Ohio State, TCU and Michigan State, all return their starting quarterback and are ranked within the top five. The Bulldogs offense averaged 37 points a game behind Heisman candidate quarterback Dak Prescott, who returns to Starkville this season following offseason hype that included a Sports Illustrated cover. It was also their lowest preseason ranking since they were ranked 19th before they won the national championship in 2000.
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The reigning national champions, the Buckeyes enter the season with nearly all their top contributors back on both sides of the ball and are being projected by many to repeat as the national champs in the second season of the College Football Playoff. Head coach Urban Meyer has said he will not announce the Buckeyes’ starter (either J.T. Barrett or Cardale Jones) before their September 7 opener at Virginia Tech. What aren’t they seeing going into the 2015 season, and what are the big things to take away from the preseason poll? The top four are the same in the Coaches and AP preseason polls – Ohio State, TCU, Alabama and Baylor. Last year, Florida State finished with a 13-1 record, but was demolished by the eventual champion Buckeyes in the playoffs. While some may think the preseason rankings mean very little, there’s no doubt that it can help in the long run, especially if you’re ranked higher and lose early.
Nick Saban yet again has a preseason top five team in Tuscaloosa.
Only two other Big Ten teams made the poll, with Michigan State at No. 5 and Wisconsin at No. 20. The ranking marks the sixth consecutive year the Crimson Tide is amongst the top-3 teams in the nation heading into the new season. Mississippi State, 10-3 last season, is the only 2014 double-digit victor from the power leagues left out of the AP top 25.
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Rounding out the top ten, it’s Auburn, Oregon, USC, Georgia, and Florida St.in spots 6-10, respectively. Finley finished spring practice as the clear leader in the competition, but an April misdemeanor arrest clouded his status.
