My Definitive 2024 Preseason Top 25 College Football Power Rankings

My Power Rankings Explanation today I want to share with you who I think America's 25 best college football teams will be in 2024 the season is only 10 days away and the AP and coaches poll top 25s are out so I want to give you all my top 25 but unlike those top 25s my top 25 is not based off of Vibes or feelings or predicting the end of season strength of record for these teams gosh I really don't like the word Vibes but whatever my top 25 is more of a power ranking or power rating of the 25 best teams in college football as I see it and the criteria for that is how I think each of these teams would do against an average above average good top 20 top 25 power four team how these teams would do against Power four teams that are competitive that matter that can at least compete for a playoff spot or more so how each of these teams will do against really the top half of the power four or all of the Power four and the better group of five teams that's really what I'm concerned with and that includes coaching the head coach offensive coordinator defensive coordinator assistance strength and conditioning coach I take that into account I take into account the roster how good's your quarterback is he even dual threat or Pro style how deep are your receivers and skill position players and how does your defense look what about special teams so roster depth Talent as well so recruiting is a little in there and schedule even too I said this is not a strength of record based top 25 or predicting strength of record exact because I don't know for certain or 100% how everything's going to pan out and Teams 25-21 - Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Iowa State, Tennessee, and Rutgers I've done my research and I've done my homework but I think Power Rankings power ratings are more of an honest way of how to rank the 25 best teams in all of college football so let's kick it off and get started and here at 25th I have the Kansas State Wildcats Kansas State returns 63% of their production from 20 23 they bring back 11 starters the strength of this team with Running Back DJ giddens returning I think will be the rushing offense Hadley Panzer is one of five 2023 starting offensive lineman who's back a Carver Willis and Easton Kitty or some other players to pay attention to on this offensive line I think it will be good despite the fact that they lose so much production and an NFL player like Cooper BBE from that unit linebacker and cornerback are rooms that also impress me pay attention to Jacob parish and mares sigal in that room I think that losing Ben sinate losing will Howard to Ohio State and Avery Johnson being a new starter I think Avery Johnson is a higher ceiling than will Howard and will probably end up being a better quarterback but they that may take some time and then losing the primary pass catchers and having a new offensive line I think will result in this passing offense taking a step back you also have to remember that Colin Klein left for Texas A&M so a lot of changes on that offense that's the storyline for this season I think Kansas State's ceiling is 11-1 their floor is 7-5 I have them going 10 and3 with a 7-2 record in Big 12 Conference play losing to LSU in the Texas Bowl up next we have Oklahoma State at 24th they return a whopping 85% of their 2023 production they also bring back 20 starters their strength is obviously going to be the rushing offense with Ali Gordon and also that offensive line because Center Joe machelski and guard Preston Wilson tackles Dalton Cooper and Jake Springfield make up one of the best offensive lines in the country they have underrated wide receivers and Brennan Presley and Rashad Owens and at linebacker Nick Martin and Colin Oliver might be the two best linebackers in the country they could be up there with Nick Jackson and Jay Higgins is one of the best starting linebacker Duos in college football but despite their strength at linebacker they do have questions on passing defense their defensive line was mediocre last year their secondary stunk the storyline for Oklahoma state is can Brian Nardo improve the defense it allowed nearly 30 points per game last season and you saw when they played Texas in the Big 12 championship game how far away they were I have them going 11-2 7-2 in Big 12 Conference play beating Kentucky in the Liberty Bowl I think their ceiling's 11-1 their floor is 8-4 at 23rd we have the Iowa State Cyclones like Oklahoma State they bring back a gargantuan amount of production from the prior season that works in their favor proven results coming back also returning starters Works in their favor same with having a Young quarterback who showcased he can be good in Rocko Beck coming back and a defense that matters particularly a passing defense but also good linebackers and defensive lineman with Jaylen noell coming back at wide receiver and also Jaden Higgins their receivers are going to be a strength of this team same with their tight end Benjamin brahmer a linebacker with Caleb bacon and will McLaughlin and then safety with Jeremiah Cooper bro freeler and Malik Verdon they run a three safety 335 defense there their passing defense is going to be impressive and this defense could be one of the best in the country if properly managed their running offense with an offensive line that performed poorly last year and a new starting running back that's an area where I think there are questions the storyline is can heok utilize this defense that returns nearly four fifths of its production from last year I think Iowa State could win the Big 12 but they do have a tough schedule I have them missing the Big 12 championship game losing to Clemson in the pop s bowl with a 9-4 record to close out the year 7-2 in conference they have a ceiling of 10-2 and a floor of seven and five we have the Tennessee Volunteers at 22nd they only bring back 48% of their production and eight starters from 2023 that's a lot less than I would have expected but I actually think Tennessee will take steps forward this year or at least overall be a similar team to what they were last season why niik a am maliva it's as simple as that he'll be a top 10 QB this year tennessy also returns a elite defensive end an allamerican in my opinion in James Pierce Jr Omar Norman lot is another player to pay attention to at defensive tackle on that line Dylan Samson's strong at running back squirrel white is impressive at wide receiver along with Dante Thorton I think at the skill positions this team will be impressive and if everything can come together they could once again have a 2022 type offense mainly looking at the offensive line and if they come together their weakness I think will be the passing defense they do have some questions there but an elite offense can alleviate that weak spot if Nico