We promised to cover every angle of football from the preps to the pros. Part of that idea was putting together our own Top 25 rankings. So here we are, roughly one month away from kicking off the 150th season of college football. Seems like a perfect time to debut the Devy Watch Top 25 rankings.
The Devy Watch Top 25 is calculated by the rankings of the seven members of the team. A first-place vote equals 25 points, a second-place vote equals 24 points and so on, down to 25th being worth a single point. After Week 1, the Devy Watch Top 25 poll will be released weekly on Sunday afternoons.
Others receiving votes: Miami (13), USC (13), Washington State (10), Iowa (5), Syracuse (5), Cincinnati (4), Appalachian State (3), Army (1), Oklahoma State (1)
It’s the preseason and we’ve got some time to kill so we dissected the votes and found out which team each voter was highest and lowest on and gave them a chance to defend their ranking.
Highest:
Brad: Utah
It makes sense that I’m the highest on Utah because they are my pick to win the 2019 PAC 12 Championship. Utah, Oregon, and Washington are co-favorites to win the conference with 3/1 odds, but the Utes have the easiest path of the three. Their conference opener at USC should be a tone-setter for the season. They have to visit Washington but managed to dodge Oregon and Stanford this season. They have to re-tool the offensive line, but nearly every skill player returns on offense. QB Tyler Huntley returns from a broken collarbone and RB Zack Moss returns from a knee injury. Both missed the final five games of 2018, but the Utes still won the PAC 12 South before losing to Washington in the title game. A talented front four who was second nationally against the run paces the defense. If Utah leaves USC with a victory, they should be favored in every remaining game except one.
Clayton: Stanford
When it comes to college football, I’m a big proponent of quarterback play being a difference maker. Stanford has just that, in senior QB K.J. Costello. With Costello, the Cardinals have a legitimately experienced, talented player under center. While a multitude of top skill position players have departed for the NFL, there is still plenty of untapped talent on the roster, and I believe that savvy quarterback play can harness that talent. Admittedly, I’m probably too high on them at preseason #12, given the likely resurgence of the PAC-12. But somehow, some way, the Cardinals always seem to find their way.
Cody: UCF
When it comes to UCF, the love comes mostly from the track record of success. How can I vote against a team that has lost one game in two years and zero during the regular season? UCF finished 6th last season in total offense and 4th in total defense – stats I don’t see changing too much this year. The biggest question mark will be at QB after Milton’s injury last season. But they get QB transfer Brandon Wimbush from ND. While Wimbush may not have lit the world on fire, he played for a top P5 school and against top competition. Watch for this team to continue their success and potentially look to run the table once again!
Greg: Utah State
My love for Utah State rides on the shoulders of Jordan Love. The Aggies face a very tough road slate. They travel to Air Force, Fresno State, LSU, and San Diego State all four teams are historically very good at home. Mix in home games against Boise State and BYU, and Utah State faces a three-week stretch with games at Air Force, vs. BYU, and at Fresno State. Air Force is no slouch at home where they have won over 72% of their home games over the last 10 years. I am banking on Jordan Love being able to elevate the talent around him to a high level. If the Aggies can win 3 or 4 out of those games listed and don’t have a slip up elsewhere, I can easily see them sliding into a top 20-25 ranking to end the season.
Jason: Houston
Houston enters the 2019 season with eight returning offensive starters. QB D’Eriq King and WR Marquez Stevenson are among those starters that helped a prolific Cougar offense score an average 44 points per game. However, the defense was terrible, allowing 37 points per game. Dana Holgorsen comes over from West Virginia, bringing with him Joe Cauthen who spent the past five seasons as the defensive coordinator at Arkansas State. With the offense nearly intact and the defense operating under new leadership and coaching, the Cougars could be a team to watch. Especially if they overcome their first hurdle against Oklahoma on September 1st.
Kyle: Virginia
If you follow me on Twitter, it will come as no surprise that I believe in Bryce Twerkins! The best upperclassman QB in the ACC, he played much of last season with a broken hand and still managed to dominate. While he must replace his top pass catcher, they will have some nice weapons on offense and I’m confident they will be even more potent as they continue to settle into this offensive system. Defensively, they are going to be excellent. Replacing Juan Thornhill won’t be easy, but they return outstanding players at each level and should be one of the nation’s top groups.
