Tag: athlon sports

Where does Rutgers football slot in for the updated Big Ten power rankings?

Rutgers football is in a solid spot in the Athlon Sports preseason rankings.

There is nothing quite like power rankings to fill that void when the news cycle hits a lull. Need content? Create some power rankings for the Big Ten!

Thankfully, Athlon Sports did that earlier this month, unveiling an updated power rankings for the Big Ten. This includes what has to be said is a rather fair ranking for Rutgers.

While putting Ohio State (and then Oregon) as the top two teams in the Big Ten, Rutgers was given a very fair shake by Athlon Sports and even a measure of respect. Last year, the Scarlet Knights finished the season 7-6 and won the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl over Miami.

This year, in the expanded Big Ten, Rutgers is checking in middle-of-the-pack in the Athlon pre-spring Big Ten Power rankings. Athlon has Rutgers at No. 10 in the Big Ten:

“The Scarlet Knights return four starters up front and underrated running back Kyle Monangai. Can the passing game take a step forward with Gavin Wimsatt or Minnesota transfer Athan Kaliakmanis under center?”

Being placed tenth in the rankings by Athlon is probably pretty fair. Rutgers is good enough to win three or four conference games this season and could once again potentially sweep the out-of-conference schedule. That Week 3 game at Virginia Tech, much like it was last year, could well decide the direction of the season.

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Athlon praised the defense and the job done by head coach Greg Schiano and defensive coordinator Joe Harasymiak with the unit.

Where Oregon’s roster ranks among the most-talented in the Big Ten Conference

A look at which teams have the most roster talent based on past recruiting rankings in the Big Ten going into the 2024 season.

Recruiting is the lifeblood of all college sports teams, but not more so than in football. Television networks allot blocks of time dedicated to Signing Day.

In short: Recruiting is a very big deal.

The level of success in recruiting can determine a team’s success on the field. But it’s not an exact science. Coaching and team chemistry have their places too. For teams competing for national championships, however, they usually rank near the top on a consistent basis. Those in the top 25 or so can have their moments, but they’re not playing for a title year after year.

Athlon Sports used recruiting rankings from 247Sports and attempted to show which teams in the Big Ten have the most talent on the roster. Of course, recruiting ratings don’t always perfectly result in talent on the field, as coaching and development has a huge part to play, but it does give us a good baseline for where the talent lies.

The usuals such as Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State are near the top and they included the new four schools from the Pac-12.

Oregon should fit in nicely and cause some problems in the new conference, but the other three, even USC, has some work to do on the recruiting trail if they want to compete for Big Ten titles.

Here’s a look at the most talented rosters in the Big Ten in 2024, ranked by Athlon Sports. 

Where Clemson ranks in Athlon Sports college football way-too-early Top 25 for 2024

Here is a look at where Athlon Sports ranks Clemson football in their way-too-early Top 25 rankings.

Dabo Swinney and the Clemson football program had a solid 2023, but the team and fans did expect more out of the Tigers this past season. 

Ending their season with a 38-35 wild Gator Bowl win over Kentucky is a great end; finishing 9-4 with a 4-4 record in the ACC falls short for many. With the 2023 season behind us, the team, fans, and media move on to the 2024 season and what Clemson could look like next season. 

Clemson has the talent to be great in 2024, but a lot of development and hard work will be needed for this team to return to being a true competitor. Athlon Sports recently released their college football way-too-early Top 25 for 2024, with Clemson right in the hunt as their No.13 ranked team.

With Florida State losing a big chunk of talent from the ACC Championship team from ’23, coach Dabo Swinney’s Tigers are likely to open ’24 as the favorite to win the conference. After averaging only 23.6 points a contest in ACC play, Swinney hopes another offseason for quarterback Cade Klubnik under coordinator Garrett Riley will help to elevate the entire production of this group. Helping to ease the pressure on a developing offense is another standout defense in Death Valley. Linemen Peter Woods and TJ Parker and linebackers Wade Woodaz and Barrett Carter headline the top returners next season.

The Tigers are their highest-ranked team in the ACC, followed by Florida State (17), Louisville (23), NC State (25), Miami (26), Virginia Tech (28), and SMU (29). A lot of fringe top 25 teams in the ACC as the conference looks to compete with the SEC, BIG 12, and BIG 10.