is a star perhaps better than even I think Tennessee could be a college football playoff SEC Championship potentially National Championship Contender they were 33rd in qbr last year which given Hy's offense requiring an elite quarterback to be an elite offense that was not good enough so that's the storyline and I think Nico will be awesome not the best quarterback in the nation not a Heisman winner like Greg McElroy thinks and I think that's actually a pretty smart pick on his part but a near Elite QB I have them going to the Las Vegas Bowl and beating Colorado finishing with a 10 and3 Record 5 and3 in SEC Conference play I think their ceiling is 10-2 their floor is 8-4 at 25 first we have the ruter Scarlet Knights ruter brings back 72% of their production and 14 starters from 2023 Kyle manungi at running back will assist them in having one of the country's most productive offenses particularly by statistics because their schedule's easy Gus zalinskis Brian felter and AOL and Pierce are players to watch on their offensive line who are veterans in some of the nation's best Mohamed Tay and tyene Powell are Elite linebackers and their defensive backs which feature flip Dixon Robert longerbeam and others should give them an edge in pass defense I think their rushing offense is an ultimate strength of theirs their passing offense is weak because of aan kak Manis not being an impressive quarterback from what we know and from what we've seen and Johnny Langan leaving at tight end gives them a little hole there if the offense can balance out and score more touchdowns r will be successful that's the storyline to follow is how efficient is their offense this year in scoring touchdowns because they have a great kicker in Patel the question is can they punch it in the end zone I have them losing to Texas A&M in the cheese at Citrus Bowl finishing with a 10 and3 record 7-2 in Big 10 conference play an 11-1 ceiling but a six- six floor wide ranges of outcomes for ruter it's similar I think with the Teams 20-16 - Nebraska, LSU, Kansas, Wisconsin, and Texas A&M 20th ranked Nebraska Corn Huskers Nebraska returns 71% of their production and 14 starters now one of their best players on the team I think is newcomer true freshman in fact Dylan riola I think that he is going to have an awesome year and I think the season hinges on him Nebraska was 108th in qbr last year if riola is awful Nebraska is flirting with missing a bowl game again for now the eighth year in a row if he is awesome this team can go 10-2 and perhaps get into the college football playoff um I think that their floor is 6- six so I think this team's going bowling almost no matter what and that's because they got EMT Johnson Dante Dao gvin Jr and ramir Johnson a deep running back room Jamal Banks comes in at wide receiver Nash hutmacher anchors a strong defensive line and Isaac gford Tommy Hill blly Hill and others are in a secondary that could be one of the nation's best this season if things go right I think the offensive line has questions part of that is because of pra's injury and also some question marks they had last season but I think Nebraska will be good they'll manage their schedule well and go to a bowl game and beat the Oklahoma Sooners in the Music City Bowl finishing with a 10 and3 record 6 and3 in Big 10 conference play a 10-2 ceiling and a 6 and six floor at 19th we have the LSU Tigers now around here I don't know if it's here exactly just because I don't think there's necessarily a strong argument for a clear separation in these seatings right now or ranking seatings whatever you want to call them until the top 10 but I think around here you may see a sizable separation in how these teams would do on a neutral field versus a good power for team LSU has all the talent in the world to succeed they bring back 64% of their production ction and 12 starters on top of that at wide receiver they brought in transfer zavon Thomas and another transfer from Liberty in CJ Daniels they should be strong there their strength of this team is ultimately their o line which is anchored by Will Campbell and Emory Jones Jr two Elite tackles Garrett delinger is also a good guard uh Garrett nus me I think will be a pretty great quarterback this season I think the passing offense will be good I think it's a good system for nus Meer I think he'll adjust quickly and by the middle of the season this offense will be humming and their special teams will be good too Damen Ramos comes back and they have a good punter the pass defense though will continue to be the woe of this defense like it was last season it won't be nearly as bad with Blake Baker and I think Bo Davis will better be able to utilize and develop the talent on the D line but this defense will not become Elite in one year if Blake Baker can somehow do that this team is a national championship Contender but they were awful in defense outside of the top 100 in ESPN's fpi efficiency somehow worse than LSU's I have LSU going 9-4 5-3 in SEC Conference play beating Kansas State in the Texas bowl with an 11-1 ceiling and an 8 and4 maybe seven and5 floor at 18th this is a team that I think has a crazy high ceiling given its roster Talent they do have a limitation I don't think they can win at all but they can perhaps Be A Cinderella Story in the playoff they could also just be an above average power four team that's the Kansas j-hawks they only bring back 59% of their production and 13 starters but almost all the starters they bring back in my opinion are xfactor players this includes quarterback who didn't start last season but was great when healthy Jaylen Daniels Devon Neil is up there I think with Ali Gordon in terms of running back Talent and trayon Henderson quen johon Judkins Donovan Edwards Daniel highshaw Jr is also good uh an offensive line that features Bryce Foster Kobe Baines uh Bryce cable do and Michael Ford Jr should be one of the best offensive lines in the Big 12 perhaps nationally Lawrence Arnold Quinton Skinner and Luke grimit wide receiver and then Jared Casey and Deshawn Hanukah make up an awesome receiver core a defensive end with Jeremy Robinson and Dylan woodkey and cornerback with Kobe Bryant and Millow doson this pass defense factoring in the pass rush can be good too defensive tackle and linebacker are areas that I have questions with same with special teams but more importantly is the roster ceiling I think that is the biggest limiting factor to a team in Kansas that has so many xfactor players and that has a head coach who is just so good at utilizing Talent they did Lo lose Andy cotal Nikki to Penn State so a question for Kansas is whether the success on offense will continue with Jeff Grimes but I think it will particularly in the ground game I have Kansas finishing with a 12 and two record playing Utah in the Big 12 championship game but losing and then beating