My AP Top 25 Ballot: Why Clemson, Fresno State and Texas could surprise this season
Because it’s never too early to hate on someone for how they rank college football teams, here is an in-depth look at my preseason ballot with the Associated Press Top 25 college poll.
Enjoy!
Surprise team near the top
The sun rises in the east and Alabama opens the season ranked No. 1. Those are two things that never change.
But there is some debate about which team should be ranked second behind Nick Saban’s group. I went against the grain with my vote and put Clemson in the No. 2 spot. I like the Tigers, because they won their final six games of 2021 and have a boatload of starters coming back.
Clemson was unusually mediocre on offense last season and still won 10 games.
If they can get clicking on offense and they can stay where they have been on defense, they could easily find themselves back in the playoff mix this season, especially with a soft ACC schedule in front of them.
Georgia, Ohio State and Notre Dame round out my top five.
Four Big 12 teams in my top 25
Baylor leads the way at No. 8. The Bears are preseason favorites in the Big 12 this season, and I’m not going to argue that based on the way they finished.
Oklahoma is next at No. 15. The Sooners are admittedly a bit of a wild card. I could see their first season under Brent Venables going many different directions, but I like Dillon Gabriel at quarterback and Oklahoma has lots of talent. It will be a factor in the conference race.
I liked Oklahoma State earlier than most last season, and took some grief for it before the Cowboys won their fist six games and finished 12-2. Humble-brag! It will be hard for them to repeat that record, but they will still be one of the better teams in the league with Spencer Sanders returning.
Texas is the only other Big 12 team I ranked, at No. 25. Shame on me if I’m too confident in the Longhorns. They have been underachieving for a while now. If they finish with a losing record and can’t beat Kansas this season, I will deserve ridicule. But something feels different about this team.
Bijan Robinson is an incredible running back. New quarterback Quinn Ewers was the nation’s No. 1 overall recruit in 2021. I’m struggling to see how they’re not going to be good. If Texas learns how to block and/or play defense, watch out.
Kansas State was one of the other teams I considered near the end of my ballot. Sorry, EMAW nation. If this was a top 30 poll, the Wildcats would be in. Adrian Martinez and Deuce Vaughn can move K-State into my top 25 very quickly if they lead the Cats to some early wins.
Fresno State is my sleeper team
If you’re looking for a team from outside the power conferences that could be sneaky good this season, you could do a lot worse than Fresno State.
The Bulldogs bring back Jake Haener at quarterback and Jalen Cropper at receiver. They’re going to put up a lot of points with Jeff Tedford coming out of retirement to coach them.
Tedford won 22 games during his first two seasons at Fresno State. I’m thinking history repeats itself out West. I have the Bulldogs ranked at No. 23.
Nobody’s perfect
I will be shocked if many of my projections turn out to be exactly right by the time a champion is crowned in January. Though I consider myself an expert on all things Big 12 football (with an emphasis on Kansas State), I really couldn’t tell you that much about most teams in other parts of the country this time of year.
Phil Steele, I am not.
But I promise to watch a lot of football this season and improve my ballot each and every week. Until then, hate away.
Kellis Robinett’s preseason top 25
1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Georgia
4. Ohio State
5. Notre Dame
6. Texas A&M
7. Michigan
8. Baylor
9. Utah
10. North Carolina State
11. USC
12. Oregon
13. Michigan State
14. Cincinnati
15. Oklahoma
16. Wake Forest
17. Oklahoma State
18. Miami
19. Wisconsin
20. Kentucky
21. Arkansas
22. Houston
23. Fresno State
24. South Carolina
25. Texas
This story was originally published August 15, 2022 at 5:00 AM with the headline "My AP Top 25 Ballot: Why Clemson, Fresno State and Texas could surprise this season."