Yes, I know technically, four games were played last weekend, but we're going to ignore them for now (You're welcome, Colorado State.) and present the 2018 Meaningless Preseason Rankings.
Your Top 25:
The face of a man sorry to be in this situation [Jeffrey Becker/USA Today Sports]
Rk
|
Team
|
Score
|
1
|
Ohio State
|
45.4
|
Ohio State continues the Big Ten's not-so-proud tradition of failing to take enough action following a terrible thing and then totally mishandling the response once said terrible thing and failure to act come to light. However, notwithstanding his 3ish-week suspension, Urban Meyer has led the Buckeyes to 11-2 or better since his hire, and OSU promises to be good (at football, at least) this year too.
2
|
Alabama
|
42.3
|
Speaking of being good and likely continuing to be good, Alabama seems to lose only one game per year. Sometimes they lose to Clemson in the National Championship. Sometimes they lose to Ole Miss but still win the SEC and the National Championship. Sometimes they lose to Auburn, thereby losing the SEC West and not getting to play in the National Championship. Sometimes they lose to Auburn, lose the SEC West, still get invited to the Playoff, and end up winning the National Championship. Which will it be this year?
3
|
Wisconsin
|
42.2
|
Wisconsin plays classic, three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust, Big Ten football, winning on the ground and with a stout defense. Lee Corso picked the Badgers to win the National Championship this year. Not so my fast, my friend. While I expect Scott Frost not to resuscitate Nebraska in a single season and Wisconsin will once again win the Big Ten West, they'll have to get past the East's contender just to get an invitation, something they have not done despite making it to the B1G Championship three out of the last four years.
4
|
Penn State
|
41.1
|
James Franklin has returned the Nittany Lions to contendership, winning the Big Ten in 2016 and falling one game short of winning the division in 2017. Penn State's scoring offense and scoring defense both ranked in the Top Ten last year, and their turnover margin at +12 was just outside the Top Ten. We'll see if Penn State can fight their way to the top of a division with four talented teams this year.
5
|
Notre Dame
|
40.2
|
Notre Dame finished last season with a 10-3 record and seventh place in rushing yardage, even with a strong schedule that included Georgia, Miami (FL), and USC. But they are immediately tested this year hosting Michigan in Week One.
6
|
Clemson
|
40.0
|
7
|
Georgia
|
39.9
|
8
|
Oklahoma
|
36.8
|
9
|
Navy
|
36.5
|
10
|
Auburn
|
36.4
|
11
|
Michigan State
|
34.5
|
12
|
Michigan
|
34.2
|
13
|
MS State
|
34.1
|
14
|
Washington
|
34.0
|
15
|
TCU
|
33.9
|
16
|
Florida Atlantic
|
33.8
|
17
|
Northwestern
|
33.7
|
18
|
Army
|
33.7
|
19
|
UCF
|
33.4
|
20
|
OK State
|
33.3
|
21
|
Louisville
|
33.1
|
22
|
Iowa
|
33.1
|
23
|
Georgia Tech
|
33.0
|
24
|
NC State
|
32.3
|
25
|
Wake Forest
|
32.1
|
Conference Rankings
Conference
|
Avg.
|
Big 10
|
30.1
|
ACC
|
29.2
|
Big 12
|
26.4
|
SEC
|
25.4
|
Pac-12
|
23.1
|
American
|
21.6
|
Mountain West
|
19.1
|
MAC
|
16.9
|
C-USA
|
15.2
|
Sun Belt
|
14.1
|
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