Oregon state in the alow I have them finishing with an 8-1 Big 12 Conference record their ceiling is going 12-0 being undefeated and perhaps being a top 15 maybe top 10 team at the best but I don't think they can win it all again due to talent and roster limitations their floor is eight and4 believe me when I say even with all they're losing Lance lipold is going to coach these guys up I think he's a top 10 head coach nationally at 17th we have the Wisconsin Badgers Wisconsin their schedule is I think the toughest so far that we have covered though there will be ER schedules as we go on in this video but they bring back 68% of their production this factors in incoming transfers they were one of these schools that used the portal well they returned 10 starters they got Tyler van djk from Miami who I think will be pretty good and in the top half of all big 10 quarterbacks at wide receiver they are strong with Will Pauling in that room and Wisconsin is also strong on the offensive line with Joe Huber at guard and Riley m and Jack Nelson at tackle um at defensive end Daryl Peterson John pus and at linebacker tacket Curtis or some defensive players to pay attention to most importantly you have Ricardo hullman and you have Hunter Waller who are some Elite secondary players in college football and in the Big 10 the offensive line is the non-negotiable for this team that people will have to deal with in my opinion um the weakness of this team is tight end and also defensive line their defensive line with their 335 defense is only three men starting which already makes it weaker than other defensive lines at least typically and they don't have a lot of strong depth there so that along with their offense in general can it improve from barely scoring over three touchdowns last year those are the questions and storylines to pay attention to I have Wisconsin finishing with an 8-5 6 and3 record in Big 10 conference play losing to Texas and underachieving Texas team in the relia quest Bowl their ceiling is 10-2 their floor is 5- s I think with a head coach like Luke fickle they're going to improve compared to last season at 16th we have Texas A&M Texas A&M has underachieved for years oftentimes being this close this close in games against Alabama I remember in 2019 they almost beat Georgia they have been competitive with LSU over the previous few seasons when LSU's on average fielded better teams so on so forth Jimbo fiser was a fraud at Texas A&M and he kept being ranked inside of the top 10 year over year over year over year I'm glad that for the last two seasons I didn't fall for his team being like a top 15 top 10 team thought they would bounce back last year in terms of Power Rankings from 2022 and they did a little bit but at the end of the year he got fired their strength though this is in part credit to Jimbo fer actually is quarterback Connor Wegman a wide receiver moose muhamad on the defensive line they have guys like Nick scorton who I think is an All-American Shamar Turner as well at linebacker they have tne York and at cornerback Willie the second Tyreek Chapelle and BJ Mae that's a pretty good cornerback room in my opinion offensive guard and really the whole offensive line has questions but I think the interior of the trenches are a bigger question on both sides of the line of scrimmage than the exterior and they're going to have to find someone to step up at tight end um Can Elco manage the talent of this team from Ground Zero like in week one can he hit the ground running I think he can I have yet to see like all of us if he will but I think I think A&M will be successful this year that's why I have them going to the cheese at Citrus Bowl and beating Rutgers and finishing with a 10 and3 6-2 record in the SEC with an 11-1 ceiling and a 7even and5 floor the passing offense of this team with Colin Clin Teams 15-10 - Iowa, Oklahoma, Miami, Utah, and Notre Dame watch out uh this is the opposite case for Iowa even though they hired Tim Lester Iowa slots in at 15th in my rankings for Iowa they returned 79% of their production in 17 starters you know the defense is going to be awesome and the offensive line they return a lot same with tight end with Luke Lee and Addison aranga Logan Jones and Connor Colby pay attention to them on the line on defense you got Deontay Craig Ethan herit Aaron Graves and Yaya black on the dline Jay Higgins and Nick Jackson at linebacker Nampa Xavier Nampa Quinn schy Sebastian Castro Deshawn Lee and John Nester at secondary those are all of their starters they're all going to be good and Drew Stevens comes back at kicker you know their defense is going to be elite I think it'll be the best in the country the question is the offense can Kade mcamera or Brendan Sullivan step up and can the wide receivers improve Kirk farence said his offense can be good if they are just good which in my opinion would be top 50 at Iowa or somehow if they're top 25 this team immediately becomes a contender for for the Big 10 and a serious Contender I have Iowa going 11 and one reaching the college football playoff I think they're going to choke all of their opponents out of oxygen except for Ohio State on the road and reach the playoffs but I think they'll lose on the road to Penn State in the first round finishing 11-2 8-1 in Big 10 conference play with an 11-1 ceiling I think they're going to lose at Ohio State guaranteed if they somehow beat Ohio State they may slip up somewhere else but I think again that's an auto loss and they'll have a floor of eight and four we have the Oklahoma Sooners up next at 14th now you may wonder why I have Oklahoma if you're watching on YouTube you see all of this at once on the screen all the information that I spout out you may be wondering why I have the Sooners losing to a team that I have power rated behind them in the Corn Huskers in the bowl game we'll get to that Oklahoma returns eight Stars 65% of their returning um of their production from 2023 it's pretty redundant to say you return x amount of returning production but it happens to the best of us running back with Gavin Sawchuk is going to be a spot of strength and the offensive line well it does have questions I think Branson Hickman will at least be the strength of this unit receiver with Nick Anderson Dion Burks andrell Anthony is going to be phenomen Al and on the dline Deon Terry Dominic Williams Ethan DS Kaden Ward Danny stutzman at linebacker and Kip Lewis Billy Bowman Robert Spears Jennings uh pton Bowen and then Woody Washington Gentry Williams at secondary they're so strong defensively everywhere but particularly the past defense they could have one of the best defenses in the country the offensive line and tight end basically the areas that are going to be blocking for the offense specifically the quarterback or running backs that's the area of concern but Bill beatball is a genius