75. Navy Midshipmen
Relative Strength: Running Back
Relative Concern: Defensive Back
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking:
2019 CFN Preview Ranking:
Navy Quick Take: There are just enough concerns on the defensive front and secondary to think there should be a step back after a great 2019, but the running game will once again rock and roll as long as it can somehow replace the dynamic play of Malcolm Perry.
– Navy 2020 CFN Team Preview
74. Air Force Falcons
Relative Strength: Running Back
Relative Concern: Defensive Back
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 24
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 106
Air Force Quick Take: As always, the offense will be fine with another big year from the rushing attack – the downfield passing game will be solid, too – but the momentum from a big year should continue with a terrific defensive front seven.
– Air Force 2020 CFN Team Preview
73. Maryland Terrapins
Relative Strength: Wide Receiver
Relative Concern: Offensive Line
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 113
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 53
Maryland Quick Take: Call this a bit of a gift and a bias towards programs with Power Five talent – the Terps have a ton to prove on the lines. The passing game should be okay, and the linebacking corps is good, but there has to be a night-and-day difference from the end of last year.
– Maryland 2020 CFN Team Preview
72. Kansas Jayhawks
Relative Strength: Running Back
Relative Concern: Offensive Line
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 117
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 71
Kansas Quick Take: It’s the same thing for Kansas – there are guys, but is there enough talent? There’s a decent mix of promising transfers and holdovers to hope to start doing more in the Big 12 under Les Miles, and it might start with an improved defensive front seven.
– Kansas 2020 CFN Team Preview
71. Temple Owls
Relative Strength: Offensive Line
Relative Concern: Secondary
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 54
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 80
Temple Quick Take: Temple isn’t as flashy as UCF or Memphis, but it’s going to be right there in the American Athletic Conference race thanks to the lines. The offense will be one of the most effective – for what it does – in the conference.
– Temple 2020 CFN Team Preview
70. Illinois Fighting Illini
Relative Strength: Offensive Line
Relative Concern: Running Back
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 69
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 65
Illinois Quick Take: Illinois seems like it’s rebuilding for a 14th year in a row, but there’s a good offensive line and a nice defensive back seven to hope that 2019 wasn’t a fluke. The offensive playmakers have to emerge in a hurry, though.
– Illinois 2020 CFN Team Preview
69. Houston Cougars
Relative Strength: Running Back
Relative Concern: Defensive Line
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 101
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 55
Houston Quick Take: Okay, Houston. This had better work. The program took most of last year off after it didn’t start out the way it might have liked, but the payoff might come after several young parts got their feet wet. The talent is there, but the pressure is really on Dana Holgorsen to make the program a major player again.
– Houston 2020 CFN Team Preview
68. Arkansas Razorbacks
Relative Strength: Linebacker
Relative Concern: Defensive Line
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 121
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 61
Arkansas Quick Take: Arkansas might be a whole lot better than you think. No, really. It’s not like Sam Pittman is an A-list head coach in a division with Saban, Oregeron, Jimbo, Leach, Gus and Kiffin, but there’s more than enough talent held over from the previous regime – after building things up – to at least not be miserable.
– Arkansas 2020 CFN Team Preview
67. Boston College Eagles
Relative Strength: Offensive Line
Relative Concern: Quarterback
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 84
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 54
Boston College Quick Take: Boston College is a tough team to call under new head coach Jeff Hafley – it should be solid, but it might take some tweaking. The running game will be outstanding behind a great line, but the passing game has to sharpen up and the defensive front has to be a whole lot stronger.
– Boston College 2020 CFN Team Preview
66. BYU Cougars
Relative Strength: Linebacker
Relative Concern: Running Back
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 34
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 73
BYU Quick Take: Can the defensive front and secondary be better? Once again, BYU should be good enough to hang around and shock the better teams – depending on who’s left on the schedule – but every game is going to be a battle.
– BYU 2020 CFN Team Preview
65. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Relative Strength: Offensive Line
Relative Concern: Wide Receiver
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 122
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 50
Georgia Tech Quick Take: Okay, okay, this is a bit of a call. Geoff Collins is too good a coach to have another awful year. Georgia Tech had to undergo a total overhaul, and it wasn’t easy. This year the experience is place to start doing a whole lot more, especially in the defensive back seven.
– Georgia Tech 2020 CFN Team Preview
64. Arizona Wildcats
Relative Strength: Linebacker
Relative Concern: Defensive Line
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 105
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 41
Arizona Quick Take: This ranking is us being extremely polite – Arizona has a shot at turning into a bit of a mess if the offense isn’t more consistently explosive. Losing top LB Tony Fields to the transfer portal hurts for a defense that has to step up in a big way to get the Kevin Sumlin era going.
– Arizona 2020 CFN Team Preview
63. Vanderbilt Commodores
Relative Strength: Linebacker
Relative Concern: Quarterback
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 116
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 62
Vanderbilt Quick Take: No, really – Vanderbilt is good, at least defensively. There’s a massive prove-it factor for the offensive side – this ranking is at least 20 spots too high if the O can’t get going at least a bit – but the D is going to be a pain in the SEC East’s butt.
