It’s almost here.
The 2020 College Football season is creeping up and man, it feels like it’s been forever. Probably because we had such a long lapse with no sports due to the ever-present novel coronavirus.
So, now that the season is almost here, let’s look at the latest power rankings and do a quick season preview. So, without further adieu, let’s dig right in and take a look at the top 10.
Top 10 College Football Teams According to CBS Sports
- LSU
- Clemson
- Ohio State
- Georgia
- Oregon
- Florida
- Alabama
- Oklahoma
- Penn State
- Baylor
Of course, it comes as no surprise to see LSU and Clemson ranked at the top, along with Ohio State. But common sense dictates that LSU will suffer some adjustments after the departure of Joe Burrow. Can they make the college football playoffs in 2020? I am not so sure. They have a lot of continuity, ed Orgeron, Steve Ensminger, and Joe Brady will bring the new QB up to speed and make their offense a legitimate threat for sure. But the same kind of efficiency and TD rate as with Burrow? That is doubtful. So, with that said, I believe we’ll see LSU drop in the rankings as the first few weeks progress. They will still be a great team, but they won’t destroy tough opponents by 30 points nearly as much as last year.
Clemson still has Trevor Lawrence and a solid team around him. As much as I love to hate this team and the fact that they dominate a crap football conference, they prove time and time again in the playoffs that they deserve their spot. That said, perhaps if they didn’t have a cakewalk season and actually played an SEC or Big 10 schedule they wouldn’t be walking into the post-season of fresh and fancy, without any bruises. I have a feeling that Clemson wouldn’t go undefeated in the SEC, BIG 10, or even Pac 12. And they’d be more beat up heading into the CFB, like these other squads have to deal with.
Trevor Lawrence We want to play signature shirthttps://t.co/tnzhnk0qeD
— Crazydogtee - Store Funny, Trending T-Shirt (@crazydogtee) August 14, 2020
That said, because of their returning players, and the fact that they have an amazing coach and leader in Dabo Swinney, we should expect them to be right back in the thick of it in 2020. Ohio State and Georgia seem adequately placed at 3rd and 4th, – with the exception of the Buckeyes postponed season–- but Oregon’s preseason no.5 spot seems a bit generous. I do think they are a top 10 team starting the season, but top 5? I would say definitely if Justin Herbert hadn’t just left the building. Then you have to look at the fact that the Pac-12 and Big 10 have postponed their seasons – and how will this impact the recruiting process for the next couple of seasons.
Despite all of this, Ohio State is still +300 at Bovada to win the national title, sitting only behind Clemson on the odds boards.
Furthermore, why would we even rank Ohio State and Oregon in the top 10 if they are not even scheduled to play? I don’t really understand the thought process here. Now I understand the decision process on the part of the conferences. They want to keep their players and student body as safe as possible. But, why would MSM channels rank these teams so highly knowing they may not even play a single snap? We have Ohio State, No.3; Oregon, No. 5; and Penn State, No. 9, all ranked in the top ten on the cusp of a postponed and potentially cancelled season.
Anyhow, I digress. I think this leaves the door open for strong teams like Baylor, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, and Auburn to move up the rankings. There would be no point in holding positions for teams that are not playing and proving their mettle week in and week out.
No. 11, Wisconsin, No. 12 Minnesota, No. 15 Utah, No. 17 Michigan, No. 18 Iowa … are all in the top 20. So nearly half of the top twenty teams won’t be playing, at least in the fall.
Now that I have stated that, the entire outlook of this article changes from a season preview to who knows what will happen this year. It’s going to be a crazy, messy, controversial ride in Power 5 NCAAF this 2020.