so I think that while this offensive line will be a weak link it won't be bad it may just be average above average or good and with beaten ball it could be great I have Oklahoma going 8 and5 4 and four in SEC Conference play losing to Nebraska in the Music City Bowl with a 10 and2 ceiling and a 6 and6 floor I just think Nebraska getting to their first bowl game in seven years to them especially facing a rival Oklahoma this will be their Super Bowl and I don't exactly know how Oklahoma would handle what would probably be a disappointing year in their eyes before we resume this video I want you yes college football with Sam wants you to subscribe to the channel and click the notification Bell so that you can get notified when I release new college football content we're going to have big 12 ACC SEC record predictions and Analysis indepth like I'm talking about 4550 to hour long previews with timestamps so you'll be able to go through and get what you need if you don't have that much time but those are coming very soon all within the next week we already have a in-depth Big 10 preview out so if you just want to go to the top right corner of your screen where my finger is you'll see an icon there that pops up with a a video link go check that out if you haven't already and also again like this video subscribe to the channel comment your thoughts on my top 25 power ratings or rankings down below and thank you so much for your time and also for your patience so let's get back right to it and resume talking about my power ratings and rankings uh number 13 Miami I think this actually in that little nice segue that we had that little break where I pitched to you my channel and why you should join what I think eventually will be college football's best community because I love interacting with commenters I think this is an area of natural separation I think after Oklahoma from here on out you have teams that are high octane and I would say almost pretty close in my mind to be guaranteed to be high octane teams now of course I could be wrong because everyone's preseason ratings rankings to a certain degree are right or wrong it just depends on the variance sometimes people are very wrong other times calling them wrong or incorrect all the time is nitpicking because of how many other good predictions they had I hope I'm on the latter side of that but we have Miami at 13th Oklahoma Kansas uh Texas A&M for sure uh I would even say Wisconsin and there are other programs that we talked about before Miami that could be high octane but could be I think Miami is going to be high octane they return 68% of their 2023 production bring back 11 starters and they used the portal to their advantage quarterback cam Ward is no doubt a strength on this team running back Damen Martinez and Mark Fletcher Jr make up a great Duo they're o line with Zack Carpenter ANZ Cooper Samson okunola Francis M Goa Jaylen Rivers is going to be awesome Xavier Restrepo jacobe George Samuel Brown could that be the best receiver core in America questions to ponder and then their defense they got Simeon Barrow Jr from the portal and they got Tyler Baron from the portal Ruben Bane Jr was awesome at defensive end last year that's the defensive line at linebacker Francisco mooa and Jaylen Alderman are great the secondary is an area with questions though it's basically the secondary and also tight end where I think you need to see someone step up or Miami's waiting for roles to be filled and overall the passing defense I think will be the biggest weak spot of this team losing Cameron kitchens and other players in that DB room how many games will Mario CRST ball give away or won't he has He adjusted who he is as a coach can this team play consistently is his staff are they good enough to be delegated all responsibility and therefore he's just the CEO I don't know the answer to that question but that's the storyline and I think that this team is just so talented and the coordinators strength and conditioning and assistant coaches are good enough to where this team will roll regardless of chrisal ball in many situations I have them losing to Florida state in the regular season and again in the ACC Championship Game beating Arizona in the Holiday Bowl I think they finished 12-2 7 and one in ACC conference play because of their weak strength of schedule and the fact that I think this year in terms of record not in terms of quality I think in terms of quality this will be a down year in college football in terms of record due to lopsided schedules and lopsided hierarchies in the Big 10 ACC even a little bit in the you're going to see a ton of teams with only one loss or even some undefeated teams perhaps I think Miami will be kept out of the playoff unless they win the ACC or maybe if they're 11- one but miss their conference championship game their ceiling is going undefeated 12-0 their floor I think is 8 and4 at 12th we have the Utah UTS led by Kyle Whittingham who I think is a top five head coach in all of college football he is awesome at Development building his roster he is like a grand master of Chess I hope that's the proper term he's like a grandmas of Chess when it relates to college football just in how tactical he is how he builds his staff how he builds his roster they return 59% of their production in 13 starters but what we have to remember is Cam Rising didn't play at all last year same with Brandt guthy and those were great players before they got injured in 20122 and then sat out to fully rest and recover um I think also outside of them Micah Bernard uh Johnny Maya Bernard's running back Maya and then Michael mokoi on the offensive line those are areas with questions running back in the o line which you wouldn't think of with Utah but this year it is I'm more confident in the running back room and interior of the o line than I am at offensive tackle the defense though especially the dline Keanu tanuvasa Junior tanu Logan Fano van fillinger Connor otoul Landon Barton Karine Reed that's Utah's front all of those players I have in my all Big 12 team that's actually how I'm reading off these rosters is these are all players that I have on my All Conference teams My All Conference teams are bigger than most but that's because there are so many great players good great a few elite players as well on top of that to recognize and Utah also has zamaya vaugh and Kenan Johnson at corner this defense is going to be great I think similarly to Kansas roster ceiling holds this team back they could easily be a top 10 maybe at most top five power rated team if we really do have a down year in quality even downer than I think it will be but I don't think they can win at all maybe they can and maybe I'm wrong if there's any team I'm wrong on about saying there's a limit to their roster it would be Utah if they're healthy but cam Rising coming back