Al's Top 25 Pre-Season Rankings are out!

Here's Al’s Top 25 Pre-Season Rankings (AP rankings in parentheses)

1. Florida (1)
2. Texas (2)
3. Virginia Tech (7)
4. Georgia (13)
5. Oklahoma (3)
6. Cincinnati (33)
7. Utah (19)
8. USC (4)
9. Boston College (40)
10. Michigan State (29)
11. West Virginia (32)
12. Wake Forest (NR)
13. Ohio State (6)
14. Boise State (14)
15. Texas Tech (31)
16. Alabama (5)
17. Missouri (47)
18. LSU (11)
19. Connecticut (NR)
20. Penn State (9)
21. BYU (20)
22. Georgia Tech (15)
23. Ball State (NR)
24. Wisconsin (NR)
25. East Carolina (36)

As you can see, my first poll is pretty out of whack with the AP poll. That’s not all together surprising. Those that I’ve predicted to do much better than the AP will most likely fall fast in my poll once they start losing games that I’ve predicted they’d win. Likewise, those ranked higher in the AP will rise in the AT25 when they start winning games that I predicted they’d lose. Trust me, the AT25 and the AP rankings will look more alike as the year goes on.

Notice that Florida is the predicted champion in both polls, as well as others. They’re the returning champs and they have more returning starters than any other team. This is a no-brainer prediction…but will it be reality?

Texas is also not so much a surprise at number two, but you may be surprised to see Virginia Tech at number three. They’ll be tested immediately as they host Alabama in the first week. Georgia has the highest rating for “quality of opponent” which boosts them up to number 4. Their game with Florida on Halloween should be a great one to watch. Finishing out the top five is Oklahoma who has their showdown with Texas in mid-October.

Cincinnati and Utah have higher rankings than shown in the AP due primarily to their previous years’ performances. These two teams may surprise folks…or they may come tumbling down within the first two weeks. USC’s weaker strength of schedule kept them at number eight in the AT25 as opposed to much higher rankings elsewhere. Boston College and Michigan State are two other teams with rankings having been helped by previous years performances. Like Cincinnati and Utah, The Eagles and the Spartans could surprise others, or disappear my ranking view quickly.

The games to watch this first week should be Virginia Tech-Alabama, Georgia-Oklahoma St., Cincinnati-Rutgers, Oklahoma-BYU, and Boise St.-Oregon.