Very Early 2021 Top 25 Expectations

[CychiatricWard]

With all the discussion about where we might finish the season, anywhere from 6 to 10 would be my guess, got me wondering where we start out next year. I think OU will be above us from the big 12, but that’s it. Bama, Clemson, Ohio State, Notre Dame and OU will all but guaranteed be above us to start, but who else? I am having a hard time coming up with a reason Iowa State isn’t right behind them with the Georgia’s, Florida’s, etc. Thoughts?

 

[stateofmind]

Hard to say when no team knows who all is coming back.

 

[CychiatricWard]

Hard to say when no team knows who all is coming back.

I get that, but that wasn’t the point of this lol. Just making guesses in here. I’m thinking we realistically should be top 10 but I could see us being shafted a bit and being 12 or something.

 

[Die4Cy]

I imagine ISU will be around number 10, with a range of 8 to 14 most likely.

 

[Rural]

Something like 15.

 

[cmjh10]

I expect a lot of Juicy Wiggle

 

[ClonesFTW]

Preseason rankings serve to create hype and draw eyeballs to networks hosting the games; we’ll be 10-15th based on a few bigger brands getting the nod.

 

[MeanDean]

With all the discussion about where we might finish the season, anywhere from 6 to 10 would be my guess, got me wondering where we start out next year. I think OU will be above us from the big 12, but that’s it. Bama, Clemson, Ohio State, Notre Dame and OU will all but guaranteed be above us to start, but who else? I am having a hard time coming up with a reason Iowa State isn’t right behind them with the Georgia’s, Florida’s, etc. Thoughts?

You forgot Michigan, Penn State, Nebraska, Texas, USC, TAMU, LSU.

You know, the teams that are supposed to be good every year and get the benefit of the doubt regardless of how they did the year before. (Ok, maybe Nebraska has finally fallen out of this discussion anywhere East of the Missouri River and West of the foothills of Colorado.)

 

[JM4CY]

I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Texas is ranked ahead of us. They shouldn’t be and won’t have earned it but that’s not how these things work.

 

[AuH2O]

Texas won’t be ranked ahead of ISU. No way. Ehlinger is gone and they downgraded their coach.

 

[Beyerball]

I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Texas is ranked ahead of us. They shouldn’t be and won’t have earned it but that’s not how these things work.

that narrative has now changed..

TX is a solid QB away from being pretty good next year imo..But ISU will enter the season Top 10..

 

[MisterO]

I think we’ll start 6th. I can’t wait to see a full, rocking stadium and a team to match our fans’ enthusiasm. Long-awaited and well deserved for lots of fans.

 

[Thomasrickj]

The only definite teams I see being ahead of us to start next season are Alabama, Ohio State, and Oklahoma. With Book and Lawrence gone, there’s a chance we end up ahead of ND and Clemson to start the season, but I’m not banking on that. After the first three mentioned, the next tier is honestly going to be a huge jumble between Iowa State, Clemson, Notre Dame, Georgia, Texas, UNC (since Howell is only a sophomore), and TAMU. You can probably throw one more school in there that will be overrated or that I’m forgetting about. Based on all of that, I see us anywhere between 4 and 11. I’ll take the middle on that and go with 8 to start the season. Big 12 is going to be tough. We should have four teams ranked to start the season (Oklahoma, Iowa State, Oklahoma State, Texas). Next season is going to be a lot of fun!

 

[CyCloned]

Texas won’t be ranked ahead of ISU. No way. Ehlinger is gone and they downgraded their coach.

Texas will be ranked to start the year. It wouldn't surprise me at all if they were ranked higher or within a couple of ISU. It's just how the game is played. It isn't like Texas completely laid an egg like Penn State in 2020. They were very close to beating ou and ISU.

 

[inCyteful]

Well, teams we know will be ranked ahead of us:

1) Alabama
2) Ohio State
3) Notre Dame
4) Clemson
5) Oklahoma
6) Texas A&M
7) Georgia

Teams I suspect will be ranked ahead of us:

8) Florida
9) North Carolina


Teams it wouldn't surprise me to see ahead of us:

10) Miami
11) Oklahoma State
12) Northwestern
13) Cincinnati

Given all that, best case is #10, worst is #15. I'll guess #11 at this point. Frankly though, don't even rank us - I dare you.

 

[19clone91]

With the amount of players we have coming back we SHOULD be #7-10. But we all know how these things work. I would put my money on #10

most importantly, I get to keep my avatar next year

 

[19clone91]

Well, teams we know will be ranked ahead of us:

1) Alabama
2) Ohio State
3) Notre Dame
4) Clemson
5) Oklahoma
6) Texas A&M
7) Georgia

Teams I suspect will be ranked ahead of us:

8) Florida
9) North Carolina
10) Georgia

Teams it wouldn't surprise me to see ahead of us:

11) Miami
12) Oklahoma State
13) Northwestern
14) Cincinnati

Given all that, best case is #10, worst is #15. I'll guess #11 at this point. Frankly though, don't even rank us - I dare you.

You have Georgia in there twice but I agree with you top 7. Florida will be above us too. I don’t see NC above us but I could be wrong. No way Miami is either, the ACC was terrible in bowls and the national media seems to like that. I would put us at 9 or 10. No way Okie St is above us, I hope Cinnci isn’t either. Probably a good thing they lost to GA for that reason

 

[Thomasrickj]

You have Georgia in there twice but I agree with you top 7. Florida will be above us too. I don’t see NC above us but I could be wrong. No way Miami is either, the ACC was terrible in bowls and the national media seems to like that. I would put us at 9 or 10. No way Okie St is above us, I hope Cinnci isn’t either. Probably a good thing they lost to GA for that reason

Florida is losing a Heisman finalist and will finish behind us to end this season. As much as the media loves Florida, I don’t see why they would put Florida ahead of an Iowa State team that returns a huge bulk of their team.

 

[CycloneErik]

8-10 seems about right

 

[inCyteful]

You have Georgia in there twice but I agree with you top 7. Florida will be above us too. I don’t see NC above us but I could be wrong. No way Miami is either, the ACC was terrible in bowls and the national media seems to like that. I would put us at 9 or 10. No way Okie St is above us, I hope Cinnci isn’t either. Probably a good thing they lost to GA for that reason

Ack on duplicate, may bad.

I agree with you on where teams should be. I think there will still be the tendency to rate traditional powers and latest media love stories higher than they should be.