after a year off is a big question mark so I think he's the storyline to follow I'm high on him though I think he'll do well and I have Utah winning the Big 12 beating Kansas in the Big 12 title game I have them going to the playoff they'll lose in a close game to Alabama in the second round to finish 12-2 8-1 in Big 12 Conference play with a 12-0 ceiling and a floor of nine and three at 11th we have the Notre Dame Fighting Irish most teams from here on out most will be going to the playoff in my predictions Notre Dame's a lot like Tennessee they don't return a whole lot and they didn't use the portal to the degree that many other teams who were aspiring to win it all did they only bring back eight starters in 53% of their production but they bring back a ton of all Americans particularly on defense and Charles jhua or jagas saww butchered his name but I think the correction saved me um it's like a quarterback throwing a a pass that hits his offense lineman than catching it and running it for 10 yards even with his injury I think the offensive Line's going to be good and I'll tell you why a Joe Rudolph who at Wisconsin built awesome offensive lines and they do have I mean I'm telling you players that have been ready to step up for a while whether it is just this one pre-season or several years of being developed their Center Ashton Craig I think is a top 25 Center I think Pat cougan is a top 25 guard a billy scth could could contend for that as well and they do have enough depth at tackle and also Mitchell Evans at tight end who's good at blocking receiving future NFL tight end to where losing a player due to injury is is devastating but not as devastating as let's say a Max School losing a talented offensive lineman or even a lower level ACC Big 12 Big 10 SEC School they will find ways especially with Mike Den Brock as the OC to scheme around that tragic injury and prayers up to jagas saww hope that he heals and has an even better year next season at defensive tackle with Riley Mills and Howard cross Lineback with Jack Kaiser defensive back with Benjamin Morrison and Xavier Watts this pass defense will be elite the passing offense though with questions at offensive tackle with Riley Leonard we don't know how he'll do after he recovered from his injury and the lack I think of X Factor wide receivers makes the passing offense a question I think Notre Dame will reach the playoffs they have a workable schedule in advantage of both talent and I think of assistant coaches and coordinators and even head coach I think Marcus Freeman is certainly a top 30 top 25 head coach in college football I have noted Dame finishing 11 and2 losing to Michigan in the first round of the college football playoff in the big house they'll be a fun rivalry game they could go 12-0 and beat Florida State they could also go 9 and3 and maybe lose to USC A&M Louisville Georgia Tech any number of teams but I think this is certainly a top 15 team and I can see why some people rank rank them in the top 10 we Teams 10-6 - Ole Miss, Florida State, Texas, Missouri, and Oregon have ol Miss at 10th ol Miss I have missing the college football playoff and I will briefly tell you why yes they bring back Jackson Dart who should be an All-American quarterback they bring back Trey Harris who is an elite wide receiver and I would say an All-American receiver as well they bring back Jordan Watkins who's a great receiver a Kaden prorn and daquin wri are going to be great tight ends Walter Nolan is an impactful addition on defense same with princ Ley unman maen and their safeties Trey Washington and John Saunders Jr were pretty good last year and don't forget Trey Amos adding him in at quarterback or guards um two guards from Washington from Washington's Joe Mo award offensive line last season in Nate cppo and Julius Buell ol Miss is going to be better than last year the problem with ol Miss in my mind is two things the run defense I think will have questions still because I think linebacker a position of weakness and Pete Golding I don't know if I trust him as a defensive coordinator and running back ulys Bentley I think is good remember weak links on a team who is top 10 like Old Miss is just an area where they're not as strong as the rest of their roster so ulyses Bentley is better than a lot of starting running backs in college football but in terms of SEC caliber running backs I need to see it to believe it and this offense line I don't think will necessarily be a strength of the team either that is troublesome for Miss when it comes to playing georia and at LSU on the road Oklahoma at home who has a defense that I think could eat up Miss o line potentially I think there's enough games and the schedule's easy enough to where it's like Iowa unless you go 11 and one with this schedule there's a good chance you're kept out and I think Miss goes 10-2 but they'll destroy Virg Tech in the in the T Slayer Gator Bowl finishing 11-2 6-2 in SEC record I think their ceilings 11-1 I think they're due to lose to Georgia or someone else likely Georgia their floor is pretty high though at 9 and three I saw ESPN said Old Miss floor is six and six that's just heresy this roster well I do think it has some limitations is deep enough to win it all if everything goes right and certainly play for the SEC Championship Game if there aren't two undefeated teams or a team that's tied with them that has a stronger Conference record the question for ol Miss is can they compete in top 10 matchups not just win them they have to compete first because they lost to Alabama and Georgia by an average of nearly four touchdowns last season at Ninth we have the Florida state Seminal Florida State returns 56% of their production they got eight starters back I think that this team here will be strong in their passing defense because of fentral Cyprus II and Azariah Thomas at corner at defensive end Patrick Payton may be one of the best in the country at linebacker with DJ lunding and Cam Riley they'll be set there as well I think mainly outside of the fact that I think hem Williams is due for a breakout year what makes me love Florida State as their offensive line tackle Jeremiah buyers and Darius Washington guard TJ Ferguson more importantly Richie Leonard i 4 and Center Marie Smith who I think could contend for the best center in the nation contend for the Remington trophy their offensive line I think is up there with Georgia and Alabama's if they can stay healthy in terms of being the best in college football and that means on top of their passing defense being one of the best in the country I do think that their overall trench play can be great and their running offense could actually be better than it was last year even with Trey Benson leaving because royell Williams comes in from Alabama and Lawrence toili also comes back I think Florida State's very underrated