College Football Top 25: Spring practice 2016 edition

Who are college football’s top 25 teams as spring practices start?

Is it ever too early to talk about college football and speculate who the top teams happen to be? Absolutely not. While the start of the 2016 college football season is still a little over five months away and March Madness is in high gear, fans are still hungry for anything related to the gridiron.

Recruiting news usually takes over this point of the year until spring games begin and then for the entire summer, but why not talk about which teams are believed to start the season in the top 25?

Compiling a top 25 for the upcoming football season, three things have to be taken into account: One, the team must have finished the 2015 season strong to be high on the list. Two, the incoming recruiting class must be more than just a snooze. And three, returning players are always key.

A team can have the best recruiting class in the nation, but if everyone is departing and there are zero key players returning, there’s going to be a problem. That program might end up being in the top 25, but that’s based on potential alone.

In case you were living under a rock and missed the end of the 2015 season, Michigan State, Clemson, Alabama and Oklahoma made the second annual College Football Playoff and, to no one’s surprise, they’ve all made out top 25 list — maybe even the top 10. Alabama triumphed over Clemson in the title game, but does that mean the Crimson Tide are automatically No. 1?

Find out who we have at the top and let us know if you agree or disagree in the comment section below.

Next: 25. Wisconsin Badgers