The Way Too Early Top 25. Rankings 11-15
Credit- https://gohuskies.com/
11. Washington Huskies
2023 record: 14-1, 9-0 Pac-12. Pac-12 Champions. Lost to Michigan in the National Championship.
Losses: QB Michael Penix Jr., WR Rome Odunze, WR Ja'Lynn Polk, OT Troy Fautanu, DE Bralen Trice, LB Alphonzo Tuputala, LB Edefuan Ulofoshio, S Jabbar Muhammad, S Dominique Hampton,
My slightly biased thoughts: Saban retired, and DeBoer left to take his place. Everyone is gone. The cupboard seems to be bare in Seattle. Even with the hire of Fisch from Arizona, things do not look good for Washington. Penix's replacement, Will Rogers, re-entered the portal after committing to Washington soon after DeBoer left for Alabama but decided to stay. Leading receivers Odunze and Polk are gone, as is leading rusher Johnson, who will be replaced by Arizona transfer Jonah Coleman. The offensive line is mostly gone, either through the portal or declaring for the draft. With 15 incoming transfers, 10 of them from Fisch's old school, Arizona, will Washington still be able to compete in the Big Ten next season? The Huskies lost a majority of their weapons, even with the addition of Will Rogers and Coleman. The outside threats and offensive line may be suspect at best in 2024 against the big, physical defensive fronts that Big Ten teams’ line up with. Case in point: the national championship game, when the Jim Moore award-winning offensive line of 2023 was consistently overpowered by a superior Michigan defensive front. Now most of that group is gone. Having Washington at the 11th spot feels like a pipe dream. Fisch is a good coach, as shown by his accomplishments in Arizona, but now he must lead the Huskies into the Big Ten without Penix, two high draft pick receivers, and an untested front.
Washington will enter 2024 with the 51st ranked recruiting class and the 44th ranked portal class, with 15 transferring in and 22 going out
Season Review- The Huskies enter their first season in the Big Ten with little in the weapons department. If Saban had not shaken up the college football world with his retirement, Washington could have been a threat in the Big Ten. Home games against Washington State, USC, Northwestern, UCLA, and Michigan could have set them up to make a playoff push. Winning two of these could be a miracle. Away games are not kind to the Huskies. They go to Iowa, Rutgers, Oregon, Penn State, and Indiana. If Fisch can build Washington like he built Arizona, the Huskies could make a future run. However, how patient will Husky fans be after just a taste of success?
Prediction-3-9 (Losses to every Big Ten team they play). Not playoff bound, or bowl bound
12. Penn State Nittany Lions
2023 record: 10-3, 7-2 Big Ten Lost to Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl
Losses: CB Kalen King, CB Johnny Dixon, OT Olu Fashanu, DE Chop Robinson, DE Adisa Isaac, OT Caedan Wallace, LB Curtis Jacobs, TE Theo Johnson, C Hunter Nourzad
My slightly biased thoughts: The Nittany Lions had the third-best defense and the 12th best offense last year, but for some reason, they felt very lethargic on that side of the ball. When the Lions' defense was on, it was on, posting three shutouts last season. While the offense felt anemic, many questions were thrown at head coach Franklin regarding his offense, which even led to firing OC Mike Yurcich in early to mid-November after scoring only 12 points against the 2nd ranked Ohio State defense. Still, the Lions averaged over 30 points a game. New OC Andy Kotelnicki comes in from Kansas to run that side of the ball. Tom Allen heads to Penn State to run their vaunted defense after his dismissal as the head man from Indiana and the departure of Manny Diaz, who took the Duke head coaching job. Allen comes in to lead a defense that looks depleted, having both shutdown corners, Kalen King and Johnny Dixon, declare for the draft, along with defensive ends Chop Robinson and Adisa Isaac. "Depleted" may be a strong term, as Allen does have a nice wealth of young, experienced talent at his disposal, such as linebackers Kobe King (second on the team in tackles) and Abdul Carter (fourth on the team in tackles), and safety Kevin Winston Jr., who led the Lions' defense in tackles last year. On the offensive side of the ball, Penn State returns its two-headed monster in the backfield with the return of Kaytron Allen (902 rush yards) and Nicholas Singleton (752 rushing yards). Quarterback Drew Allar is back, hoping to improve on the Nittany Lions' 79th best passing offense. Transfer portal acquisition Julian Fleming and returning tight end Tyler Warren are poised to help Allar in 2024. They do lose both starting tackles, which will need to be addressed if Franklin hopes not to have to peel Allar off the turf after every play.
Penn State enters the 2024 season with the 16th best recruiting class and the 20th best transfer class with 6 coming in and 8 going out.
Season Review- Can Franklin finally get over the hump and beat Ohio State or Michigan? Luckily for him, he only has one shot when the Lions get Ohio State at home, which may be a whiteout game, and skip Michigan unless they square off in the Big Ten Championship. Away games against old rival West Virginia to open the season, and at USC and Wisconsin back-to-back, with a bye week in between, followed by the home game against Ohio State, could be a tough stretch if it weren't for the bye week after the USC game. The schedule is set up nicely for Penn State, who, if they can either be perfect or only lose one conference game, could get into the Big Ten Championship.
