With the loss of several teams for the 2020 season, the preseason rankings have changed. Here are the CFN Preseason Top 76 rankings.
As long as there are still college football teams still expected to play in 2020, we’re going to rank them.
With the Big Ten, Pac-12, Mountain West and MAC out, and with Old Dominion, UMass, UConn and New Mexico State also not playing, we’re now down to 76 teams to rank for the 2020 season.
Okay, that’s a lie – there are 77 ranked here, which we’ll explain as they roll on.
For now, the rankings are NOT about where the teams are projected to end up – those are coming later once we finally get a schedule that appears to be close to set. The 2020 CFN Preview rankings are based on how good we think all the teams are right now.
Contact @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak
CFN Conference Previews
AAC | ACC | Big 12
C-USA | SEC | Sun Belt
CFN Preview 2020 | 51-76
26-50 | 11-25 | Top 10
76. UTEP Miners
Best Player: DE Praise Amaewhule, Soph.
Most Interesting Game: at Rice, Nov. 28
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 128
Realistic Season Goal: Win 3 games
Currently Scheduled Opener: at Texas, Sept. 12
– UTEP 2020 CFN Team Preview
75. South Alabama Jaguars
Best Player: LB Nick Mobley, Jr.
Most Interesting Game: Georgia State, Nov.21
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 121
Realistic Season Goal: Win 3 games
Currently Scheduled Opener: at Southern Miss, Sept. 3
– South Alabama 2020 CFN Team Preview
74. Texas State Bobcats
Best Player: CB Jarron Morris, Jr.
Most Interesting Game: UTSA, Sept. 12
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 120
Realistic Season Goal: Win 3 Games
Currently Scheduled Opener: SMU, Sept. 5
– Texas State 2020 CFN Team Preview
73. UTSA Roadrunners
Best Player: DT Jaylon Haynes, Sr.
Most Interesting Game: North Texas, Nov. 28
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 124
Realistic Season Goal: Win 3 games
Currently Scheduled Opener: at Texas State, Sept. 12
– UTSA 2020 CFN Team Preview
72. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
Best Player: RB CJ Marable, Sr.
Most Interesting Game: Appalachian State, Nov. 21
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 118
Realistic Season Goal: Win 5 games
Currently Scheduled Opener: at Kansas, Sept. 12
– Coastal Carolina 2020 CFN Team Preview
71. ULM Warhawks
Best Player: RB Josh Johnson, Sr.
Most Interesting Game: Louisiana, Nov. 28
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 108
Realistic Season Goal: Win 5 games, with a win over Louisiana
Currently Scheduled Opener: Texas State, Sept. 19
– ULM 2020 CFN Team Preview
70. Rice Owls
Best Player: LB Blaze Alldredge, Sr.
Most Interesting Game: Middle Tennessee, Oct. 24
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 115
Realistic Season Goal: Winning record
Currently Scheduled Opener: To be determined, Lamar, Sept. 26
– Rice 2020 CFN Team Preview
69. Charlotte 49ers
Best Player: S Ben DeLuca, Sr.
Most Interesting Game: WKU, Nov. 28
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 93
Realistic Season Goal: Winning record
Currently Scheduled Opener: at Appalachian State, Sept. 12
– Charlotte 2020 CFN Team Preview
68. Liberty Flames
Best Player: RB Joshua Mack, Sr.
Most Interesting Game: at Virginia Tech, Nov. 7
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 104
Realistic Season Goal: Winning record
Currently Scheduled Opener: To be determined, at WKU, Sept. 19
– Liberty 2020 CFN Team Preview
67. Georgia State Panthers
Best Player: LB Trajan Stephens-McQueen, Sr.
Most Interesting Game: Georgia Southern, Nov. 28
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 109
Realistic Season Goal: Winning record with a win over Georgia Southern
Currently Scheduled Opener: Louisiana, Nov. 19
– Georgia State 2020 CFN Team Preview
66. FIU Golden Panthers
Best Player: CB Rishard Dames, Sr.
Most Interesting Game: Florida Atlantic, Nov. 14
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 102
Realistic Season Goal: Play for Conference USA Championship
Currently Scheduled Opener: To be determined, at Liberty, Sept. 26
– FIU 2020 CFN Team Preview
65. North Texas Mean Green
Best Player: WR Jaelon Darden, Sr.
Most Interesting Game: Louisiana Tech, Nov. 7
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 116
Realistic Season Goal: Winning record with a push to win C-USA West
Currently Scheduled Opener: Houston Baptist, Sept. 5
– North Texas 2020 CFN Team Preview
64. Troy Trojans
Best Player: LB Carlton Martial, Jr.