– Vanderbilt 2020 CFN Team Preview
62. Appalachian State Mountaineers
Relative Strength: Wide Receiver
Relative Concern: Running Back
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 6
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 74
Appalachian State Quick Take: The program gets its third head coach in three years, but Shawn Clark has a loaded team to keep all the success going. The Mountaineers are legitimately strong enough to hang with just about anyone – it’s a shame they don’t get to face Wisconsin – with a fantastic passing game and the defensive talent to go on another big run.
– Appalachian State 2020 CFN Team Preview
61. San Diego State Aztecs
Relative Strength: Secondary
Relative Concern: Quarterback
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 30
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 70
San Diego State Quick Take: No pressure or anything for head coach Brady Hoke, but he takes over a killer team with a defense that will be a total disappointment if it doesn’t finish in the top ten nationally. A bit more of a passing game puts the Aztecs right there in the mix for a New Year’s Six game.
– San Diego State 2020 CFN Team Preview
60. Memphis Tigers
Relative Strength: Quarterback
Relative Concern: Linebacker
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 9
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 66
Memphis Quick Take: The machine doesn’t stop. Ryan Silverfield isn’t a normal new head coach – he’s an extension of Mike Norvell – and he’s got the offensive playmakers for another possible run at the AAC title. The special teams are going to be a huge key – they’ll be among the best in the conference.
– Memphis 2020 CFN Team Preview
59. Colorado Buffaloes
Relative Strength: Defensive Line
Relative Concern: Secondary
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 81
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 44
Colorado Quick Take: Can Karl Dorrell be the one to make Colorado football consistently great? The pass defense has to be better, and the offense needs to replace some star receivers, but there’s enough in place to be more of a factor in another mediocre year for the Pac-12 South.
– Colorado 2020 CFN Team Preview
58. Purdue Boilermakers
Relative Strength: Wide Receiver
Relative Concern: Linebacker
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 103
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 51
Purdue Quick Take: It’s time for the Boilermakers to take the passing attack up to a whole other level. The receiving corps is as good as any in college football, and there’s a real, live D line in place to be a positive. Another losing season won’t be okay.
– Purdue 2020 CFN Team Preview
57. UCLA Bruins
Relative Strength: Wide Receiver
Relative Concern: Linebacker
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 97
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 34
UCLA Quick Take: The whole Chip Kelly thing should be a whole lot better by now after getting two years to put his guys in place. Where’s the schematic advantage? Where’s the high-powered offense? To be fair, it took this long to improve the lines, but now the wins have to come.
– UCLA 2020 CFN Team Preview
56. Texas Tech Red Raiders
Relative Strength: Wide Receiver
Relative Concern: Running Back
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 102
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 49
Texas Tech Quick Take: The first year under Matt Wells wasn’t good enough because 1) quarterback Alan Bowman was hurt, 2) the defense struggled, and 3) the Big 12 wasn’t bad. There’s experience on D to be better, the special teams are great, and passing game will be the passing game. There’s no excuse for another losing season.
– Texas Tech 2020 CFN Team Preview
55. West Virginia Mountaineers
Relative Strength: Defensive Line
Relative Concern: Offensive Line
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 94
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 45
West Virginia Quick Take: Neal Brown is way too good a head coach to have another clunker of a season. His team kept playing hard and was good by the end of the year. Now WVU has one of the Big 12’s better defensive fronts, and the passing attack should be better.
– West Virginia 2020 CFN Team Preview
54. Oregon State Beavers
Relative Strength: Linebacker
Relative Concern: Offensive Line
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 77
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 68
Oregon State Quick Take: Head man Jonathan Smith is putting together a really, really nice program. The Beavers might not have the high-end depth, but the starting 22 has enough good parts to be a whole lot of fun. They’ll come up with at least one big upset in all-Pac-12 play.
– Oregon State 2020 CFN Team Preview
53. Northwestern Wildcats
Relative Strength: Linebacker
Relative Concern: Wide Receiver
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 110
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 47
Northwestern Quick Take: 2019 was a blip. We know how this works – Northwestern is just as likely to have everything go right and be a factor in the Big Ten West as it is to crash in brutal fashion like it did last year. The D will be great, but the O needs a LOT of work.
– Northwestern 2020 CFN Team Preview
52. Syracuse Orange
Relative Strength: Secondary
Relative Concern: Offensive Line
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 79
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 25
Syracuse Quick Take: Dino Babers needs a big year to show that Syracuse football is more like 2018 than the disappointing 2019 version. Keeping QB Tommy DeVito from letting defensive lines wear him as a hat is Job One, but the defensive front seven has to be stronger.
– Syracuse 2020 CFN Team Preview
51. Duke Blue Devils
Relative Strength: Defensive Line
Relative Concern: Running Back
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 88
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 52
Duke Quick Take: Don’t get caught up in the football brand name – Duke has a whole lot of upside in what should be a sneaky-good season. The defense will be annoyingly good – annoying to the rest of the ACC – but the offense has to be more effective.
– Duke 2020 CFN Team Preview
CFN Preview 2020 Rankings
All 130 Team Previews | 101-130
76-100 | 51-75 | 26-50 | 11-25 | Top 10