College football way-too-early Top 25 after spring has SEC flavor with Georgia at No. 1

Spring practices have wrapped up. The transfer portal still has some players looking for new homes. And the kickoff to the college football season is still four months away. Seems like the perfect time to update our way-too-early top 25 rankings.

A lot of has changed since Michigan walked away with the national title and we released our first way-too-early Top 25 after the championship game. Jim Harbaugh left the Wolverines for the NFL. Nick Saban retired after 17 seasons as Alabama coach. Players left early for the NFL draft, while scores of others jumped in the portal.

So those rankings from January definitely need some tweaking. Can Michigan repeat after the loss of its coach and key players? Is Georgia still the favorite? What happens with Alabama and its new coach Kalen DeBoer?

Here’s our post-spring outlook with the offseason at its midpoint and the rankings from January in parenthesis:

1. Georgia (2023 record: 13-1) (1)

The Bulldogs were left out of the College Football Playoff. Don’t expect that to be the case this year with an expanded field. Carson Beck, one of the elite quarterbacks in the country, leads their quest to get back to the top of the college football mountain. Florida transfer Trevor Etienne boosts a depleted running back position, and there’s enough talent at receiver and tight end to make this an upper-echelon offense even with some losses. The defense boasts LB Smael Mondon and DB Malaki Starks among its standouts.

Georgia quarterback Carson Beck (15) throws a pass during the 2023 SEC championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

2. Texas (12-2) (4)

With two teams in front of them losing their championship-winning coaches, the Longhorns slide up a couple spots. QB Quinn Ewers and a veteran group of linemen will be the foundation of the offense. The transfer portal rebuilt the receiving corps and…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/college-football-way-too-early-104650398.html

Author : USA TODAY Sports

Publish date : 2024-05-08 10:46:50

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