RantSports 2014 Preseason Official College Football Top 25 Rankings

Preview for Ole Miss

Hugh Freeze is doing one heck of a job for the Ole Miss football program. After all, he did land the No. 1 recruit for 2013, and is welcoming in a solid recruiting class for the upcoming season. The Rebels may not be a favorite to win the SEC West, but improving from their 8-5 record is realistic.

Preview for UCF

No longer on the team is QB Blake Bortles, but if the Knights can get off to a fast start — play Penn State and Missouri right away — they will have a serious shot at going undefeated. Considering the team has a talented running attack, UCF could end up winning the AAC yet again.

Preview for Texas Tech

The Red Raiders averaged 392.8 passing yards per game last season. They got off to a fast start in 2013, but lost five games in a row in the middle of the season. The team certainly has the talent to compete in the Big 12, but winning the conference is a different story.

Preview for Louisville

Louisville football will more than likely go through an adjustment period in 2014. A new head coach, QB and conference tends to have that effect. The ACC is Florida State’s to lose, but the Cardinals won’t have to take on the defending national champs until later in the year.

Preview for Georgia

What a disappointing season the Dawgs had last year. Entering 2013, not many people probably predicted the team to lose five games. That happened, though. Luckily, Hutson Mason is more than capable at QB, and Todd Gurley is one of the top running backs entering the year.

Preview for Texas A&M

No more Johnny Football could mean bad things for the Aggies in 2014. One thing is for sure and that is the defense has to improve. It doesn’t help that the Aggies will have to take on South Carolina, Ole Miss, Alabama, Auburn, Missouri and LSU, but life in the SEC is never easy.

Preview for Notre Dame

Notre Dame has a brutal schedule in 2014 — plays teams like Stanford and Florida State just two name two — but at least QB Everett Golson will be back. This is the same Everett Golson who helped lead the Fighting Irish to the title game in 2012.

Preview for Oklahoma State

Unfortunately for Oklahoma State, it will take on the defending champs to open the season. The Cowboys have a lot of turnover, so it will be interesting to see how they do in 2014. Of course, the talent is there for the team to succeed, but a down season could be in store.

Preview for Missouri

It’s going to be tough for the Tigers to repeat their success from 2013, but I think they can do just that. They have an easier SEC schedule — if that is even possible — and QB Maty Mauk showed he can succeed (threw 1,071 yards and 11 TDs last year).

Preview for Clemson

Life without Tajh Boyd — along with other key players — will be difficult, but Clemson still has the talent to win the ACC. The offense probably isn’t going to be as good, but beating Georgia in the first game would be a great start.

Believe it or not, QB Taylor Kelly could win the Heisman in the upcoming season. After all, he had 4,243 total yards and 37 TDs in 2013. The problem won’t be on the offensive side of the ball, though, as the defense loses its fair share of players. If the Sun Devils’ offense can carry the load, Arizona State could win the Pac-12. With that said, the competition in the conference is fierce, and by no means is ASU the best team entering the year.

Preview for Wisconsin

IF the Badgers can pull off a win against LSU to open up the season, they could end up finishing the year undefeated. Why you ask? Well, the Badgers managed to dodge Ohio State and Michigan State, and their toughest opponent in the Big 10 is looking like a matchup with Nebraska.

Preview for USC

The USC Trojans will not enter the season with as much hype as the top teams in the Pac-12, but they will still get a good amount of hype. After all, the team does come in at No. 13 on our list. This could be the year that USC becomes a national powerhouse once again, but it won’t be easy.

Preview for South Carolina

South Carolina is coming off of a very successful season, which seems to be the trend the last couple of years. The Gamecocks have the talent to win the SEC East, and should be the favorites to do so entering 2014.

Preview for UCLA

The Pac-12 will have a good amount of Heisman hopefuls in 2014, and UCLA QB Brett Hundley is one of them. If you are looking for a team to win the conference outside of Oregon or Stanford, look no further than the Bruins.

Preview for LSU

LSU will play a talented Wisconsin team in Week 1. The Tigers will also have to take on the likes of Auburn and Alabama — two favorites in the SEC. As usual, Les Miles’ team will be expected to compete for a championship, and, as usual, no one should be surprised if the team wins 10 or more games.

Preview for Baylor

QB Bryce Petty is back, which means the Baylor Bears should have no problem on the offensive side of the ball. The Big 12 will play tough, but if the Bears can beat Oklahoma on Nov. 8, the team could have a great shot at making the first College Football Playoff.

Preview for Stanford

Losing head coach Jim Harbaugh and QB Andrew Luck apparently didn’t mess up the program too much. The team, once again, will have the talent to compete for a Pac-12 title, which means it will also have the talent to compete for a championship.

Preview for Ohio State

The Buckeyes have already received bad news. Quarterback Braxton Miller is out for the season. Not only was Miller expected to challenge for the Heisman, but he was also supposed to help lead the Buckeyes to the playoff. Hopefully QB J.T. Barrett is ready.

Preview for Oklahoma

The Sooners managed to take down Alabama in last year’s Sugar Bowl. Considering the Tide were many people’s favorite to win the title, I would consider that pretty good. QB Trevor Knight may not be one of the biggest names entering the year, but that could change with a great 2014 season.

Preview for Oregon

Teams like Stanford, UCLA, USC, Arizona State and many others could come away with the Pac-12 title, but they will have to be better than Oregon to achieve that feat. The only problem for those teams is QB Marcus Mariota and Co. will have no problem putting up big numbers on the scoreboard.

Preview for Alabama

Alabama didn’t have a good season last year. Well, for Alabama football standards. The Crimson Tide didn’t even make the SEC championship game, let alone the BCS championship, and lost their bowl game. New QB at the throne or not, Nick Saban’s guys will be ready on Day 1.

Preview for Auburn

Winners of the 2013 SEC championship game, the Auburn Tigers will be good enough to do the same in 2014. The Tigers may have lost the BCS championship against Florida State, but they got back on the map last season and will stay on that map all season long in 2014-15.

Preview for Michigan State

If it weren’t for four points, Michigan State would have gone undefeated last season — lost to Notre Dame 17-13 in September. Luckily for the Spartans, they are stacked, and are likely the heavy favorites to win the Big 10 now that Braxton Miller is out.

Preview for Florida State

The Florida State Seminoles are the best team in college football until beaten. After all, they are coming off of a national championship and Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston is back.