belcherboy
Well-Known Member
My rankings:
1) ACC: Florida St and Clemson have proven that they are top 5 programs right now. Clemson should be down, but FSU is likely going to be VERY good. Miami is the sleeper in the bunch. Richt is bringing in some big talent, and we'll likely see some of it on the field this year. Louisville and VaTech both had a good run last year, and look pretty solid this year. Georgia Tech went 3-0 against the SEC East last year (Vanderbilt, UGA, and Kentucky). They open up with Tennessee, and I think they have a good chance of winning that game. So I would give the ACC the edge right now.
2) B10: With Penn St and Ohio St returning many key players to teams that did great things in 2016, they both could easily be top 5 teams by season end. Michigan and Wisconsin both had great years last year, although Michigan has lost a TON of talent from the 2016 squad. They open with Florida, and I think they will beat Florida. What could really help the B10 is if MSU and Iowa return to somewhat look like they did in 2015.
3) SEC: Alabama is the CREAM of all college football. I believe they have been ranked #1 at sometime during the season for around a decade now. That's simply unbelievable. The rest of the SEC has really suffered the past few years (New coaches all over the place). The SEC East is a mess. Florida, Tennessee, and SCar all could easily lose games in Week #1. UGA is an underdog at Notre Dame in Week #2. Vanderbilt has KState in Week #3. The winner of the SEC East could easily have 4-5 losses AGAIN this season. There is a TON of talent in the SEC, so perhaps last year was just a bump in the road for the SEC, and they will return to the #1 status.
4) B12: Oklahoma has a new coach, and Texas has a new coach. Baylor and TCU have REALLY fallen hard after being two of the hottest programs in previous seasons. OK St and WVU had solid years last year, so there is potential for the B12 to be REALLY good, but unless Texas and Oklahoma come back hard this year, they are still the middle of the pack for Power 5 teams IMO.
5) P12: Washington surprised people last year, and there is no reason to think they can't be just as good. USC really looked good the second half of last year, and Stanford is usually pretty solid. Outside of those three teams, the rest of the conference is a huge question mark. Oregon and UCLA have had a lot talent, but had a terrible season last year. Colorado lost a lot of talent and is likely to fall back to earth after having a good year last year. In 2014 Arizona looked like Rich Rod was going to turn them around, last year makes me think he won't finish the 2016 season.
1) ACC: Florida St and Clemson have proven that they are top 5 programs right now. Clemson should be down, but FSU is likely going to be VERY good. Miami is the sleeper in the bunch. Richt is bringing in some big talent, and we'll likely see some of it on the field this year. Louisville and VaTech both had a good run last year, and look pretty solid this year. Georgia Tech went 3-0 against the SEC East last year (Vanderbilt, UGA, and Kentucky). They open up with Tennessee, and I think they have a good chance of winning that game. So I would give the ACC the edge right now.
2) B10: With Penn St and Ohio St returning many key players to teams that did great things in 2016, they both could easily be top 5 teams by season end. Michigan and Wisconsin both had great years last year, although Michigan has lost a TON of talent from the 2016 squad. They open with Florida, and I think they will beat Florida. What could really help the B10 is if MSU and Iowa return to somewhat look like they did in 2015.
3) SEC: Alabama is the CREAM of all college football. I believe they have been ranked #1 at sometime during the season for around a decade now. That's simply unbelievable. The rest of the SEC has really suffered the past few years (New coaches all over the place). The SEC East is a mess. Florida, Tennessee, and SCar all could easily lose games in Week #1. UGA is an underdog at Notre Dame in Week #2. Vanderbilt has KState in Week #3. The winner of the SEC East could easily have 4-5 losses AGAIN this season. There is a TON of talent in the SEC, so perhaps last year was just a bump in the road for the SEC, and they will return to the #1 status.
4) B12: Oklahoma has a new coach, and Texas has a new coach. Baylor and TCU have REALLY fallen hard after being two of the hottest programs in previous seasons. OK St and WVU had solid years last year, so there is potential for the B12 to be REALLY good, but unless Texas and Oklahoma come back hard this year, they are still the middle of the pack for Power 5 teams IMO.
5) P12: Washington surprised people last year, and there is no reason to think they can't be just as good. USC really looked good the second half of last year, and Stanford is usually pretty solid. Outside of those three teams, the rest of the conference is a huge question mark. Oregon and UCLA have had a lot talent, but had a terrible season last year. Colorado lost a lot of talent and is likely to fall back to earth after having a good year last year. In 2014 Arizona looked like Rich Rod was going to turn them around, last year makes me think he won't finish the 2016 season.