 if I knew Drew Allar will 100% make the big leap in year 3 (year 2 of Kotelnicki offense as well, who I’m very high on) and the new WR room are all hits. Best 1-2 RB punch in CFB, replacing Tom Allen and JaJuan Seider with Jim Knowles and Stan Drayton is A++ work from Franklin and admin
3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Only big losses are Xavier Watts and the two DTs. Riley Leonard’s pass rush avoidance will be missed but the lost rushing production will be absorbed by Love and Price, only PSU has a better pair while Love is potentially the best overall player in CFB. Carr or Minchey only have to be pretty good to get back to a title game. Fields, Greathouse and Pauling are the best WR group in 10 years for ND
4 Clemson Tigers Experience experience experience. Cade is the best returning QB in the sport, Antonio Williams is a baller and defense is loaded with Day 1/2 talent. Dabo is corny but is still one of the best still in the business
5 Ohio State Buckeyes Still loaded enough to make a title run, but man outside of Downs and Styles that defense got absolutely gutted by the Draft/graduation. Not very high on the coordinator replacements either, Patricia’s schemes were often too complicated even for NFL players and Hartline’s 2023 OSU offense was above average at best, anemic at worst
6 Georgia Bulldogs I like Stockton a lot, he was absolutely not the reason they lost the Sugar Bowl. Will never doubt a Kirby Smart led team, they just need to find a concrete identity and fix up their inconsistent OL play + get the running game going
7 Oregon Ducks Dante Moore has what it takes to be the next Oregon QB to at least get invited to New York, I question what’s between the ears. WR room is not what it was the last 3-4 years for them, but the defense might be the best it’s been under Lanning
8 Arizona State Sun Devils Yes, they’re this good, and I’m tired of everyone else pretending they’re not. Leavitt to Tyson is the best returning QB-WR tandem in the country, practically everyone else save for Cam Skattebo is back, and Kenny Dillingham is just that guy. People severely overrate the “unpredictability factor” of the new look BXII and I would be shocked if ASU doesn’t at least return to the conf. title game.
9 South Carolina Gamecocks How much can 3 guys between LaNorris Sellers, Dylan Stewart and Nyck Harbor can carry a team? We’re about to find out! Shane Beamer also carries the torch from dad about as well as he can
10 Miami Hurricanes Line of scrimmage play will be about as good as you can possibly get in CFB, but I have serious questions about the Canes replacing pretty much every single skill position player and the defensive backfield only having one guy that’s known to play decent ball
11 Illinois Fighting Illini Most people who rank Illinois high don’t even realize why they’re ranking them this high. Altmeyer is seriously underrated, and the returning production is only behind Clemson and maybe Penn State among the top 15 or so teams. Bielema ball is a much better fit in the B1G than it was in the SEC despite him stuffing Beamer in a locker last bowl season
12 Alabama Crimson Tide I think Alabama’s issues last season extend beyond Milroe’s inconsistencies. I have my doubts about KDB’s fit culture wise in Tuscaloosa and last season didn’t do anything at all to quell them. Ty Simpson isn't gonna be an overnight fix and they need to find consistency in the run game. Defensive backfield even without DeVonta Smith (no not that one) still looks insane though
13 Florida Gators DJ Lagway is in fact him, but I believe people slightly overstate his importance to the team and severely understate how terrible Graham Mertz was. Front to bottom might be the most underrated roster in the country outside of just Lagway. Florida admin was patient with Billy Napier and I believe their patience will be rewarded either this year or next… if not both
14 LSU Tigers LSU has regressed every season after BK’s debut and haven’t won a single season opener in his tenure there, and it doesn’t get any easier going to Clemson in Week 1. I have questions about their depth and replacing practically their entire OL. Nussmeier is very good, and they have two All-Americans at LB, but is that good enough to carry them to 10 wins?
15 Kansas State Wildcats Avery Johnson and Dylan Edwards are pure entertainment. Klieman is one of the top coaches in the BXII, and is nothing else if not consistently a winner. Is this team beyond just an 8-9 win team? That depends if Johnson can find more consistency and how the rest of the top heavy conference shakes out
16 Texas Tech Red Raiders This team will either cruise to 10-12 wins like 2023 FSU or crash and burn like 2024 FSU and there’s 0 in between
17 Texas A&M Aggies The 2025 Aggies have one thing that last year’s team doesn’t: an identity. Even with losses to the NFL the front 7 is very strong and Marcel Reed has explosive play ability through the air or with his legs. SEC schedule is very manageable but do have to go to South Bend for ND’s home opener to compensate. High potential
18 Oklahoma Sooners Very good chance Oklahoma is closer to top 10 than top 10 by the end of 2025, just have to see Mateer and the Arbuckle offense in action first. Any defense under Brent Venables will at the very least be good and usually better than good
19 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets The Haynes duo almost makes you think Tech is back to running the wing, but don’t let that fool you. Brent Key has nearly completed GT’s transition to the modern college football landscape, now the only thing left to do is get them to an ACC title game… or even taking out the Dawgs for real this time (why is COFH not being played at Bobby Dodd that is SO lame)
20 Iowa State Cyclones I’m not as bought into the Rocco Becht hype as everyone else is, but he should at the very least be good. I’m also not as bought into the Marr Campbell hype as everyone else is, but his teams are usually at the very least good. Ranking them right at 20 seems appropriate for those reasons
21 Louisville Cardinals How did we let Jeff Brohm get a hold of Miller Moss. Why did we let this happen. Isaac Brown is also just a football player, period
22 Indiana Hoosiers IU has done well in portal between guys like Mendoza and Hemby, has some big time returning players in Sarratt, Kamara and Ponds, and Cignetti is a proven winner at every stop he’s made. My only concern is that their conference schedule is much, much more difficult even though non-con is still so laughably easy
23 Nebraska Cornhuskers I’m drinking the year 3 Rhule and Dylan Raiola Kool-Aid. Hiring Holgerson to be the coordinator full time was a no-brainer considering how the offense immediately became more consistent once he took over mid-season in 2024. Defense losses to portal + new coordinator is a bummer, but I believe they made the right moves in course correcting them. 100% in playoff contention
24 SMU Mustangs Kevin Jennings is back, and Rhett Lashlee is a scheme god. The pool of ACC contenders has only gotten larger though, and they all give me more reasons to rate them higher than SMU does at the moment. This could bite me in the ass down the line,
25 USC Trojans I like Jayden Maiava quite a bit, and the portal losses at WR while tough to swallow talent-wise is a lot more manageable than you’d think especially considering the logjam there in 2024. Riley must make better decisions late in games, full stop. You lose that many games leading the beginning of the 4th quarter and lose, that is 100% coaching

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