Saturday, August 10, 2019

SI's Preseason Top 25

The 2019 Sports Illustrated college football issue is out. No big surprises in the predictions: Bama beats Oklahoma then UGA after the Dawgs beats Clemson. Not sure who some teams lose to in the regular season to generate the predicted win-loss totals. UGA is given one regular season loss but still makes the playoff? 
 
Not sure how two SEC teams finish in the top three (though it’s happened before). Four SEC teams in the top ten. Oklahoma and Texas finish in the top five. Ohio State and Michigan between 6 and 11. We shall see.
 
The SI cover boasts “The Year of the QB: Big Arms, Bigger Stars, and profiles (in order) Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, Texas QB Sam Ehlinger, UGA’s Jake Fromm, and Oregon’s Justin Hebert. All four rate regional covers.
 
I’m typing up SI’s top 25 in an effort to familiarize myself with some of the best teams, and to help me prepare to write up predictions later this month for UGA< Tech, and Clemson. This season the Jackets face at least three top 25 teams, as well as several other much-improved teams: Miami, Pitt, UNC, etc.   
 
1. 12-0 Alabama injury-riddled QB Tua Tagovailoa face A&M LSU Auburn
2. 12-0 Clemson sophomore Heisman candidate QB Trevor Lawrence face A&M Syracuse South Carolina
3. 11-1 Georgia junior QB Jake Fromm face Notre Dame Auburn A&M
4. 11-1 Oklahoma senior transfer QB Jalen Hurts face Texas Iowa State Oklahoma State
5. 10-2 Texas hard-nosed QB Sam Ehlinger face LSU Oklahoma Iowa State
6. 11-1 Ohio State sophomore transfer QB Justin Fields face Nebraska Penn State Michigan
7. 9-3 Notre Dame record-setting QB Ian Book face UGA Michigan Stanford
8. 9-3 LSU QB Joe Burrow directs revamped spread offense, face Texas Bama A&M
9. 9-3 Oregon Heisman candidate QB Justin Hebert face Auburn USC Washington
10. 9-3 Florida last year QB Feleipe Franks won his last 4 games, face Auburn LSU UGA
11. 10-2 Michigan experienced QB Shea Patterson face Notre Dame Michigan State Ohio State
12. 10-2 Washington QB Jacob Eason (transfer) face USC Oregon Utah Washington State
13. 8-4 Texas A&M erratic dual threat QB Kellen Mond face Clemson Bama LSU
14. 9-3 Utah dual threat QB Tyler Huntley face USC Washington State Washington
15. 11-1 UCF QBs Brandon Wimbush (transfer) & Darriel Mack Jr (returning from injury) face Stanford Cincinnati Houston
16. 9-3 Penn State redshirt sophomore QB Sean Clifford face Iowa Michigan Ohio State
17. 7-5 Auburn redshirt freshman QB Joey Gatewood or true freshman QB Bo Nix face LSU UGA Bama
18. 8-4 Iowa QB senior Nate Stanley (1-6 vs ranked teams) face Iowa State Michigan Wisconsin
19. 8-4 Wisconsin all American RB Jonathan Taylor face Michigan Ohio State Iowa
20. 8-4 Mississippi State: Penn State transfer QB Tommy Stevens or dual-threat QB Kaytaon Thompson face LSU Bama Ole Miss
21. 8-4 Michigan State experienced QB Brian Lewerke face Ohio State Penn State Michigan
22. 8-4 Virginia Tech inconsistent QB Ryan Willis face Miami Notre Dame Georgia Tech
23. 8-4 Iowa State QB Brock Purdy (7-2 last year) face Iowa Oklahoma Texas
24. 7-5 Nebraska impressive QB Adrian Martinez Ohio State Wisconsin Iowa
25. 8-4 Stanford Heisman candidate QB KJ Costello face USC Oregon Washington Notre Dame

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