Reality check: The star power at USC has not been this bright in a while with coach Lincoln Riley, QB Caleb Williams and WR Jordan Addison providing hope for an immediate turnaround. This is also program that has one double-digit victory season - ever. Reality check: The Wolfpack enter one of the most highly anticipated seasons for the program in recent history, with a loaded defense and star quarterback in Devin Leary. QB Spencer Sanders has had a long career filled with peaks and valleys. Reality check: The Cowboys, a team buoyed by super seniors - especially on defense - in 2022, will need to lean heavily on its experienced offense. Transfer Bo Nix will try to bring stability to the quarterback position, which was not really his thing at Auburn. Former Georgia DC Dan Lanning inherits the most talented roster in the Pac-12. Reality check: Another highly ranked team with a new coach and quarterback. Still, the Big 12 is all about winning close games and the difference between playing for the title and finishing fourth is thin. Reality check: Another one of 2021's surprise breakout teams, the defending Big 12 champions hope to keep it up with strong line play. But turnover often comes with volatility. The Sooners have been one of the most reliable teams in the country for two decades, finishing unranked only twice. Reality check: New coach (Brent Venables), new quarterback (Dillon Gabriel) and more uncertainty in Norman than there has been in years. An experienced offense and accommodating schedule gives Michigan a high floor. Now, with two new coordinators and a defense replacing three first-round draft picks, a repeat seems unlikely. Reality check: The Wolverines broke through for coach Jim Harbaugh with a Big Ten title and victory over Ohio State in 2021. But repeating a magical season is difficult for the vast majority of programs that don't regularly sign top-10 recruiting classes.
Reality check: The Utes are coming off their first Pac-12 title and Rose Bowl appearance, and have enough pieces back to do it again. They are also a team relying heavily on sophomores and those five-star freshmen and one with no established starting quarterback or big-play receivers. 1 recruiting class and coach Jimbo Fisher going off on his former boss, Saban. Reality check: The Aggies won the offseason with the No. Reality check: The Fighting Irish have established lofty standards with five straight 10-win seasons, but coach Marcus Freeman's first season as Brian Kelly's replacement has a lot of transition-year vibes. Voters are leaning toward last season being a blip for Dabo Swinney's team and not the start of a trend. Uiagalelei) trying to recover from a puzzlingly poor season. Clemson has two new coordinators and a former five-star quarterback (D.J. Reality check: Coming off their first non-ACC championship season in seven years, the Tigers are maybe the most intriguing team in the country. The Bulldogs are too talented to take a big step backward, but assuming Alabama-level consistency from any team is a lot to ask. Reality check: Most of last season's all-time great defense is now in the NFL. Stroud, WR Jaxson Smith-Njigba and a potent offense probably make Ohio State flop-proof, though. Reality check: The Buckeyes hired former Oklahoma State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles to fix a defense that was badly exposed against their best opponents. No reason to think it's happening this season. Alabama has not finished outside the top 10 since 2007, coach Nick Saban's first season. Reality check: The surest bet in sports is the Crimson Tide, which has only missed the playoff once. Time to temper expectations for the preseason Top 25 this season - except for Alabama. In the preseason top 10 last year, three teams (Texas A&M, Iowa State and North Carolina) failed to make it into the final poll. During that time, the most was 12 in 2010. From 2010-20, on average, 9.5 teams that appeared in the preseason Top 25 finished unranked - about 38% of the picks.
Lear year was especially volatile for the Top 25, with 14 teams that started the season ranked finishing unranked. That's not to say your favorite team will fail to live up to the promise that comes with landing a spot in The Associated Press preseason Top 25 college football poll presented by Regions Bank that was released Monday.īut numbers suggest it is best to sprinkle a healthy amount of caution on that optimism as you gear up for the 2022 season.
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