Clemson should return to top-dog status in the ACC next season, but whether they’ll compete for the big one is up in the air.

Here’s how Athlon Sports sees Florida-Missouri game playing out

Another sports media publication weighs in on this weekend’s Florida-Missouri matchup.

Florida football has two more chances to earn a bowl berth but both games come against highly-ranked teams, starting with the No. 11 Missouri Tigers.

This weekend, Mizzou looks to continue its solid showing during the Southeastern Conference schedule, entering the game with a 4-2 record thanks in part to a 36-7 win at home against the Tennessee Volunteers.

Traveling to the midwest in the middle of November has always been a tough task for the Orange and Blue, and the Week 12 matchup does not look to be any easier either. Ahead of the game, Athlon Sports’ Zach McKinnell submitted his takes for the upcoming SEC tumble.

“Missouri enters this game riding high off a dominant win over Tennessee, while Florida has continued to struggle after losing three consecutive games,” McKinnell begins. “Running back Cody Schrader is having an outstanding season for the Tigers and the Gators have struggled to stop the run. Florida’s defense has allowed 44.6 points per game over the past three games.

“I expect Missouri’s offense to have a massive game, but Florida puts up a fight early,” he continued. “Missouri will win the game, but the Gators find a way to cover (the spread) with a late touchdown.”

The Tigers host the Gators in Columbia on Saturday, Nov. 18, inside Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET and the game can be watched on ESPN.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Florida just outside top 25 in Athlon Sports CFB rankings Week 8 update

The Florida Gators are coming out of the bye week as a top-30 team in the nation, according to Athlon Sports, but No. 1 Georgia looms.

Florida looked like a potential top-25 team when it beat Tennessee earlier in the year, but a rough game against Kentucky quieted down any such talk.

A pair of wins over South Carolina and Vanderbilt has Florida sitting at a 5-2 record following the Week 8 bye, though, and Athlon Sports thinks the Gators have performed well enough to earn the No. 27 spot in the most recent update to the site’s college football rankings.

The Gators have a chance to break into the top 25 this week with a strong showing against No. 1 Georgia, but a lopsided loss could do just as much harm.

Behind the Bulldogs in the top 5 are Michigan, Ohio State, Florida State and Washington. Florida hosts FSU to end the season, but the Seminoles aren’t the only ranked opponents left on the schedule. LSU and Missouri occupy the Nos. 15 and 16 spots, respectively. Florida plays both teams back-to-back after a meeting with No. 66 Arkansas.

Checking in on the rest of the SEC, Alabama is in the top 10 at No. 9 and Ole Miss is just outside at No. 11. Tennessee is in danger of slipping outside of the 25 with another big loss at No. 21, and Kentucky is one spot ahead of Florida at No. 27. Texas A&M is No. 40, Mississippi State is No. 50, Auburn comes in at No. 55 and South Carolina is at No. 61.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Athlon Sports has Florida football in SEC cellar ahead of Week 2

There’s only one direction for the Gators to go and that is up.

The Southeastern Conference boasts one of — if not the — strongest collection of college football programs in the nation this season, including the Georgia Bulldogs who are seeking their third-straight national championship.

Unfortunately, the Florida Gators have fallen to the bottom of the league thanks to its unforgiving regular-season schedule as well as its embarrassing Week 1 loss at the Utah Utes. It is a steep hill for Billy Napier and Co. to climb in an effort to avoid the Orange and Blue’s third-straight losing season, and the sports media has been unforgiving in its rankings so far.

Athlon Sports’ Zack McKinney published his SEC power rankings ahead of Week 2’s action, with Napier’s squad sitting in the cellar at No. 14. Six conference teams faced FCS programs and another four had games against Group of Five programs, which did not lead to major changes in the power rankings.

Take a look at the full rankings below.

14. Florida (0-1)

13. Missouri (1-0)

12. South Carolina (0-1)

11. Mississippi State (1-0)

10. Vanderbilt (2-0)

9. Kentucky (1-0)

8. Arkansas (1-0)

7. Auburn (1-0)

6. LSU (0-1)

5. Texas A&M (1-0)

4. Ole Miss (1-0)

3. Tennessee (1-0)

2. Alabama (1-0)

1. Georgia (1-0)

The Gators look to even up their overall record before conference play begins against the Cowboys, who travel to Gainesville on Saturday, Sept. 9. Kickoff time is slated for 7:30 p.m. EDT inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

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What the experts are predicting: Notre Dame vs. Navy

Do you expected the one-sidedness of this rivalry to continue?

