The NCAA college football season is about to start and here is a look at some of the top teams, matchups, conference games and predictions for the year, including about whether Ohio State can win the title after being voted number 1, while teams like Alabama, TCU, Michigan State, Baylor, Florida State, Auburn Oregon, Georgia and USC will try and knock them off.
Ohio State comes in as the number one team in the nation in the Associated Press top 25 poll and they received all of the votes as a unanimous pick. TCU comes in at number two in the nation in the poll this year and the top five is rounded out by the Alabama Crimson Tide, Baylor Bears and Michigan State Spartans. The Buckeyes won the national title last year after coming out on top of the first College Football Playoff.
According to ESPN.com, the Buckeyes would be the 12th team since 1936 to win consecutive AP titles and Ohio State is also the first team to be a unanimous number one. The top 10 of the AP is rounded out with Auburn, Oregon, USC, Georgia and Florida State, while Notre Dame, Clemson and UCLA are next in the rankings.
The Bruins have the chance to make some noise this season despite losing Brett Hundley, while LSU, Arizona State, Georgia Tech, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Wisconsin are in the top 20. The bottom part of the preseason poll has Stanford, Arizona, Boise State, Missouri and Tennessee rounding out the top 25. Some teams that also received votes includes Mississippi, Texas A&M, Penn State, Texas, Florida, Michigan and Nebraska.
Preview for the top teams:
Ohio State Buckeyes:
Ohio State comes in at number one and while the team has not won a title in the seven previous times they were top ranked, this team should be very good. Urban Meyer has once again turned things around quickly and now OSU is trying to be the first team to win a title starting the season at number one in a decade.
Last season the Buckeyes went 14-1 and the team finished the Big Ten undefeated with an 8-0 record and took the conference title. Ohio State won in the College Football Playoff against Alabama before taking down Oregon to win the National Championship game. The Buckeyes went through QB injury issues last season and Cardale Jones got a chance to play after JT Barrett went down. Braxton Miller is now playing wide receiver and both Barrett and Jones are battling to start.
TCU Horned Frogs:
TCU has the chance to be one of the best teams in the nation and they have a Heisman hopeful in Trevone Boykin at quarterback. Last season TCU went 12-1 overall and went 8-1 in the Big 12 conference and they ended up sharing the title with Baylor and those two teams should be the ones to be there at the end again. TCU comes in after winning against Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl last season.
Boykin is a top Heisman contender and he comes in after passing for 3901 yards and 33 touchdowns last season with 10 interceptions and he completed over 61 percent of his passes. Boykin also rushed for 707 yards and eight touchdowns and he has the chance to put up some monster numbers this season as a senior.
Gary Patterson has one of the best offensive lines in the nation and that will give Boykin time to work and the team has an All-American in Spencer Drango. The toughest matchup for TCU this season could be against Baylor and they finish the season with that rivalry game. The team plays a tough run against West Virginia, Oklahoma State and Kansas along with Oklahoma before playing against the Bears.
Alabama Crimson Tide:
Alabama comes in as one of the favorites in the SEC this season and they are looking to get back to the College Football Playoff for the second straight year. The team went 12-2 last season and took the SEC West with a 7-1 record in the conference. The Crimson Tide won over Missouri in the SEC title game and that put them up against Ohio State, but they lost to get eliminated. The team has Jacob Coker, Alec Morris and Blake Barnett competing for quarterback and the race could extend into the season even after Nick Saban names a starter. Alabama always has high expectations and this season that will continue with the type of class Saban has brought in.
Losing Blake Sims and Amari Cooper is always hard to deal with, but Alabama has the chance to replace those players this season and they also have two strong RBs in Derrick Henry and Kenyan Drake. The toughest game for Alabama could be the Iron Bowl once again, as Auburn is expected to be a very tough team this season. The Alabama defense is going to have to step up with Sims and Cooper gone, especially if the quarterback situation remains in flux. Alabama also has a tough schedule, as they play six teams that are ranked in the top 25 heading into the season.
Baylor Bears:
Baylor has championship expectations this season and it comes after quarterback Bryce Petty was drafted into the NFL for the Jets. Seth Russell now takes over for Petty and he comes in with solid career numbers with 11 touchdowns and four interceptions over two seasons. Russell will be under center and the team has the chance to make some noise in the Big 12.
The toughest game of the season likely will be against TCU, as they are ranked high coming into the year and should be very good as well. The national title picture could be shaped by that game and the loser of that matchup could miss the playoff depending on how things play out. The team also has matchups against Oklahoma and Oklahoma State leading into the TCU game and that should be the toughest stretch of the season.
The Bears are dealing with some issues off the field regarding transfer player Sam Ukwuachu and that has put head coach Art Briles on the defensive. This will mostly focus on the on the field prospects for Baylor, but the team is having a back and forth with Chris Petersen about who knew what when and it could extend into the season as a distraction. Either way, Baylor is highly ranked and is in the spotlight.
Michigan State Spartans:
Michigan State comes into the 2015 season with experience and a tough task in trying to take down conference rivals Ohio State, but Mark Dantonio has the defense to do it. The Spartans went 11-2 last season and went 7-1 in the conference while losing against the Buckeyes. The team went to the Cotton Bowl and played one of the most entertaining games of the year, coming back from 20-points down to win over Baylor 42-41.
The Spartans come into the season with some major players leaving the program, including Trae Waynes, Jeremy Langford and Tony Lippett, but the team has Connor Cook coming back. The team opens with Western Michigan and then they have a major test with Oregon coming in to play in East Lansing and that could dictate how the rest of the season plays out for the Spartans. Cook comes in with a 23-3 record as a starter for the Spartans and he had a big season last year with a career best 3214 passing yards and 24 touchdowns.
Here are some predictions from the SWR Team for conferences around the country:
SEC: Alabama - Amari Cooper leaves a major void, but Alabama has great running backs in Derrick Henry and Kenyan Drake and the defense has the talent to make another playoff run
ACC: Florida State - Still has the most talent of the teams in this conference, even with Jameis Winston leaving for the NFL
Big Ten: Ohio State - They were a unanimous pick and while the Buckeyes could get knocked off, Urban Meyer's team is the deepest in the conference. Michigan State is the biggest threat
Big 12: Baylor - Seth Russell is key and if the team can win over TCU when they play, the conference should be in reach with some other teams in transition
Pac-12: Oregon or UCLA - Both teams have talent and high powered offenses and both have to replace QBs in Marcus Mariota and Brett Hundley. Whichever team does that better likely will come out on top. USC also is one to watch with Cody Kessler.
Here is an early College Football Playoff Prediction:
1. Ohio State
2. Alabama
3. TCU
4. Oregon
Some Heisman names to keep an eye on:
--Trevone Boykin, Quarterback, Texas Christian University
--Ezekiel Elliott, Running Back, Ohio State Buckeyes
--Cody Kessler, Quarterback, University of Southern California Trojans
--Nick Chubb, Running Back, Georgia
--Connor Cook, Quarterback, Michigan State Spartans
--Corey Clement, Running Back, Wisconsin
--Seth Russell, Quarterback, Baylor
Check here for the full preseason rankings.