My College Football Playoff Preseason Top 25

Stoney Keeley has released his preseason top 25 even though the college football season has technically already started, oops...

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Ah, yes – the end of another summer, and the beginning of another football season. It feels good to be back, folks. And, sure – maybe I miscalculated when the season actually started back when I made my initial 2021 preview content plan. I probably should’ve had this out last week, but here we are nonetheless. It’s a time honored tradition here on SoBros Network. Everyone else has to put out a preseason top 25, and I’m no different – so, let’s get on to the list – my College Football Playoff preseason top 25.

Big Natural’s CFP Preseason Top 25

25. LSU Tigers
24. Penn State Nittany Lions
23. Texas Longhorns
22. USC Trojans
21. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
20. Indiana Hoosiers
19. Florida Gators
18. Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns
17. Kentucky Wildcats
16. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
15. Iowa Hawkeyes
14. Arizona State Sun Devils
13. Miami Hurricanes
12. Wisconsin Badgers
11. North Carolina Tar Heels
10. Ole Miss Rebels
9. Oregon Ducks
8. Cincinnati Bearcats
7. Iowa State Cyclones
6. Clemson Tigers
5. Ohio State Buckeyes
4. Texas A&M Aggies
3. Oklahoma Sooners
2. Alabama Crimson Tide
1. Georgia Bulldogs

Observations

Georgia over ‘Bama – These teams are awfully close, and should be two of the best, if not the two best, defenses in all of college football. The reason I’m ranking the Bulldogs ahead of the Tide, by a hair mind you, is the experience at quarterback with JT Daniels poised for a Heisman caliber season. I think Bryce Young is going to be an electric play-maker, but we just haven’t seen him a lot in meaningful game action just yet. He doesn’t have the trust factor that a guy like Daniels has and that’s the difference for me right now.

Texas A&M – I love the Aggies this year, and if we’re going just straight up who the best teams are, and not projecting who will have the best record, you can make a strong case for them being #3. But, the SEC is going to cannibalize itself like it always does, and I figure A&M is the odd team out. I wouldn’t at all be surprised for this to be one of the last four teams standing come December, though.

Clemson – The ACC has been horrendous over the last couple of seasons, but I think there are a couple of bona fide threats to Clemson’s crown in North Carolina and Miami this season when you factor in all of the talent that Clemson lost to the NFL. You don’t just replace a generational talent like Trevor Lawrence. I think they ultimately win the ACC, but I don’t think this team will be as impressive as the last few.

Ole Miss – Yeah…yeah…I’m that high on Ole Miss. I think they have the best quarterback in the SEC, and electric offense, and a gunslingin’ head coach. If they can make a few stops on defense, they could be one of the surprise CFP contenders.

Group of Five – Things seem pretty cut and dry for the Group of Five this year. Cincinnati is poised for a special season, and they’re going to be hard to knock out of that Go5 New Year’s Six bowl slot. Coastal Carolina and Louisiana-Lafayette are contenders as well, but it really looks like a one-horse race. Cincinnati competing against itself not to slip up and lose a game. I will say though – there’s always one Go5 team that rises up out of nowhere to make this race interesting. I’m curious to see who that will be this season.

Wisconsin – I’m high on Wisconsin, too. That’s a veteran team with the experience to make the Big Ten interesting. They may be Ohio State biggest threat to another CFP appearance.

Arizona State – I don’t see the Sun Devils getting a lot of love nationally, but I think they’re a sneaky good dark horse picks. They have the explosive quarterback in Jayden Daniels, and Herm Edwards has had several seasons now to build a solid foundation. 2021 could be the year it all comes together.

LSU & Florida – I’m not as high on LSU and Florida as others. It feels like Coach O and company are chasing the success of 2019 when they don’t have a quarterback as good as Joe Burrow. The Gators have to completely retool their offense for a totally different style of quarterback. Both of these rosters are going to be super talented, as they almost always are, but they don’t look as complete as the upper echelon of the SEC.

Music City Bowl – Alright, the home town bowl game…it’s taking place on 12/30, televised on ESPN. I’m going with the Indiana Hoosiers vs. Auburn Tigers. I think there’s a chance (as you’ll see below) that two SEC teams sneak into the CFP, and that would greatly effect the pecking order of who goes where in the bowl games. If not, I think there’s a good chance that Mizzou could end up here. If not, Arkansas and Tennessee could be options. I like Indiana out of the Big Ten and think this could be a ranked team when the game actually happens. Northwestern is a favorite of this bowl game, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them land here either.

New Year’s Six Predictions:

Rose Bowl: Wisconsin Badgers vs. Oregon Ducks
Sugar Bowl: Oklahoma Sooners vs. Texas A&M Aggies
Fiesta Bowl: Clemson Tigers vs. Cincinnati Bearcats
Peach Bowl: North Carolina Tar Heels vs. Ole Miss Rebels
Cotton Bowl: Georgia Bulldogs vs. Iowa State Cyclones
Orange Bowl: Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Alabama Crimson Tide
National Championship: Georgia Bulldogs vs. Alabama Crimson Tide

You can listen to Steven McCash and myself previewing the 2021 season on the return of the College Football Roundup HERE:

Listen to “2021, Ep. 01: Previewing the 2021 Season” on Spreaker.

Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley