Way-Too-Early No. 1-128 College Football Rankings For 2017 Season

    Campus Insiders' way-too-early No. 1-128 College Football Rankings for the 2017 season. This is how all 128 FBS programs grade out and project for the 2017 season as we look ahead to spring football.


    Campus Insiders’ way-too-early No. 1-128 College Football Rankings for the 2017 season. This is how all 128 FBS programs grade out and project for the 2017 season as we look ahead to spring football.


    The 2016-17 college football season has, sadly, come to an end, as Clemson defeated Alabama to claim its first national championship since 1981.

    The Tigers battled back from a 14-0 deficit and handed Nick Saban his first loss as Crimson Tide head coach when he entered the fourth quarter with a double-digit advantage. He had been 97-0 in such situations heading into Monday night’s contest.

    While a long offseason is ahead, it’s never too early to look at the national landscape and anticipate another exciting season of the greatest sport on Earth.

    Where does your team land in the way-too-early 2017 1-128 rankings?

    No. 1-128 College Football Rankings

    128. Rice
    127. Kent State
    126. UTEP

    125. San Jose State: New head coach Brent Brennan has a tough rebuild ahead of him, although he knows the lay of the land from spending six years at SJSU in a variety of offensive coaching roles under Dick Tomey and Mike MacIntyre. He understands the challenges of this job and still holds recruiting connections throughout the state due to stints at SJSU, Arizona, Washington, Hawaii and others during his coaching career. He has a chance to succeed with the Spartans.

    124. New Mexico State
    123. Texas State
    122. Georgia State
    121. Buffalo
    120. UMass
    119. Charlotte
    118. Bowling Green
    117. Rutgers
    116. Kansas
    115. Fresno State
    114. Utah State
    113. Louisiana-Monroe
    112. Tulane
    111. Marshall
    110. UNLV
    109. UConn
    108. Northern Illinois
    107. Ball State
    106. FIU
    105. Nevada
    104. Illinois
    103. Virginia
    102. East Carolina

    101. FAU: New Owls head coach Lane Kiffin brought in former Baylor offensive coordinator Kendal Briles to assume the same position, so expect an immediate impact on that side of the ball. Kiffin brings a pedigree to his new job that has to excite the FAU fan base. How much did he learn from Saban during his ‘Bama tenure?

    100. Georgia Southern
    99. Louisiana-Lafayette

    98. Hawaii
    97. Purdue

    96. Eastern Michigan
    95. Missouri
    94. Akron
    93. Central Michigan
    92. Iowa State
    91. Oregon State
    90. North Texas
    89. Maryland
    88. SMU
    87. UTSA
    86. Baylor
    85. Arizona
    84. Cincinnati
    83. South Alabama
    82. Boston College
    81. Idaho

    80. Oregon: New head coach Willie Taggart brings discipline and improved focus, while new coordinator Jim Leavitt will start to improve the Ducks on the defensive side of the ball. It will be a different brand of football in Eugene, but it just may be what the doctor ordered. Taggart had major impacts at Western Kentucky and USF after working with Jim Harbaugh at Stanford.

    79. Miami, OH
    78. Ohio

    77. Texas Tech
    76. Cal
    75. Arizona State

    74. Colorado State
    73. Army
    72. Vanderbilt
    71. Duke
    70. Southern Miss
    69. Indiana

    68. Michigan State
    67. Mississippi State

    66. UCF: Scott Frost finished his first season with the Knights in disappointing fashion, as they fell to Arkansas State, 31-13, in the Cure Bowl. It was still a successful season, though, as UCF went from winless in 2015 to a bowl team in 2016. The future is bright if you are a Knights fan.

    65. Syracuse
    64. Wake Forest
    63. Arkansas State

    62. UCLA
    61. South Carolina
    60. Northwestern
    59. Western Kentucky
    58. Appalachian State
    57. Old Dominion
    56. New Mexico

    55. Louisiana Tech
    54. TCU

    53. Wyoming
    52. Memphis
    51. Kentucky

    50. Houston: Major Applewhite assumes head-coaching duties after Tom Herman left to take over at Texas. This is a program that has found a lot of success over the past decade, as Art Briles, Kevin Sumlin and Herman had nice runs at the school. Applewhite has a tough act to follow, but he deserved a head gig.

    49. Toledo
    48. Middle Tennessee
    47. NC State
    46. San Diego State
    45. Troy
    44. Temple

    43. Western Michigan
    42. Arkansas

    41. Georgia Tech
    40. Iowa

    39. Air Force
    38. Nebraska

    37. Boise State
    36. Utah
    35. Minnesota
    34. Pittsburgh

    33. North Carolina

    32. Tulsa: The Golden Hurricane finished their 2016 season with a win over Central Michigan in the Miami Beach Bowl. Montgomery’s bunch suffered just a loss to Ohio State and then two setbacks by a combined nine points to Houston and Navy on its way to a 10-3 record. This is a dangerous AAC squad, and a non-conference road test looms at Oklahoma State to kick off the ’17 campaign.

    31. Notre Dame
    30. Ole Miss
    29. Washington State
    28. Navy

    27. Colorado
    26. Kansas State

    25. BYU
    24. Texas A&M
    23. Virginia Tech
    22. Texas
    21. USF
    20. Tennessee
    19. Stanford
    18. Miami
    17. West Virginia
    16. Florida
    15. Auburn
    14. Wisconsin

    13. Louisville
    12. LSU
    11. Georgia
    10. Washington
    9. Michigan
    8. Penn State
    7. Oklahoma

    6. Clemson: With Deshaun Watson gone, all eyes will be on rising junior Kelly Bryant, rising redshirt freshman Zerrick Cooper and incoming true freshman Hunter Johnson as the Tigers look to replace their two-time Heisman Trophy finalist. There’s a chance that offensive stars such as Mike Williams, Artavis Scott and Wayne Gallman leave early too, and the defense will lose veterans such as linebacker Ben Boulware and cornerback Cordrea Tankersley. But the cupboard isn’t bare, and Swinney is almost at the point where he can plug in replacements and not see too much dropoff. The leadership of Watson will be the biggest void to fill.

    5. USC: The Trojans received an incredible performance from star freshman Sam Darnold in their Rose Bowl win over Penn State, as he passed for 453 yards and five touchdowns to help ‘SC win its ninth consecutive game. Even with the loss of JuJu Smith-Schuster and the expected departure of corner Adoree’ Jackson, Clay Helton has his Trojans ready to take over the Pac-12 once again.

    4. Oklahoma State: Quarterback Mason Rudolph and wide receiver James Washington will return, and the Cowboys get rival Oklahoma at home. The non-conference slate is tricky, but this could be the year that Mike Gundy’s crew breaks through onto the national stage.

    3. Florida State: Redshirt freshman quarterback Deondre Francois showed his toughness and grit starting with the season opener against Ole Miss, but looming is a tough ’17 debut versus Alabama in Atlanta. Even with a loss in that game, FSU could still get into the College Football Playoff by winning the ACC. Jimbo Fisher’s squad will be loaded.

    2. Ohio State: Urban Meyer will remain embarrassed throughout the offseason after his team was shut out by Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl, which was the first time in his head coaching career that an offense was blanked. J.T. Barrett returns to a retooled offense for his senior season, and the Buckeyes are not short on elite talent.

    1. Alabama: As long as Nick Saban is head coach, the Crimson Tide will remain national title contenders year in and year out. Quarterback Jalen Hurts will only get better, and premier talent is always ready to step in when a star leaves Tuscaloosa. Roll Tide!

    MORE: Way-Too-Early College Football Playoff Predictions For 2017 Season

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