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Way-too-early 2020 college football rankings: Clemson, Ohio State, Alabama vie for No. 1

By Nicholas Ian Allen

Trevor Lawrence, Clemson Tigers. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Trevor Lawrence, Clemson Tigers. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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MIAMI, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 30: Head coach Dan Mullen of the Florida Gators talks with Kyle Trask #11 against the Virginia Cavaliers during the second half of the Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium on December 30, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 30: Head coach Dan Mullen of the Florida Gators talks with Kyle Trask #11 against the Virginia Cavaliers during the second half of the Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium on December 30, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

4. Florida Gators, 11-2 (6-2)

College football analytics guru Bill Connelly found that returning experience (and specifically, returning production) matters most in the passing game and that receiving yardage has the strongest correlation from one season to the next. That’s the bad news for Florida, which returns starting quarterback Kyle Trask (good!), but must replace at least 54.56 percent of its receiving yardage from the 2019 squad (the national average was 41.29 percent in 2019).

But that’s really the only concern for the Gators at this point in 2020 (and elite tight end Kyle Pitts, 6-foot-5 wideout Trevon Grimes and versatile offensive weapon Kadarius Toney should all be back, so it’s not even that much of a concern).

On defense, the Gators have openings from the departures of a few high-profile players like pass rushers Jabari Zuniga and Jonathan Greenard, leading tackler David Reese II and corner C.J. Henderson, but 71.27 percent of last season’s tackling production returns (60.54 percent was the average in 2019), so the unit is plenty experienced. And former Georgia five-star Brenton Cox, who transferred and sat out last year, should slide into Greenard’s spot nicely.

3. Alabama Crimson Tide, 11-2 (6-2)

Alabama isn’t going anywhere. Nick Saban is still one of the greatest coaches of all time, and the talent level in Tuscaloosa is still elite. Plus, the Crimson Tide got a big boost to its 2020 national championship hopes when preseason All-American linebacker Dylan Moses, who missed the entire 2019 season after he suffered a torn ACL in fall camp, declared he would return to school. Left tackle Alex Leatherwood did the same.

Of course, Tua Tagovailoa, Jerry Jeudy, Xavier McKinney and Jedrick Willis have announced their intentions to leave for the NFL, so there will be questions that need to be answered. At quarterback in particular, Mac Jones earned invaluable playing time, Tua’s younger brother Taulia Tagovailoa will be a redshirt freshman, and Alabama signed five-star prospect Bryce Young out of California to compete for the job.

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