Prediction- 11-1 (Loss to Ohio State)
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13. Utah Utes
2023 record: 8-5, 5-4 Pac-12 Lost to Northwestern in the Las Vegas Bowl.
Expected key losses: CB Miles Battle, G Keaton Bills, S Sione Vaki, S Cole Bishop, WR Devaughn Vele, CB JaTravis Broughton, RB Ja'Quinden Jackson, QB Bryson Barnes, QB Nate Johnson
My slightly biased thoughts: Cameron is Rising! Ok, that was bad, but I had to do it in my delirium of writing all of this. Rising missed all the 2023 season with a massive knee injury he suffered in the 2022/23 Rose Bowl, but he will be returning for his 7th season to lead the Utes into the Big 12. Coming back with Rising is tight end Brant Kuithe, who also missed the 2023 season with a knee injury he suffered against Arizona State in 2022. Running back Micah Bernard is another player coming out of the triage who will be returning for the 2024 season. Micah missed 11 games in 2023. If the word "injured" needed a picture to describe it, the Utah Utes logo could be it. Three productive players missed most, if not all, last season due to injuries. On the plus side, Utah still went 8-5 using both their 2nd string and 3rd string quarterbacks and beat the mighty SEC's Florida Gators in Utah. Back to the downside, both of those quarterbacks, Barnes, and Johnson, have transferred, Barnes to Utah State and Johnson to Vanderbilt. The Utes were carried by their defense in 2023, posting the 19th best defense in the nation. Unfortunately, they had to carry the 100th ranked offense in the nation. Only a few teams can pull off that feat with such a discrepancy. Look to Iowa as an example. Head Coach Kyle Whittingham can coach; there is no doubt about it. Leading a struggling offense to an 8-win season is a massive accomplishment. They ripped off four straight wins, shutting down a UCLA team before losing to Oregon State, Oregon, Arizona, and Washington, which is not bad with the Utes struggling offensively. The Utes will be one of those teams entering 2024 with young, experienced talent, especially on the offensive line. Three sophomores and one freshman offensive lineman recorded over 500 snaps in 2023. Five of the six linemen who played in the bowl game, four were sophomores, and one was a freshman. Entering a new conference, having youthful experience on the line will help Rising in his comeback tour. The loss of leading rusher Ja'Quinden Jackson to Arkansas leaves a void, but with Micah Bernard, hopefully coming back, there won't be that much of a drop-off. A key piece on the defense which looks to be returning next season is team leader in tackles (87) linebacker Levani Damuni. His return could help set Utah up to make a run in the wide-open Big 12, especially with safeties Cole Bishop and Sione Vaki, along with team sack leader (12.5) Jonah Elliss all forgoing 2024 and declaring for the draft.
Utah enters the 2024 season with 47th ranked recruiting class and the 37th ranked transfer class with 9 incoming transfers and 15 outgoing.
Season review: The Big 12 is wide open with the departure of Oklahoma and Texas. So, who will step up and rise to the top? Utah faces Oklahoma State in Stillwater, which could be a highly entertaining game. They also must travel to Boulder to face the Fighting Deion’s and to Orlando to square up against a potentially good UCF team. Houston could be a tough match up with Tulane’s former head coach, Willie Fritz now in charge of the Cougars. Home games against Iowa State, Arizona, and bitter rival BYU sets Utah up to make a run for the Big 12.
Prediction- 9-3 (losses to Oklahoma State, Houston, and UCF
14. LSU Tigers
2023 record: 10-3, 6-2 SEC. Beat Wisconsin in the Reliaquest Bowl.
Losses: QB Jayden Daniels, WR Malik Nabers, WR Brian Thomas Jr., C Charles Turner III, S Andre' Sam, LB Omar Speights, DT Jordan Jefferson
My slightly biased thoughts: Over 8,000 yards are gone on offense. Jayden Daniels alone produced almost 5,000 of those, and he is off to the NFL. Receivers Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. both had over 1,000 receiving yards and double digits in touchdowns. They are both gone. Notre Dame transfer and second on the team in rushing, Logan Diggs, is also gone after deciding to transfer again, this time to Ole Miss, adding another blow to the top offense from 2023. It is not all doom and gloom for the LSU offense. Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier put on a showing in the bowl game against Wisconsin, throwing for 395 yards and 3 touchdowns. The offensive line should be a massive shoulder to lean on as the Tigers try to find where their productivity will come from, with well over 2,000 snaps returning, anchored by First-Team SEC tackle Will Campbell. Liberty transfer receiver CJ Daniels will hopefully ease the sting of losing over 2,000 receiving yards, and Vanderbilt quarterback transfer AJ Swann may push Nussmeier for the starting nod. The biggest challenge for LSU will be trying to improve the 82nd ranked defense. Teams averaged over 400 yards against the Tigers last season, which is a far cry from what college football fans are used to seeing. Now, to be fair, it is hard to have a defense that is in the top 25 and an offense that is ranked in the top 5 at the same time. It doesn't happen very often when both are dominant. Usually, one or the other is dominant while the other slags or game manages. Brian Kelly cleaned house in the defensive coaching offices and brought in former Missouri defensive coordinator Brandon Baker. Missouri did not have the offense that LSU had last year, but they did have a top 25 defense. Baker is tasked with rebuilding that side of the ball.
