College football rankings: 3 underrated teams on ESPN’s post-spring Top 25 and 3 overrated
By John Buhler
These six college football teams are getting either too much love or not nearly enough respect.
With college football spring practice firmly in the rearview, ESPN released its post-spring Top 25 rankings earlier this month.
While ESPN’s Mark Schlabach got most of his Top 25 right, there are a few teams he is higher on than he should be, as well as underrating a few teams in his rankings process. Of course, this will all be settled out on the field this season, but where you start a season typically goes a long way towards where you finish. What teams are getting too much love and who got the shaft here?
With the offseason upon us, here are three underrated and three overrated college football teams.
ESPN’s post-spring Top 25: 3 underrated teams
Pick Analysis. Miami Hurricanes. 834. Scouting Report. ACC. Coastal. 3. player
The gap between the Miami Hurricanes and the North Carolina Tar Heels is 17?!
Only three ACC teams crack Schlabach’s Top 25, and they are the teams you would expect to do so. However, why are there 17 teams between the No. 8 North Carolina Tar Heels and the No. 25 Miami Hurricanes? While you could certainly argue for North Carolina’s spot inside of the top 10, Miami should be ranked in the teens and not in the mid-20s, especially with D’Eriq King back.
West. 2. player. 809. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Big Ten. Wisconsin Badgers
The Wisconsin Badgers have the quarterback to win the Big Ten West this year
The Wisconsin Badgers are the fourth highest-ranked Big Ten team. While Paul Chryst’s program should not be ranked inside of the top 10, the Badgers coming in at No. 18 and four spots back of the No. 14 Iowa Hawkeyes doesn’t seem right. If Graham Mertz is every bit as good as we think he is at quarterback, Wisconsin will win the Big Ten West and get to a New Year’s Six bowl this year.
Atlantic. 1. Scouting Report. player. 879. Pick Analysis. ACC. Clemson Tigers
The Clemson Tigers should be a top-two team
It was a bold move to put the Clemson Tigers at No. 4. Even though Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne are among the Tigers who turned pro, this should be a top-two team behind only the Alabama Crimson Tide entering the 2021 college season. Having the No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners and the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs ahead of them will only serve as motivation for Dabo Swinney’s team.