Notre Dame is facing longtime rival Navy in Ireland in Week 0 of the 2023 college football season. It only makes sense that we begin our series of football Saturdays with a matchup that goes back nearly a century with only one interruption. The people of the Emerald Isle will see this game on their turf for the third time, so they should know what to expect by now.

Let’s look at what some college football experts are predicting for this game:

Athlon Sports ranks Dabo Swinney as the top head coach in the ACC

No surprises here; Dabo Swinney is the best coach in the ACC.

Heading into the 2023 college football season, media outlets have been doing many different rankings for players, teams, and coaches. 

Recently, Athlon Sports took a crack at ranking the ACC’s College Football Coaches for 2023. When discussing coaching in the ACC, while there are multiple great coaches, only one is the clear-cut best in the conference. That head coach is Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney.

Writer Steven Lassan agrees, ranking Swinney as the conference’s top coach heading into 2023. Here is what Lassan had to say about the Tigers’ future Hall of Fame head coach.

1. Dabo Swinney, Clemson
Clemson has emerged as one of college football’s top programs and an annual threat to make the CFB Playoff under Swinney’s watch. After a slow start to his tenure (19-15 from 2008-10), the Tigers have won double-digit games every year, claimed two national championships and have not lost more than two games in ACC play since ’11. Clemson hasn’t made a trip to the CFB Playoff since ’20, while the offense has regressed in the last two seasons. However, hiring Garrett Riley from TCU to call plays should help the offense get back on track, and potentially elevate the Tigers back into the mix for a playoff spot in ’23.

Swinney being the top coach in the ACC is as clear as it gets. His career is too impressive and he is still performing in 2023.

With eight ACC Championships, two College Football Playoff National Championships, and 15 first-round picks with Swinney at the helm, the Clemson football program has developed into one of the premier programs in the country. There is no coach in the ACC more deserving of the No.1 ranking.

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3 Alabama players land on Athlon’s top 25 SEC players for the 2023 season

Trio of Alabama football stars land inside Athlon’s top 25 SEC players for the 2023 season!

It’s that time of year again. Preview magazines and preseason rankings for the upcoming college football season are rapidly being published. Each offseason, one of the most highly anticipated preview magazines comes courtesy of Athlon Sports.

Recently, Athlon released its top 25 SEC players entering the 2023 college football season and a total of three Alabama football stars landed on the list. In fact, each of Alabama’s three representatives landed inside the top 10.

Georgia star tight end Brock Bowers was the obvious choice as the top player in the conference followed by LSU super sophomore linebacker Harold Perkins.

Let’s take a look at which Alabama players found themselves on the list and where they are in the rankings!

Athlon Sports predicts Alabama to win the SEC West in 2023

Alabama expected to rise back up to the top of the SEC West in 2023.

The Crimson Tide are looking to reclaim their throne atop the SEC West in 2023 after coming up short last season to the LSU Tigers. The good news for Alabama fans is that they get their three toughest games in LSU, Tennessee and Texas all at home in Tuscaloosa.

Alabama has won the SEC West in six of the past nine seasons and I expect that to be the standard for Nick Saban again this season. The Tide haven’t missed out on the SEC Championship Game in back-to-back years since 2010 and 2011. With two new coordinators and having to replace a Heisman Trophy winner, it won’t be a walk in the park, but the Tide has all of the tools in place to make it happen.

Steve Lassan of Athlon Sports predicts that Alabama will be the winner of the West in 2023 saying, “It’s a toss-up between Alabama and LSU at the top of the SEC West. With the game in Tuscaloosa next fall, a slight edge goes to the Crimson Tide at No. 1. But coach Nick Saban’s team also possesses more question marks than usual, so this won’t be an easy path to the SEC title game… Talent isn’t the issue for Saban’s team. How fast does this all come together?”

If Alabama can figure out the quarterback position and find some stability in the wide receiving room they immediately become the best team in the country. The offensive line and running backs will be outstanding in 2023 and I have a lot of optimism regarding Kevin Steele and the defensive pieces he has to utilize. Plus, it never hurts to have the best coach the game has ever seen.

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Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.