Most Interesting Game: at Arkansas State, Oct. 31
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 119
Realistic Season Goal: Winning record with one big road win over Appalachian State, Georgia Southern or Arkansas State
Currently Scheduled Opener: at Middle Tennessee, Sept. 19
– Troy 2020 CFN Team Preview
63. Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders
Best Player: S Reed Blankenship, Sr.
Most Interesting Game: Florida Atlantic, Nov. 28
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 117
Realistic Season Goal: Winning season
Currently Scheduled Opener: at Army, Sept. 4 or 5
– Middle Tennessee 2020 CFN Team Preview
62. USF Bulls
Best Player: LB Dwayne Boyles, Jr.
Most Interesting Game: UCF, Nov. 27
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 76
Realistic Season Goal: .500 Record
Currently Scheduled Opener: at Florida Atlantic, Sept. 26
– USF 2020 CFN Team Preview
61. Army Black Knights
Best Player: LB Arik Smith, Jr.
Most Interesting Game: Navy (in Philadelphia), Dec. 12
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 114
Realistic Season Goal: Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy (beating both Air Force and Navy)
Currently Scheduled Opener: Middle Tennessee, Sept. 5
– Army 2020 CFN Team Preview
60. Tulsa Golden Hurricane
Best Player: RB Shamari Brooks, Sr.
Most Interesting Game: at Houston, Nov. 28
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 78
Realistic Season Goal: At least 5 wins
Currently Scheduled Opener: at Oklahoma State, Sept. 12
– Tulsa 2020 CFN Team Preview
59. Arkansas State Red Wolves
Best Player: QB Layne Hatcher, Soph.
Most Interesting Game: at Appalachian State, Oct. 24
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 100
Realistic Season Goal: Win the Sun Belt Championship
Currently Scheduled Opener: at Memphis, Sept. 5
– Arkansas State 2020 CFN Team Preview
58. East Carolina Pirates
Best Player: QB Holton Ahlers, Jr.
Most Interesting Game: UCF, Sept. 24
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 113
Realistic Season Goal: Winning Season
Currently Scheduled Opener: Marshall, Sept. 12
– East Carolina 2020 CFN Team Preview
57. Marshall Thundering Herd
Best Player: RB Brenden Knox, Jr.
Most Interesting Game: Florida Atlantic, Oct. 24
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 94
Realistic Season Goal: Win Conference USA Championship
Currently Scheduled Opener: at East Carolina, Sept. 12
– Marshall 2020 CFN Team Preview
56. Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
Best Player: RB Justin Henderson, Sr.
Most Interesting Game: ULM, Nov. 21
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 48
Realistic Season Goal: Win Conference USA Championship
Currently Scheduled Opener: at Southern Miss, Sept. 12
– Louisiana Tech 2020 CFN Team Preview
55. Southern Miss Golden Eagles
Best Player: S Ky’el Hemby, Sr.
Most Interesting Game: at UAB, Nov. 28
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 82
Realistic Season Goal: Win Conference USA Championship
Currently Scheduled Opener: South Alabama, Sept. 3
– Southern Miss 2020 CFN Team Preview
54. WKU Hilltoppers
Best Player: DE DeAngelo Malone, Sr.
Most Interesting Game: at UAB, Oct. 17
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 83
Realistic Season Goal: Win Conference USA Championship
Currently Scheduled Opener: at Louisville, Sept. 12
– WKU 2020 CFN Team Preview
53. SMU Mustangs
Best Player: QB Shane Buechele, Sr.
Most Interesting Game: at TCU, Sept. 12
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 46
Realistic Season Goal: Top 4 AAC Finish
Currently Scheduled Opener: at Texas State, Sept. 5
– SMU 2020 CFN Team Preview
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52. Florida Atlantic Owls
Best Player: RB Malcom Davidson, Soph.
Most Interesting Game: at FIU, Nov. 14
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 45
Realistic Season Goal: Win Conference USA Championship
Currently Scheduled Opener: To be determined, at Georgia Southern, Sept. 19
– Florida Atlantic 2020 CFN Team Preview
51. Georgia Southern Eagles
Best Player: LB Rashad Byrd, Sr.
Most Interesting Game: Appalachian State, Oct. 14
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 30
Realistic Season Goal: Win Sun Belt Championship
Currently Scheduled Opener: Campbell, Sept. 12
– Georgia Southern 2020 CFN Team Preview
CFN Rankings Redo: 26-50 | 11-25 | Top 10