This Unranked Preseason AP Top 25 Teams Could Finish In The Top 10
College football rankings: This Unranked Preseason AP Top 25 Teams Could Finish In The Top 10. The college football season is sometimes criticized for being overly predictable at the very top.
As supporting evidence, one need not look any further than a repeat of the SEC Championship Game between Alabama and Georgia that took place in the previous season’s College Football Playoff National Championship.
Nevertheless, a more in-depth examination of the 2021 season indicates how surprises continue to be a fundamental component of the sport, even at the top levels.
Baylor, Michigan, and Michigan State all started the 2021 season without a spot in the AP Top 25 rankings after finishing with losing records in the previous year.
After competing in one of the New Year’s Six bowl games, the three players finished the year ranked among the top 10 in the country by the Associated Press. The Big 12 was won by Baylor, who also went on to win the Sugar Bowl; the Big Ten was won by Michigan, who faced Georgia in the playoff semifinals; and the Peach Bowl was won by Michigan State, who also produced an unexpected Heisman Trophy contender in the form of running back Kenneth Walker III.
The accomplishments of all of those teams should provide some cause for optimism for the 2022 college football teams that will begin the season on the outside looking in the AP preseason poll. In point of fact, the “others receiving votes” group is made up of such a large number of well-known schools that it would not be strange for a handful of them to emerge as major players on the national scene, just as the Bears, Wolverines, and Spartans did the previous year.
The start of the 2022 season is getting closer and closer, so here is a look at the five unranked clubs with the highest chance of finishing the 2022 season ranked among the top 10 teams.
Penn State
Penn State was an easy team for voters to forget about given their record of 11-11 (8-10 in the Big Ten) over the course of the previous two seasons and a 2-6 finish in 2021. However, this way of thinking disregards the fact that the Penn State Nittany Lions were out to a perfect 5-0 start in the fall of 2017; in fact, they could have gotten off to a perfect 7-0 start had quarterback Sean Clifford not been injured in a game against Iowa.
The departure of defensive coordinator Brent Pry to become the head coach at Virginia Tech would have been cause for concern because he and head coach James Franklin coached together for more than a decade, but Franklin hit a home run by hiring Manny Diaz to replace Pry. Pry’s departure to become the head coach at Virginia Tech was cause for concern.
The Nittany Lions have the ability to win every game on their schedule since offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich is in his second season with the team, Clifford is expected to be healthy, and the Nittany Lions have a deep collection of talent players surrounding him. This includes the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes on their home field on October 29. The offensive line is the main area of concern for this club, but if that unit can produce even a passable running game, this bunch has the potential to finish in the top 10 in the league.
Texas
Despite having a record of 5-7 in the previous season, Texas was able to secure a No. 18 position in the preseason Coaches Poll, receiving one first-place vote in the process. This ranking is in stark contrast to Texas’s previous performance. It is abundantly clear that the coaches—or whoever is filing ballots on their behalf—are participating in the annual surge of hoopla that surrounds the Longhorns. The voters of the AP are taking a more reasonable approach, which is to wait and see if this team can pull everything together before making their decision.
If we assume that the number one team will defeat Texas in the country in Week 2, then the program’s chances of finishing in the top 10 will likely be determined by how well it performs against No. 9 Oklahoma (Oct. 8), on the road against No. 12 Oklahoma State (Oct. 22), and at home against No. 10 Baylor (Nov. 26). If the Longhorns were able to secure victories over even two of these three teams, they would be in an excellent position to move up in the rankings as the season progresses.
During the previous season, Texas lost all three games against those teams by a combined total of 22 points in October. This season, those games are spread out more evenly, which provides a bit of a break for a club that has already shown itself to be prone to injuries during the preseason practises. Since Quinn Ewers has taken over as the starter at quarterback for the Longhorns, there are high hopes that they will be able to challenge for the Big 12 championship and finish in the top 10 of the AP poll for just the second time since 2009.
Tennessee
The Volunteers were one of the most anticipated teams heading into the new season, but the AP voters decided not to include them in their preseason poll. This squad may have a difficult time improving on their record of 7-6 from the previous season because they will be traveling to No. 17 Pittsburgh, No. 3 Georgia, and No. 20 Kentucky, in addition to playing at home against Alabama, Florida, and No. 20 Kentucky. However, due to the high-octane offensive philosophy implemented by head coach Josh Heupel, the Volunteers have the potential to defeat any opponent on their schedule.
The degree to which this team relies on quarterback Hendon Hooker and the degree to which the defensive unit appears to be shaky contribute to the fact that this is one of the more unpredictable teams of this year’s competition.
On the other hand, one might have made the same point about Ole Miss during the previous season. In addition, the Rebels possessed a head coach in his second season, a shaky defensive unit, and a standout quarterback who played an extremely crucial role. Despite this, they concluded the season with a record of 10-3 and a ranking of 11 overall. If the Vols get some breaks in their favor in 2022, they might be able to replicate that pattern.
LSU
The Blue-Chip Ratio is one method that 247Sports gauge a program’s total talent. When LSU won the 2020 College Football Playoff title, it did so with a 64% Blue-Chip Ratio. According to the statistic, which considers the number of four- and five-star prospects that a school has signed in the course of the four most recent recruiting cycles, LSU will actually have a better BCR in 2022 (66%) than it had when it was the national champion. The Tigers also have a better coach, as Brian Kelly, who had a very successful time at Notre Dame, is making his debut in the SEC after having previously coached the Fighting Irish.
LSU might have what it takes to become a national force sooner than expected under Kelly if Arizona State transfer Jayden Daniels can rediscover the promise he displayed as a freshman in 2019. Joe Burrow is not walking through that door to play quarterback, but if Daniels can find that promise in 2019, then LSU may have what it takes to be a national factor ahead of schedule.
Even if the schedule makes it difficult to finish in the top ten, the game against Alabama on November 5 appears to be the only certain loss. Even with that one, things may become strange if the game took place in Death Valley at night. As is customary, there is a significant potential for a wide range of outcomes with this program; it appears that the only certain wins will come against Southern, New Mexico, and UAB. On the other hand, as we witnessed in 2019, the potential benefits of this program are already extremely large. Both a record of 10-3 and one similar to that of last years 6-7 are within the realm of possibility for this upcoming campaign.
Florida
In the latest poll from the Associated Press (AP), Florida is tied for 37th place. After a season that ended with a record of 6-7 and the shift of coaching duties from Dan Mullen to Billy Napier, the Gators got just 14 votes. However, this school is also less than one calendar year distant from pushing eventual SEC champion Alabama to the limit and less than two years removed from claiming the title of SEC East champion. Both of these accomplishments occurred within the last year.
Anthony Richardson, the Gators’ quarterback, has the makings of a star and Florida has a history of succeeding under the direction of first-year head coaches. The last seven coaches at UF have all had their teams finish in the top 15 at some time during their first season, and six of those seven coaches had the Gators ranked as high as number 10 at some point during their first year. Only Mullen and Galen Hall were able to conclude their first seasons as head coaches with a team that finished in the top 10, but it is still an impressive hit percentage in a league as competitive as the SEC.
A trip to No. 6 Texas A&M in the week following a game against Georgia, along with a difficult opening stretch against No. 7 Utah and Kentucky, make for a big-boy schedule in 2022, but those quirks also present huge opportunities for Florida to emerge as a surprise player on the national stage. In 2022, the Gators will play a big-boy schedule.
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