entering this year but I understand the criticisms because of DJ uay not being proven the wide receivers are not proven either I do think they'll take a step back in that department even with improvements on the o line and also tight end Kyle Morlock return the number one QB the starting QB on the team best tight end in in Bell Jem Bell and Johnny Wilson and Keon Coleman are off to the NFL who steps UPS who steps up and replaces them I think Florida State wins the ACC beating Miami in the ACC Championship game and they'll reach the playoff earning the first round buy I have them losing in a close game to Penn State in the Peach Bowl to finish 13- one just like last year but on a more honorable ending note with an 8-0 record undefeated an ACC conference play they have a ceiling of going undefeated and I think they will tap into that this year at the very worst I think this team goes N9 and three and finishes the year ranked at eighth we have the Texas Longhorns this is the final team that I have missing the college football playoff and it's because while their schedule is fairly easy they do have a plethora of challenging matchups they bring back 67% of their returning of their production from 2023 and 10 starters the strengths of this this team are quarterback Quinn yers wide receivers Silas Balden Matthew golden Isaiah Bond a tight end Amari nblack an offensive line that well I don't think it's up there in terms of Joe Moore award caliber Jake major is a veteran Center Hayden Connor's a good guard Kelvin Banks he's one of the best tackles in the country could be one of the best players in all of college football the question for Texas I don't even think it's their defensive line because they're great at defensive end which I think is a strength with Trey Moore and baron Sorel and I think Alfred Collins will actually be an All-American defensive tackle this year Alfred Collins is going to be really good one of the best defensive tackles in the SEC but at linebacker and defensive back even bringing in Andrew makuba and Malik muhamad I think being a decent player last year I don't think that's enough to fix the passing defense they were 54th in yards allowed per pass attempt last year in Washington and Oklahoma and any passing offense that matter just killed them how much will their defensive backs improve in 2024 and how do they fill in the hole that losing two All-American defensive tackles produces I think Texas finishes the year with a 10 and3 six and2 record in the SEC beating Wisconsin in the relia quest Bowl this team ceiling is insanely High though and they can win it all they can go 12-0 including with a win Over Georgia they could also in my mind go eight and four and lose to Michigan on the road A&M on the road in a rivalry game could lose to Oklahoma again and Georgia is just Georgia Missouri is at seventh and I took a little pause there to think of how to phrase this but I think it's going to be after Missouri or no it it's it's definitely around here but perhap but I think before Texas really at eth and on up are teams where I think their chances of winning the National Championship uh begin to go up and then in like the final four three teams it begins to exponentially increase Missouri I don't know if they have a better shot in my personal mind of winning the title than Texas does probably not but it's close and that's because they bring back over 70% of their 2023 production 13 starters including a veteran QB and Brady cook Luther Burton thei is the best wide receiver in all of college football right now and they also have Theo whis Muki Cooper an offensive line that has five correction four all SEC players including first teamer Connor Tolson little preview for my all SEC team that you'll see in my SEC preview video he's at Center Cameron Johnson Kaden green are at guard Armand membo is at tackle and they have Johnny Walker Jr and Zion Young starting at defensive end that should be a vicious pass rush and like Texas they did get a transfer defensive back from Clemson and Toran Pride Jr from Missouri Missouri's question I think is defensive tackle and Corner they only return one of their five starting defensive backs from last year and losing Harrison mevas especially when Missouri kicked a ton of field goals last year that's another area to look at look at special teams from Missouri along with secondary play how much will that room regress or will it reload I think Missouri reaches the playoffs they have a workable schedule they're a good team I do think Oregon is better though perhaps by a significant margin which is why I have the Ducks beating Missouri in their own house in the first round of the playoffs Missouri will finish 11-2 7-1 in SEC Conference play with a 12-0 seiling and a 9 and three floor up next we have the Oregon Ducks speak of the devil I do think that after Missouri though there is a little bit of a gap separating them and Oregon and everyone else that comes after Oregon it's similar with Texas succeeding Florida State there's a little bit of a gap there and then everyone else in front of them but for Oregon this team can absolutely win it all they bring back 69% of their production 10 starters and they used the portal extremely well just like Miami did they got a veteran quarterback and Dylan Gabriel who's top five they return running back Jordan James who was behind Bucky Irving last year he should be one of the best running backs in all of college football they have TZ Johnson Trey Sean Holden Gary Bryant Jr and Evans Stewart at wide receiver on the offensive line Johnny Cornelius and Josh connly Jr are the best tackle duo in all of college football and Matthew Bedford and yapan Lulu are also great interior players Jordan Burch Derek Haron on the interior Jeffrey boset linebacker and Jabar muhamd are other players to look out for on defense safety they have a ton of transfers there battling for starting positions that could be an area of weakness I think also with special teams they did bring in attakus Sappington so I think their kicking game will be good but what about return specialist what about consistent punting Oregon's punter was good last year but he did not have to punt that much how efficient will Oregon special teams unit be more importantly can this offense score on Big 10 defenses their strength of schedule last year was pretty weak and they'll be facing tougher defenses than they've ever played against outside of that 2022 two Georgia defense and it was game one so I don't take much away from that but they also did hold Oregon to three points I think the Ducks reach the Teams 5-1 - Penn State, Michigan, Ohio State, Alabama, and Georgia playoffs beat Missouri on the road in the first round but lose to Georgia in the Sugar Bowl finishing with an 11 and3 record 7-2 in Big 10 conference play they got a 12-0 ceiling and a 9 and3 floor we