The WAY TOO EARLY Top 25

Well, the first season of the College Football Playoff is in the books. #2 Oregon fell to the underrated #4 Ohio State Buckeyes behind their 3rd-String QB Cardale Jones 42-20. This was overall, a very interesting season for the NCAA: FSU QB Jameis Winston is handed his first loss as a starting QB since 2011, Wisconsin RB Melvin Gordon breaks the single game rushing record, only to have it broken again the following week, and West Virginia QB Clint Trickett was forced to retire from football due to having 5 concussions within the last 14 months.

As we move past this season, ESPN released their Way Too Early Top 25 for the 2015 season. After reading this, I see a few teams that shocked me where they were ranked, even before National Signing Day for their recruiting class.

#1 TCU: Admit it: the Hornfrogs got screwed this year. They were ranked 3rd and then dropped to 6th in one week, where they won their game, convincingly. The reason for their high ranking is due to TCU having 10 offensive starters and 6 defensive starters returning this upcoming year. Led by returning QB Tervone Boykin, who I believe has the best shot at being next year's Heisman winner, TCU dismantled Ole Miss in the Chick-fil-a bowl this year. The fact that they play in what is slowly becoming a weak Big 12, with the exception of Baylor (#3) and Oklahoma State (#24), means that other teams in the Top 10 can face harder teams and leap over TCU for their spot, the same thing that happened to the Seminoles this season. Teams like USC, Oregon, Ohio State, and even Michigan State all have strong schedules that include top ranked teams currently. Also, they do have the #36 recruiting class. Even though they have many returning starters on defense, can they fill the holes left by start defenders? The Hornfrogs are good, but can they make the playoffs convincingly this time? (Key Matchup: Nov 27 vs. #3 Baylor)

#4 USC: Now don't get me wrong, USC has a great program and history when it comes to being one of the top football teams in the NCAA. The problem is that the Trojans have not been ranked within the top 5 since week 3 of the 2012 season behind QB Matt Barkley (currently riding the bench in Philadelphia). But they are only losing 6 starters to the draft this year and are currently ranked 7th in recruiting with 21 players, including RB Ronald Jones II who committed at the Under Armour Bowl on January 2nd. QB Cody Kessler, Junior, will be back to play another season with the Trojans as well. He will be losing his WR1 to the draft, the rest of his receiving core is young freshmen and sophomores gearing up for a legitimate playoff run. (Key Matchup: Nov 21 at #5 Oregon)

#8 Georgia: The Bulldogs over the last few years have been so close to clinching either a spot in the National Championship or even a chance at the SEC Title. The reason they have fallen? This team over the past few years has been subject to many injuries on both sides of the ball, including Heisman candidate RB Todd Gurley. This is not why I am surprised why they are ranked so high.
Georgia is also the highest ranked SEC team on this Top 25, with Alabama a little farther behind at #10. The reason I am cautious about their high ranking is due to their losses in the draft. The Bulldogs are losing their QB1, their top 2 WR, their star RB, and a Center. The first offensive player being recruited by Georgia, WR Jayson Stanley, ranks just outside of the Top 150 recruits of this class. Frankly, I see too many question marks on Georgia's offense to rank them so high. (Key Matchup: Oct 3 vs. #10 Alabama)

#19 Florida State: (I will do my best not to sound bias when writing this column, but I do feel disrespected we were ranked so low) FSU has just come off their second perfect regular season this year before losing their first game in over 2 years to the Oregon Ducks. With only 4 offensive starters returning (2WR, 1 RB, 1LG), it is easy to see that they could be in for a rough year. Especially since they are losing Heisman Trophy Winner QB Jameis Winston. I know that this contradicts what I stated in my analysis of Georgia, but this is different by one key fact: the recuits. FSU is currently ranked #2 in recruiting class, headlined by the #1 DE Josh Sweat. FSU currently has 10 recruits ranked in ESPN's Top 100, and most of them are #1-5 at their respective position. Under HC Jimbo Fisher, FSU has done an amazing job at recruiting. The Seminoles will have to work very hard this year with a very young team to return to the playoffs and avenge their loss. (Key Matchup: vs. #9 Clemson)

More questions will arise this year: Who will replace Marcus Mariota in Oregon? Can FSU replace Winston? Can the Big 10 return to it's former glory after OSU won the title? I think the most important question is this: Are you in?