LSU enters the 2024 season with the 7th best recruiting class, and the 52nd best transfer class bringing in 6, but losing 14.
Season review- Season review: LSU has two Power 5 conference games scheduled for 2024. Granted, they probably won't be much of games, but their opponents are still in Power 5 conferences. The Tigers open their season in Las Vegas against USC and will have UCLA visiting Tiger Stadium in late September. SEC home games coming against Ole Miss, Alabama, and Oklahoma and the toughest away games being at Texas A&M and Florida. LSU sets themselves up nicely to make a top 12 run and be in the playoffs if Baker can turn the defense around.
Prediction- 10-2 (Losses to Alabama and Ole Miss) I can see LSU beating both teams and losing to A&M and Fla, but they will finish 10-2.
15. Oklahoma Sooners
2023 record: 10-3, 7-2 Big 12. Lost to Arizona in the Alamo Bowl.
Losses: QB Dillon Gabriel, OT Tyler Guyton, C Andrew Raym, NT Isaiah Coe, OT Walter Rouse, WR Drake Stoops, G McKade Mettauer, DE Rondell Bothroyd
My slightly biased thoughts: Oklahoma, Where the wind comes sweepin’ down the plain.
And the wavin' wheat can sure smell sweet
When the wind comes right behind the rain.
Where Dillion Gabriel jumps back into the portal to play for Oregon
And the fans try to run out a true freshman who made his first start against a tough and hungry Arizona team in the bowl game.
Where a fanbase has harassed the father of a player who transferred away from Oklahoma.
And both coordinators had to be replaced.
Venables can coach defense. He has not been too bad as the headman for the Sooners, but he did post a losing record in his first season. Oklahoma's first since 1998. Upheaval and shock could be minor descriptions for what was going on in Norman after the sudden departure of Lincoln Riley. Brent, who had turned down so many opportunities to head a program, finally accepted the Oklahoma job; he does have ties to Bob Stoops and Oklahoma. The Sooners finally got on track in the 2023 season, beating Texas and posting a regular season record of 10-2, but they lost to Oklahoma State and were left out of the Big 12 Championship. Starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel, with his 3,660 passing yards and 42 total touchdowns from 2023, took off for Oregon. Freshman quarterback Jackson Arnold stepped into the starting role for the Alamo Bowl. He did not play too badly against a very hungry Arizona team. He did make some mistakes, but the future looks bright for him and the Sooners. It was surprising how much hate and doom and vile Oklahoma fans spat in his direction after the game. The Sooners are thin upfront, losing all five starters and several backups to the transfer portal and the NFL draft. The offensive line will be losing over 2,200 snaps from last year. Incoming transfers of four-game starter at Washington, Geirean Hatchett, multi-game starter from USC Michael Tarquin, and former Michigan State starting tackle Spencer Brown are looking to shore up the holes left behind from last season. Team leader in receiving yards Stoops is gone, but the next two leaders, Nic Anderson and Jalil Farooq, are back, along with leading rusher Gavin Sawchuk. The addition of multiple-time transfer quarterback Casey Thompson could be a steady and reliable hand that the Sooners' offense can lean on, along with the young Arnold. If, and this is a big if, Casey can stay healthy. Oklahoma's defense ranked 49th in 2023, up from 99th in 2022. This is a massive and needed jump, and most keep getting better with Oklahoma heading to the SEC in 2024. This will be the task for new defensive coordinator Zac Alley, who came over from Jacksonville State, where he was at the helm of the 33rd best defense in the country.
Oklahoma enters the 2024 season with the 9th best recruiting class and the 31st ranking transfer class bringing in 12 transfers while losing 19.
Season Review: The Sooners enter their first season in the SEC in 2024. They followed the lead of the big SEC dogs and lined their non-conference games up with potential cupcakes (Temple, Houston, Tulane, and Maine). Their conference schedule is challenging but not undoable. Home games against Tennessee (their welcome to the SEC) and Alabama are their only true at-home challenges. Away from Norman is where Oklahoma will need to make some strides. Away games against Auburn, Ole Miss, former Big 12 foe Missouri, and LSU will help decide if the move to the SEC was a good one or not. Let's not forget the big one in Dallas against Texas, who looks more ready for the SEC.
Prediction- 8-4 (Losses to Texas, Ole Miss, Missouri, and LSU) Not playoff bound.
