CONSENSUS Pre-Spring Polls for 2017-2018 Season

[Justin Tyme]

Well Oregon is the number 1 team in the state of Oregon, right?

What state is Portland St. in?

 

[jon2tanman]

Washington finished 4th, and should be better this year.

 

[The Crimson King]

No bye week and still not one FCS team

Bye week Nov 25

 

[Deep Creek]

I don't like us ranked this high, we should be in the 15 20 range, just to many big holes to fill

Sorry, but, you guys are USC! Being ranked high pre season or early in the year comes with the territory.

 

[Deep Creek]

Looks like Taggart would have had a much, much better chance at a Natty had he just stayed at USF.

Bubububuttttt it is all about the Benjamins B_dub. Come on man, get with the times.

$$$$$>winning...just ask Jerry Jones and your rusty cow rivals.

 

[TheRobotDevil]

Bye week Nov 25

True true no regular season bye. They play through until their regular season schedule is done. Not their best schedule but it is a long stretch

 

[Phantom]

Good to see Baylor gone.

 

[tducey]

Interesting for sure. Let's see how all this pans out and how close it will be when the season starts.

 

[963BUSC]

Have you seen the Schedule?

Western Michigan
Stanford
Texas
At California
At Washington State
Oregon State
Utah
At Notre Dame
At Arizona State
Arizona
At Colorado
UCLA

Even with those holes how many losses do you see? One, maybe 2.

That is one joke of a schedule.

Most years having both Texas and Notre Dame on your OOC schedule made for a pretty impressive preseason schedule.

 

[blazer prophet]

Where are the Ducks ranked? I didn'the see them.

A few votes. My hope is 7 wins- 8 if everything goes well. They have a lot returning on offense but defense is a problem..

 

[Rolltide94]

Most years having both Texas and Notre Dame on your OOC schedule made for a pretty impressive preseason schedule.

Hell, it could still be. Look at Colorado this year.

 

[BusSport]

USF and BSU the only G5 in the T25.

 

[Boise4Life]

Most years having both Texas and Notre Dame on your OOC schedule made for a pretty impressive preseason schedule.

It's not like last season's but it's not a bad schedule for USC in my opinion. There's plenty of Power 5 teams out there with worse for sure. Every season is obviously completely different but there's four teams that finished in the top 20 in 2016 in there.

 

[Boise4Life]

USF and BSU the only G5 in the T25.

I hate to come across negatively, but Boise has ZERO business being there. I don't see anyway they lose any less than three games minimum next season and it could be considerably more than that by the end of it all.

 

[963BUSC]

I hate to come across negatively, but Boise has ZERO business being there. I don't see anyway they lose any less than three games minimum next season and it could be considerably more than that by the end of it all.

Preseason polls, they have to vote for a couple G5 teams, and have to vote for some Western teams, Boise fits both so they start with some votes. Research is minimal for most of these polls.

 

[Boise4Life]

Preseason polls, they have to vote for a couple G5 teams, and have to vote for some Western teams, Boise fits both so they start with some votes. Research is minimal for most of these polls.

Very true statement. My research tells me this. Boise lost their star tailback, basically every single receiver with any playing time outside of their #2, their three best O-linemen (by far), two of their three best D-linemen, their three best LBs (again by far), their best DB, and a starting safety who was the highest rated recruit in school history was kicked off the team.

But with all of those players who are now gone, this is what they were able to accomplish last season. Lost to the mighty Wyoming Cowboys. For the third year in a row lost to Air Force. For the second year in a row couldn't win their Group of 5 division let alone conference. Scored 12 points against the vaunted Baylor Bear defense in the bowl game, a team that came in losing six games in a row.

So Harsin comes in and wins the Fiesta Bowl in his first season. That's great, but in the two seasons since he's lost seven games. Totally underachieving and completely unacceptable by Boise State's standards. I say if he has another year like he had in 2015 and 2016, get him gone. It's getting to be embarrassing at this point.

 

[USCDoom]

It's not like last season's but it's not a bad schedule for USC in my opinion. There's plenty of Power 5 teams out there with worse for sure. Every season is obviously completely different but there's four teams that finished in the top 20 in 2016 in there.

It is also how the Schedule breaks down, Not having a Bye should hurt but in this case (unless Minor Injuries pile up), it probably does not.

Western Michigan
Stanford
Texas
At California

I cannot remember the last time USC did not leave the State in the first 4 games.

At Washington State
Oregon State
Utah
At Notre Dame

One of these road games could tip them up...