LJ: Boise State
The Mountain West has continued to gain more recognition over the past several seasons in large part due to teams outside of Idaho challenging Boise State for the top spot. They will need to replace their top rusher and quarterback which may have the consensus down on this group as a whole but they bode a strong secondary and front seven which should allow the offense some time to come along as the season progresses. This team is extremely deep at the WR position which should be the backbone of their offense. They may turn to the true freshman QB Hank Bachmeier to lead the offense, which is less than ideal, but this team should be able to remain at the top of the Mountain West which in turn leads to me ranking them so highly.
Lowest:
Brad: Utah State
The Aggies won 11 games in 2019 and finished the season ranked 22nd in the AP Poll. Matt Wells parlayed that success into a Power 5 job at Texas Tech. Gary Andersen returns as head coach after going 26–24 at the school from 2009-2012. An offense that averaged 47.5 points per game last season lost four offensive linemen, a starting running back and tight end, and their top three wide receivers. Fortunately, they return QB Jordan Love, who we are big fans of, but he’ll have to put the offense on his shoulders this season. The good news is a defense that forced a nation’s best 32 turnovers returns seven starters. With four of the Aggies’ five toughest games on the road (Wake Forest, LSU, San Diego State, Fresno State), it’s hard to find double-digit wins again.
Clayton: Auburn
The Tigers schedule is downright brutal this season. In addition to the typical dreadnaught fleet of SEC West opponents, Auburn opens against Oregon and also draws Florida and Georgia as cross-division opponents from the East. With games against the three aforementioned teams and intra-division games at A&M, at LSU, and against Bama, it’s conceivable that the Tigers struggle to top seven wins this season. The roster is dripping with talent, especially at the QB position. However, the lack of experience under center, in the best division in college football, is somewhat concerning and less than ideal. A 7-5 or 8-4 record should see them end up around where I peg them at pre-season #18.
Cody: Utah
When it comes to Utah, my biggest worry is the Pac-12 as a whole. Is there a clear cut team at the top? Or even two? Three? It doesn’t seem like it. There are multiple teams that could end up winning this thing and the likelihood is that all these teams, or most, eat themselves alive. Utah is a talented team with high upside and solid NFL prospects, but with games on the road at BYU, USC, Washington, and Arizona it will be difficult for them to capture that Pac-12 crown!
Greg: Iowa State
Iowa State lost their two most talented players in David Montgomery and Hakeem Butler. Both are some of the best talents to come out of Iowa State in the last ten years. Iowa State is a program that isn’t known for reloading talent very quickly. I see the Cyclones having issues with replacing Montgomery and Butler in 2019. They face a tough stretch of games towards the middle of the season. Facing Oklahoma State, at Oklahoma, and Texas. I can see the Cyclones dropping all three of those games in a row.
Jason: Boise State
There is still uncertainty at the QB position in terms of whether Chase Cord is fully recovered from his ACL injury last year or if the depth behind him is starter ready. Redshirt senior Jaylon Henderson isn’t a big-time QB and freshman Hank Bachmeier is just that, a freshman. There is still no real clarity at RB either with both Andrew Van Buren and Robert Mahone showing promise this offseason, but neither really set themselves apart. I’m more intrigued with redshirt freshman Danny Smith who will wait for his opportunity. Two bright spots on the offense are senior WR John Hightower and sophomore WR Khalil Shakir who both will have the opportunity to be successful this season. The defense went through a coaching overhaul with Jeff Schmedding getting promoted to defensive coordinator and Spencer Danielson now co-defensive coordinator. This team is on the rise, but the question mark at the QB position and the complete turnover of coaching on both offense and defense leaves more questions than answers going into the 2019 season.
Kyle: Penn State
I’m not buying the offense this season. For me, it starts with the QB. I’m not ready to buy into Clifford as an above-average QB. As such, I think the defense will need to carry them. I believe that is far more likely to happen than the offense being well above average. I’m a huge fan of Joe Moorhead and the offense hasn’t been nearly as impressive in his absence.
LJ: Nebraska
I personally love the talent Scott Frost has inherited and accumulated in his time at Nebraska. I just so happen to be lower on them than the other voters. Doubling their win total from 2018 to 2019 is not out of the question with the emergence of second-year QB Adrian Martinez, but Frost still needs a year or two to build the team that makes Nebraska a contender once again. They may have one of the easiest slates among Big Ten teams with how their home and road games were scheduled but overall, I still see this team being a year out.
