ESPN colleague Mark Schlabach has rolled out his Way-Too-Early Top 25 for 2016. Here are five teams that didn't make the cut that I would have strongly considered.
1. Miami Hurricanes
Mark Richt averaged 9.7 wins a year at Georgia for 15 seasons. If he does anything close to that at his alma mater, they’ll build a statue to honor him. And, who knows, more people might actually attend games.
The majority of the offense returns in 2016, including virtually the entire line and third-year starting QB Brad Kaaya. Manny Diaz returns to his hometown to run the defense, and the addition of stud Missouri defensive line coach Craig Kuligowski was one of the biggest hires in this offseason cycle.
The ACC Coastal Division will be up for grabs. A proven winner like Richt will make some noise.
2. The cupboard isn’t bare in Blacksburg, Virginia, for new coach Justin Fuente, including an intriguing quarterback prospect. Floridian Dwayne Lawson, all 6-foot-6 and 230 pounds of him, presents a promising upgrade at the position. Remember that this is an offensive staff that was able to develop Memphis’ Paxton Lynch into a hot NFL name.
Bud Foster returns to coach the defense, as do several pieces from the 2015 team.
As with Miami, the division is winnable and Fuente will want to put his stamp on the program in Year 1.
3. The Huskers were one of those five-win teams to net a bowl berth. The victory against UCLA punctuated a strange first chapter for coach Mike Riley.
Good: They were the only team in the regular season to beat Michigan State.
Bad: They lost to Purdue, and it wasn’t fluky.
Odd: Six of the team’s seven losses came by an average of 3.5 points.
Riley and the staff still have plenty of work to do in terms of upgrading personnel and talent -- they lose their top two defensive tackles, for instance -- but are the Huskers really that far off from Wisconsin and Northwestern, 10-game winners in the Big Ten West? No.
Perhaps Nebraska can at least get back to the previous staff’s standard nine wins. Freshman QB Patrick O’Brien just might be the key after Tommy Armstrong has repeatedly failed to push through a defined ceiling.
4. The Broncos’ idea of a down year came in 2015, when they won nine games and punished Northern Illinois 55-7 in the Poinsettia Bowl. Expect a return to 10-plus victories for Bryan Harsin and BSU in '16.
Breakout back Jeremy McNichols (1,337 yards, 20 TDs) returns for his junior season, and so does quarterback Brett Rypien (3,353 yards, 63.5 completion percentage, 20 TDs). His freshman season included some bumps, but he showed glimpses of being the school’s best since Kellen Moore.
5. Utah Utes
The Utes lose star running back Devontae Booker. Then again, Utah lost him to injury late in the season and his replacement, Joe Williams, averaged 133 yards in three games.
It’s evidence that the Utes are all about system, and that’s the case on both sides of the ball. Playing a style as physical as anyone in the Pac-12, including Stanford, is enough to keep Utah sustainably good and in the hunt for a spot in the top 25.