Clemson Football: Predicted preseason Top-25 with Pac-12, Big Ten out

Andrew Boardwine

The Clemson football team played an instant classic with the Louisville Cardinals in 2016.

Predicted Top-25 behind Clemson football to start 2020 fall season

With the Big Ten and Pac-12 bowing out of the 2020 fall season, the Clemson football team will start out the year as the preseason No. 1 ranked team.

While there are still questions surrounding if the SEC, ACC and Big 12 will be able to pull off playing a season this fall, the conferences have made it clear that they’re going to try.

So, in honor of the new-look preseason, here’s our prediction for what the Top-25 rankings will look like, of course with Clemson football as the No. 1 team in the nation.

Nos. 25-15

25) Tennessee
24) Virginia
23) Kentucky
22) Houston
21) Miami
20) Memphis
19) Baylor
18) Iowa State
17) Appalachian State
16) Virginia Tech
15) Cincinnati

I think you could make an argument for Virginia Tech and Appalachian State to actually be higher on this list and some of those spots in the last portion of the top-25 really could be held by anyone at this point.

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY – OCTOBER 05: Head coach Scott Satterfield of the Louisville Cardinals on the sidelines in the game against the Boston College Eagles during the fourth quarter at Cardinal Stadium on October 05, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)

Nos. 14-5

14) Oklahoma State
13) Texas A&M
12) Louisville
11) Texas
10) UCF
9) Auburn
8) North Carolina
7) Florida
6) Notre Dame
5) LSU

Next up on our list is the group of teams who have talent to compete and could end up being darkhorses for the CFB Playoff– assuming that we have a playoff. They have some major challenges in their way, though, as they battle with teams at the top of their conference who are clear favorites.

Nos. 4-1

4) Oklahoma
3) Georgia
2) Alabama
1) Clemson

There’s really no questioning that Clemson football should be at the top when we begin this season.

Oklahoma is the clear favorite in the Big 12 while both Georgia and Alabama are both really talented teams with a lot of hope coming into this season. If the Bulldogs utilize either JT Daniels or Jamie Newman to their fullest extent, I could see UGA finally getting over the hump and winning the SEC Championship.

Either way, it’s clear that the Tigers are the kings of CFB coming into this season and it will be interesting to see if anyone can knock them off.

The 2020 College Football season is no sure thing, but this is what the top-25 will look like if we do get to see competitions this fall.

Andrew Boardwine

Andrew Boardwine is the Site Expert for Saturday Blitz, covering all things College Football year-round. Andrew has covered College Football for more than seven years, beginning as a contributor and eventual Site Expert for Rubbing the Rock, where he has covered National Championships and College Football Playoff. Andrew is a member of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and has been featured in many notable publications, including Fox Sports, SCNow.com, and Inside the Magic. Outside of writing, Andrew enjoys playing Ultimate Frisbee and serves as the Worship Leader at his church.