have the Penn State NY lions at fifth Penn State brings back 11 starters 67% of their production at running back with Nicholas Singleton and KRON Allen they are tough they have Tyler Warren an All-American in my mind at tight end on the defensive line you have Devon J Thomas Donnie Dennis Sutton Abdul Carter who transitioned to D end Kobe King at linebacker along with Dominic Duca and Tony rois and Kevin Winston Jr at safety defensive line play is the non-negotiable that teams will have to take into account when they play Penn State quarterback with Drew Aller I think will be an area of improvement with Andy cotal Nikki but wide receivers is a big question mark and I don't think Drew Aller is going to be a top 10 quarterback this year so that makes that in my mind a weak link Penn State has an awesome roster there's also questions with James Franklin's game management but when you hire a former head coach as your defensive coordinator and Tom Allen and then Andy cotal Nikki who's a genius and I think the best offensive coordinator in the country I I think that alleviates many of the head coach concerns Penn State was 97th in plays of 20 yards or more on offense can cotal Nikki fix that especially with the limitations in the passing offense I think Penn State goes undefeated in the regular season beating Ohio State for the first time since 2016 but losing to them in a rematch in the Big 10 championship game they'll beat Iowa in the first round of the playoffs beat Florida state in the peach bow the second round but lose to Michigan in the third round of the college football playoff the semi-finals they'll finish 14-2 9-0 in Big 10 conference play they got a 12-0 ceiling and a 10 and2 floor believe me Penn State's up there in terms of Power Rankings with these other big schools it's the same thing with Michigan Penn State Michigan Texas Missouri Oregon and then of course there's Ohio state Alabama and Georgia the three most talented teams in the country who are in my top three of power rankings for that and also other reasons they're up there with those teams maybe not in terms of being able to beat them or even play them within one score on a neutral field but of competing with them for three quarters and perhaps earning an upset against them Michigan doesn't return a lot of production much like Tennessee much like Florida State like Alabama and others they only bring back five starters as well but running back Donovan Edwards I think is due for a breakout season tight end coulston Loveland is an awesome weapon best tight end in the country the offensive line they lose a ton but I think they will be a great o line not Elite I think Center Greg krippin will be the best player along with guard Josh prie and Tackle my Hinton on the defensive line Mason Graham Kenneth Grant they also have Josiah Stewart Derek Moore linebacker Jon Barham and Ernest Housman and at defensive back will Johnson Mari pagee you have Amir Hall you have Jer Hill and you have Quinton Johnson and you have other players too that defensive back room does have questions in terms of if all five of the starters are going to be great but they do have depth trench warfare is the non-negotiable of this team on average I think Michigan will produce the best or certainly top five overall trench play in the country their weakness though and perhaps to a crippling degree is their passing offense Alex orgy's only thrown one career pass so we don't even know if he's average outside of it running the ball in which he's good and Michigan's receivers while they have speed like with samaj Morgan and Tyler Morris we don't know how consistent they can be so I do have Michigan making a college football Run part of that's because this team has made a run before and having playoff experience is going to be critical I think in the 12 team playoff I have them beating Notre Dame in the first round beating Ohio State in a rematch they lose to them in the regular season beat him in the Rose Bowl beating Penn State and the cotton ball but they'll lose to Georgia I think by a a pretty significant margin in the national championship game I'm talking about around two touchdowns maybe three touchdowns but probably not playing them within one possession in the final box score Michigan I believe goes 14-2 8- one in Big 10 conference play they have a ceiling of 12-0 undefeated record and a floor I think of 9 and3 we have the Ohio State Buckeyes up next the Buckeyes this is the team that many are high on I have them at third they bring back 15 starters 65% of their production running backs quinan Judkins and trayon Henderson highlight this team along with wide receivers Jeremiah Smith acha egbuka Carnell Tate a defensive line linebacker in DB cor that should make up one of the best defenses in the country he got JT tuy moow Jack Sawyer Ty Hamilton Ty Leake Williams CJ Hicks Sunny Styles Cody Simon all on the front at secondary I think they should have the best secondary in the nation and consequentially the best pass defense they have Denzel Burke Jordan Hancock Davis nbos lean Ransom and Caleb DS the questions I have about this team our offensive center with Seth McLaughlin and the offensive tackles I think Donovan Jackson will anchor them well at guard offensive line play is the weak link of this team and that's ultimately why I have them losing to Penn State in the regular season and Michigan and the rose bow they frankly don't match up very well with a lot of their surrounding competition uh Georgia Michigan Penn State I think have favorable matchups with Ohio State because of their questions on the offensive line for Ohio State if they get the o line right and the o line is top 10 this is the nation's best team in the country that along with can Chip Kelly just improve the efficiency of this offense not just the o line but improve the QB play improve the Red Zone efficiency score more touchdowns scheme the Run block and the running attack to be much more efficient and deadly that's the storyline is Chip Kelly I think Ohio State beats Penn State to capture the Big 10 championship in Indianapolis after losing to them in the regular season Ryan Dale earn his second win over Michigan but then earn his fourth loss to them in the Rose Bowl they'll finish 12-2 with an 8-1 record in big conference play their ceiling is 12-0 their floor is 10-2 and we have Alabama at second uh Georgia's obviously at number one but let's start off with Alabama they return 11 starters 53% of their production Jaylen milro I think is going to be one of the best quarterbacks in the nation he completed around 66 67 65% of his passes last year but when you watch the games his passing consistency was worse than that it was a combination of really good and then really bad games toward the end of the year he improved remarkably but he still had flaws and that was evident in the Michigan