There are 25 teams that start the season in the preseason US LBM coaches poll. However, history has shown that several will not be in the final rankings released after the national championship game.
Recently, it’s just slightly better than a 50-50 proposition that teams remain. Last season, there were nine teams that didn’t finish in the Top 25. There were 14 that didn’t make it in 2022. And 12 dropped off in 2021. In the three seasons before then, the average was double-figures. Such is the difficulty of predicting how things will play out in the era of the transfer portal and conference realignment.
So with that in mind, who are the overrated college football teams before this season starts? Here are the five most likely to fall back from where they started. They might have good seasons, but the expectations in August are way too high.
Michigan
The Wolverines are the lowest-ranked defending champion since Auburn in 2012. They still appear too high at No. 8 given the departure of Jim Harbaugh, the loss of key personnel to the NFL and increased competition in this year’s Big Ten. Oh, and there’s also a difficult non-conference game against Texas. The quarterback situation was unsettled after spring, meaning the already limited passing game will have challenges. New receivers and offensive linemen must step up. Expect coach Sherron Moore to stick with a ground-and-pound attack to shorten games. The defense can help keep games close against top competition. The offense doesn’t look to be good enough to win them.
Michigan running back Donovan Edwards (7) runs the ball after breaking a tackle attempt by Penn State linebacker Tyler Elsdon (43) during the second quarter at Beaver Stadium.
Florida State
The sting of missing out on the College Football Playoff surely will be motivation for the No. 10 Seminoles. It’s also worth…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/preseason-college-football-coaches-poll-170259799.html
Author : USA TODAY Sports
Publish date : 2024-08-05 17:02:59
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