My preseason top 25 AP ballot: Why I’m high on West Virginia, skeptical of Ohio State
I’m back as a voter in The Associated Press Top 25 college football poll this season.
Things went pretty well last year. I riled up a bunch of Penn State fans and was accused of having a vendetta against Notre Dame. I got love mail from the Oklahoma faithful. And, strangest of all, California fans laughed at me for … ranking their team after a 3-0 start.
The Bears went on to lose all but two of their remaining games, so I guess they were right. Sorry Cal fans. I will make it up to you by not voting for your team this time around.
But I did vote for 25 teams in my preseason ballot. You can check it out below.
My top 25
1. Alabama: Duh.
2. Clemson: Loaded roster. Class of the ACC.
3. Georgia: Jake Fromm is back at QB a year after the Bulldogs reached the championship game.
4. Oklahoma: They are the team to beat in the Big 12, even without Baker Mayfield.
5. Washington: Being the class of the Pac-12 doesn’t mean much these days, but the Huskies are legitimate playoff contenders
6. Miami (Fla.): The Turnover Chain is still awesome. These Hurricanes are still pretty good, too.
7. Ohio State: Had the Buckeyes slotted higher until they placed Urban Meyer on administrative leave. That’s a huge distraction to carry into the season, even for a talented team.
8. Wisconsin: Boring but good. Really good.
9. Penn State: Trace McSorley is one of my favorite names to type.
10. West Virginia: I am higher than most on the Mountaineers. Why? I don’t see anyone stopping Will Grier, David Sills and Gary Jennings. With a little luck, I can see the Mountaineers making the playoff.
11. Notre Dame: Irish should pick up where they left off last year, beating LSU in the Citrus Bowl.
12. Auburn: Tough schedule, but Jarrett Stidham is back along with a lot of other talent.
13. Michigan State: Hard to believe this team sank to 3-9 not long ago.
14. Stanford: The Cardinal will go as far as Bryce Love can take it.
15. Michigan: Five Big Ten teams in the top 15! What have I done?
16. Southern California: Trojans will take a step back without Sam Darnold.
17. Virginia Tech: The Hokies will be contenders in the ACC, as usual.
18. TCU: Horned Frogs will play eight games in Dallas/Fort Worth this year.
19. Mississippi State: Dan Mullen left for Florida, but a talented roster stayed.
20. Texas: This is the year the Longhorns break back into the top 25 and stay there.
21. Florida State: Willie Taggart will do well in Tallahassee.
22. Central Florida: Defending a “national championship” won’t be easy.
23. Boise State: Class of the Mountain West, as usual.
24. Oregon: Keeping Jim Leavitt and Mario Cristobal was big for the Ducks.
25. Florida Atlantic: Owls open at Oklahoma. Can Lane Kiffin spring an upset?
The first AP poll of the year debuts Monday. Check back each Sunday throughout the football season to read about my updated ballot.
This story was originally published August 16, 2018 at 12:18 PM.