‘Bama, FSU are 1-2 in BE’s preseason Power Rankings

Published on Wednesday, 7/30/14, at 12:38 p.m. Eastern.

By Brian Edwards

1-Alabama – Stacked roster with QB situation the lone question mark.
2-FSU – Easy schedule basically guarantees trip to Final Four if Jameis Winston stays healthy.
3-Oklahoma – Defense is going to be nasty.
4-Auburn – Might be better than last year, but schedule is a killer.
5-UCLA – Jim Mora Jr. is doing a great job. Can Brett Hundley lead Bruins to Final Four?
6-Oregon – Ducks will be in title mix yet again.
7-Michigan St. – Defense won’t be quite as salty, but offense will be improved.
8-Ohio St. – Road game in East Lansing will determine Bucks’ fate.
9-Ole Miss – Could this be the year the Rebels get to their first SEC title game?
10-Stanford – Lost a lot of talent, but Shaw still has a top-tier squad.
11-South Carolina – Connor Shaw will be missed, but Spurrier still has players galore.
12-Baylor – Bryce Petty poised to put up monster numbers again.
13-LSU – Will freshman RB Leonard Fournette be as advertised?
14-Georgia – All about Hutson Mason, who has weapons galore.
15-Mississippi St. – My sleeper squad. Dak Prescott is nasty and the ‘D’ is underrated.
16-Wisconsin – Good o-line and Melvin Gordon makes Badgers a Top-20 team as usual.
17-Clemson – Might have best defense in more than a decade, but QB play is a concern.
18-North Carolina – Larry Fedora has the Tar Heels on the rise.
19-Florida – If Jeff Driskel can stay healthy, UF can win the SEC East.
20-Va. Tech – Bud Foster’s defense is going to be one of the nation’s best.
21-USC -Trojans need to stay healthy because depth due to NCAA sanctions is an issue.
22-BYU – Cougars have an interesting schedule and a Tebow-like QB in Taysom Hill.
23-Notre Dame – Return of Everett Golson makes the Irish dangerous.
24-Texas – Plenty of talent — can Charlie Strong make it happen?
25-Northwestern – Return of Venric Mark is huge. Wildcats couldn’t catch a break in 2013.

Just missed the cut: Texas A&M, Kansas St., Arizona St., Washington, Iowa & Nebraska.