At Arizona State
Arizona
At Colorado
UCLA

USC leaves the State once in the first 7 games. At ASU is late in the season, which is Always Better. This schedule Screams Manageable...

 

[TheRobotDevil]

I wouldn't go that low. But yeah, #2 is way too high.

With their new uniforms 8

 

[Hook'Em0608]

I really like Florida St, Georgia, and Stanford to be top 10 teams next year. I think Clemson and Michigan fall out of the top 10. Some teams that didn't sniff the final top 25 last year I look to possibly push into it next year are Texas, TCU, NC State, Kentucky, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, and Wake Forest.

I don't know if all those will surprise, but I like some of it to happen.

 

[AlaskaGuy]

Early college football top-25 for 2017
College Hotline: Early top-25 football ranking for the 2017 season

25. Boise State: The return of Brett Rypien gives Boise State a shot at the top spot from the Group of 5, but there is at least one other strong candidate.

24. Kansas State: Won five of last six games this season and has enough returning starters to keep the momentum in place for the wondrous Bill Snyder.

23. Washington State: Placement assumes Luke Falk is coming back to join a handful of experienced playmakers and veteran defense.

22. Virginia Tech: Would be a top-10 candidate with Jerod Evans, but his departure knocks VaTech down a level.

21. Stanford: What the Cardinal kept in quantity, it lost in quality with departures of Christian McCaffrey and Solomon Thomas. Add QB uncertainty, and ’17 could look a lot like ’16.

20. TCU. No way Gary Patterson has another substandard season. No. Way.

19. UCLA: Given the talent at quarterback and the needed staff changes, the Bruins should recover from their lost 2016. If they don’t, Jim Mora will be looking for work.

18. Miami: The Mark Richt-led revival continues despite the departure of quarterback Brad Kaaya.

17. Louisville: Lamar Jackson worth the ranking by himself. And good news for the Cardinals: They only play Kentucky once.

16. Auburn: Not good enough to challenge Alabama in the West, but maybe good enough to challenge LSU for second in the West.

15. Michigan: Losing a load of talented seniors, especially on the lines. The rebuild will be swift, but not entirely smooth.

14. Georgia: Jacob Eason’s improvement and the return of Nick Chubb make the Dawgs the team to beat in the SEC East.

13. USF: Charlie Strong’s new team won’t be as good as his former team (see below), but the Bulls should win the American behind quarterback Quinton Flowers.

12. LSU: Underachieved for most of 2016, then showed well in the bowl game. Look for the momentum to carry over in the Orgeron regime.

11. Oklahoma State: Mason Rudolph makes the Cowboy a threat to win the Big 12.

10. Clemson: The national champs lose their engine (Deshaun Watson) and their playmakers. They won’t have a rebuild so much as a re-calibration — and a few losses to go along with it.

9. Oklahoma: It all starts with Baker Mayfield, who has said he will return for ’17. But the Sooners need a tailback, and a No. 1 receiver, and a few other things if they’re going to challenge for the title.

8. Penn State: Run to the Rose came earlier than expected, which means most of the key players will be back in ’17 … but the expectations will be much, much higher.

7. USC: Placement might be a notch or two lower than other projections, but USC will have to revamp its offensive line and tighten up the defense in order to make a run at the playoff.

6. Wisconsin: Overachieved in ’16 and welcomes back the bulk of the starting 22. But the Badgers don’t have to worry about attention — not with Michigan, PSU and OSU around to hog the spotlight.

5. Texas: Combination of talent acquired by Charlie Strong and the arrival of Tom Herman makes the Longhorns my sleeper pick to compete for the national title. This year, the Red River will turn burnt orange.

4. Washington: Best team in the west (again) despite the attrition. Jake Browning should be an elite quarterback next season, the lines will be sturdy, and there are plenty of playmakers on both sides of the ball.

3. Ohio State: The Buckeyes were a tad young in ’16 and should be geared for another playoff run. But the way they lost to Clemson gives me pause.

2. Alabama: The Tide tilted defense in ’16, but that should change next fall with a veteran offensive line and experienced quarterback in Jalen Hurts. If the revamped D matures, Bama could make another title run.

1. Florida State: Loaded, loaded, loaded. Dalvin Cook is the only early departure, which should be a source of concern for everyone in the ACC. Quarterback Deondre Francois will have playmakers and an awesome line. The defense? Granite. If the Noles don’t make the playoff, something has gone very wrong.