game the Rose Ball I think he'll get better at running back with Jam Miller and also Justice Haynes I think Alabama is set for Success um at center with Parker brailford guard with Tyler Booker and Jaden Roberts tackle with Kaden Proctor and Elijah pret they're going to be great I think with the coaching of Jamarcus Shepard Jeremy Bernard and Kobe prentis can have breakout Seasons CJ depri and Josh wavis make up a a good solid tight end room I really like Alabama's safties Keon Sav and Malachai Moore I think could make up the best safety room in the country and Deontay Lawson and Jihad Campbell are great linebackers but the defensive line which I don't think has high ceing octane NFL Talent on it it in in terms of production and also Corner are areas where there are questions I think Alabama's run defense as of now and just looking at how their roster built is the Kryptonite of this team same with youth a lot of Alabama's second string players are extremely young and that with a tough schedule especially if injuries begin to mount could cause this team to not unravel in a sense that they're no longer top 10 but unravel in the way that well you're not going to beat Georgia a second time around because I think Alabama will beat Georgia off the buy at home but lose to them in the SEC Championship Game beat Liberty in the five seed versus 12 seed game where Liberty's the sacrificial lamb to basically whoever's the stronger runner up between the SEC and Big 10 Alabama will beat Utah on the Fiesta Bowl but lose again to Georgia you're going to see a lot of rematches in the 12 team playoffs lose to Georgia again in the Orange Bowl Alabama will finish with a 14-2 record 8-0 in SEC Conference play a ceiling of 12-0 undefeated a floor I think of 10-2 I think Alabama is going to be much better than people expect this season and finally we have the Georgia Bulldogs Georgia let's just face it is the best team in college football I think you can catch them early whether that is Clemson though I doubt it Alabama on the road in week five maybe Texas if everything's going for them heck even all Miss but I think once they get in the postseason the depth that they have They're bringing back 15 starters and 68% of their 2023 production from a Georgia team last year that arguably was a top five at worst number two team in the nation at best unit Carson Beck as of now is proven to be the best returning quarterback in college football solely looking at statistics and not projecting anything and results at tight end they have Ben urasek and also Oscar Delp on the offensive line which I think will be the best in the country Georgia they have Jared Wilson they have Tate rattled Dylan Fairchild Micah Morris Xavier trust Ernest Green III they have six offensive linemen who I think have first or second Team all SEC or all American potential at linebacker they have smile mundon Jr they have Malachi Starks at safety and dalan Everett at corner this team is set to have success and their overall roster depth well a weakness for some teams is georg's biggest strength is pound-for-pound let's say we played a game of eight quarter football Georgia wouldn't lose to anyone in an eight quarter game of football they wouldn't but football is four quarters and if anyone's going to beat Georgia it's going to be because they can run on the Bulldogs and that was a problem for them last year they allowed nearly four yards per carry and they only produced around two sacks per game can that unit Step Up in 2024 if they can and let's say they increase those numbers by 50% get close to three sacks per game and they only allow like 2.8 2.9 yards per carry uh this team could go 16-0 I have them going 15-1 though losing to Alabama Early with a 7-1 record in SEC Conference play they could go 12-0 they could also go as low as 10-2 I think that's their floor I have them beating Alabama in the SEC Championship Game beating Oregon in the Sugar Bowl beating Alabama again in the Orange Bowl and beating Michigan for the national championship and that right there it took a while but it was worth it is my top 25 power ratings thank you so much for watching this video remember to like the video subscribe to the channel and especially hit that notification Bell if you want to see more awesome content here on college football with Sam we would love you to join our community and help us on the path to 20,000 subscribers where we will be doing a giveaway also the first video to reach 1,000 likes will result in a giveaway so there are two giveaways awaiting you and even if you disagree with my takes in this video or most of my takes in general disagreement is healthy in fact I have had several members of my audience correct me on things and help me to become an even better YouTuber and college football analyst feedback is so important so unlike other channels who may delete comments just because well they disagree with the premise of the video I encourage disagreement as long as it is healthy and you're not insulting me to death and even then I won't delete your comment so please join the community and let me know what your thoughts are on this video down below thank you to my patreon members I want to give a special shout out to them because of all they do for sponsoring this video and channel thanks to Heisman crash 2488 and Braska Rascal thanks to all Americans Chris Lane Conor o and ismar and thank you to all conference players John Lynn roming gnome Matthew S Austin Christmas and janish sha Cockrell all of you have helped me sponsor this video and Channel um for my patreon page I'm just going to put this out there for the next few weeks and months because it's changing bonus content won't be the same but during the fall I will be for certain membership tiers covering games live maybe even doing some live reactions I'm looking for suggestions for the patreon page but the most important thing is if you want to support the channel in an extra way join my patreon page the rest of the things including merchandise signed merchandise giveaway for 6 months of Heisman membership is more of an added bonus and lastly check out my merchandise store if you want to that and the and the patreon page are both in the video description and in the Pinn comment you can get a comfortable college football with Sam t-shirt or sweater uh the t-shirts also come in 20 different themes a black one a white one and then the themes of all 18 big 10 schools I always wear my merchandise on stream not just to promote it but because it's in fact very comfortable um especially the t-shirts so look out for those and if you want one you can sign up as a Heisman and wait for 6 months the more affordable option is probably just a purchase from the merchandise store or wait for a giveaway and see if you win that lottery I hope you have a great day guys and I will see you all soon bye-bye