College Football Rankings: 5 teams that should be ahead of Alabama in AP Top 25 Poll

Although the Alabama Crimson Tide are the defending SEC champions and played in the final four-team College Football Playoff last season, it is the dawn of a new era in Tuscaloosa, aight. That is because Nick Saban has retired from the coaching profession and, now, in comes former Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer to try and keep this teetering dynasty on the tracks. What all could go wrong?

Regardless of how you feel about the Crimson Tide heading into the season, the Associated Press still thinks very highly of them. In the preseason AP Top 25 Poll, Alabama will enter the season ranked No. 5. The top four were not a surprise to many (Georgia, Ohio State, Oregon, Ohio State), but I would not have had the Crimson Tide that high. I would have had them as a top-10 team, but not at No. 5.

So what I am going to do today is outline five teams that either could have or honestly shoud have been ranked ahead of Alabama. Some are more obvious than others, while some teams are merely me trying to stir the pot to be slightly controversial. Can Alabama win the national title this year? I am skeptical of that, but I also would not rule it out entirely. It will all start by winning at least 10 games.

Here is one team that if it had a bigger brand would have probably been ranked ahead of Alabama.

5. No. 12 Utah Utes

I'm not trying to be a troll here, but there are a lot of people out there who are extremely high on the Utah Utes entering this season. While I am not for certain going to pick them to get to Arlington in the new Big 12, this has the makings of potentially being a top-four team in the country, based strictly on AQ. Cam Rising can rent a car with how long he has been in school. Plus, they have Kyle Whittingham.

Utah is like a lesser version of Georgia. The Utes are well-coached, usually have great quarterback play and will mess you up physically every time you take the field with them. The Big 12 should be a lot of fun this year. While there are plenty of scenarios in which Alabama and Utah make the College Football Playoff, I have a better sense of what I am getting out of the Utes than I do the Crimson Tide.

Utah should have been a top-10 team in the initial AP Top 25 Poll, so I have them ahead of Alabama.

4. No. 13 LSU Tigers

Keep in mind this one important thing. It is the Brian Kelly pop year. When it has been his third year at any program of note, his teams go places. Year three at Notre Dame resulted in a national title berth. Year three at Cincinnati saw his team get to a BCS bowl. Year three at Central Michigan culminated in a 10-win season. You get the picture, right? LSU has an easy schedule and a terrific head coach in Kelly.

With Garrett Nussmeier taking over for Jayden Daniels under center, I have a hard time seeing the Bayou Bengals skipping a beat offensively. The real big key here for them is if the defense can level up under Blake Baker. While I don't see the Tigers entering the SEC Championship Game at a perfect 12-0, this feels like a team destined to be at the very least 10-2, probably an 11-1 team in all honesty.

With LSU, there are so many more knowns with the program than I can say with Alabama right now.

3. No. 6 Ole Miss Rebels

While the LSU Tigers and the Utah Utes could have conceivably been ranked higher than Alabama, these next three teams absolutely should have. The first team we need to touch on is the Ole Miss Rebels. Even though they were only a spot behind Alabama in the initial AP Top 25 Poll, I don't feel that the Rebels being ranked behind Alabama is as egregious as others. It has everything to do with Lane Kiffin.

We know that the Rebels are going to put up points offensively in a multi-faceted attack. We know that they will also lose a game they cannot afford to. What it really comes down to is everything is pulling in the same direction for Ole Miss, whereas there are still some loose ends that need to be tied up in Tuscaloosa. Overall, I like Ole Miss' chances of getting to Atlanta far more than I do of Alabama's.

Ole Miss is properly rated at No. 6, but the Rebels should have been ranked higher than the Tide.

2. No. 7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Even if Notre Dame often gets too much love from the college football media this time of the season, I fully expect Marcus Freeman to have his Fighting Irish ready to play this year. His team made great strides last year. They just picked up former Duke quarterback Riley Leonard, not to mention former LSU offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock. Keep in mind Notre Dame is still a national independent.

The reason why that is significant is all they need to do is go something like 10-2 to make the playoff with fairly decent regularity. I have seen two Notre Dame teams make the playoff, as well as a third play for a BCS National Championship under Brian Kelly before. To me, this team is giving up similar vibes that cannot be denied. As with the other teams mentioned, I know what I am getting a big more.

Like Ole Miss, Notre Dame is properly rated at No. 7, but I would have had them ahead of the Tide, too.

1. No. 8 Penn State Nittany Lions

I would have had the Penn State Nittany Lions at No. 5 in my AP Top 25 Poll if I had a vote. Even though they feel like firmly the third-best team in the league behind Ohio State and Oregon in that order, they are a lock to make the playoff. James Franklin is The Driver, baby, keeping his hands at 10-2 so he can go 10-2 as if his life depended on it. 10-2 in the new Big Ten means you're a playoff team.

With so many ascending players on the team in Drew Allar, Nicholas Singleton and Adbul Carter, not to mention former Ohio State receiver Julian Fleming coming over from Columbus, this team has one of the highest floors in college football. I love the two coordinator hires Franklin made in getting former Indiana head coach Tom Allen and former Kansas offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki.

I have nothing but confidence in this Penn State team's ability to keep the car on the road to go 10-2.