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2015 College Football top 25: Ohio State Buckeyes positioned to repeat

By Patrick Schmidt

Jan 12, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; General view of an Ohio State Buckeyes helmet held in the air prior to the game against the Oregon Ducks in the 2015 CFP National Championship Game at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 12, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; General view of an Ohio State Buckeyes helmet held in the air prior to the game against the Oregon Ducks in the 2015 CFP National Championship Game at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 12, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes running back Ezekiel Elliott (15) celebrates a touchdown during the third quarter against the Oregon Ducks in the 2015 CFP National Championship Game at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 12, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes running back Ezekiel Elliott (15) celebrates a touchdown during the third quarter against the Oregon Ducks in the 2015 CFP National Championship Game at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

Fresh off a national championship, the Ohio State Buckeyes top the early look at the 2015 college football top 25 with a trio of quarterbacks and Heisman candidate Ezekiel Elliott returning next season for a chance to repeat.

The first year of the College Football Playoff lived up to the hype, especially if you’re a fan of Ohio State who saw the Buckeyes sneak in the top four in the last week and marched through the playoff bracket to win the National Championship Game.

Urban Meyer joined Nick Saban as the only two head coaches to win national championships at multiple schools after winning his third overall title and could be one year away from matching Saban with four championships.

Ohio State returns three quarterbacks who could probably start at all but a handful of programs across the country and running back Ezekiel Elliott who ran for 247 yards and four touchdowns en route to MVP honors in the title game.

Mark Schlabach from ESPN.com revealed his way-too-early top 25 after Ohio State defeated the Oregon Ducks in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game on Monday, but didn’t have the Buckeyes as his early pick for the No. 1 team.

This way-too-early top 25 has the Buckeyes in the top spot and it was an easy call. As for the rest of the top 25, there were few certainties at this stage with recruiting classes yet to be finalized, position battles to be won and a few marquee players could be transferring and shake up the construction of a two teams.

But with the 2014 season over let’s take an admittedly very early look at how the preseason top 25 could look in a few months. The last AP top 25 poll, recent program history, returning starters, recruiting classes and the stability of the coaching staff were among the factors used to decide the early top 25.

Come July this may look silly, but for the college football junkies who aren’t ready to shift into offseason mode this serves as a discussion point until spring football and when the official preseason polls come out in the summer.

After reading through the ranking, please offer up your thoughts in the comments section below and continue the debate.

Next: Tennessee

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