Greetings from "Can't Wait For Saturday," your morning morsel of college football, courtesy of longtime Illini beat writer, AP Top 25 voter and Heisman state rep Bob Asmussen. He'll give you his views each day on the game he loves
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Are you ready for the most college football ever? Twelve teams in the playoffs means eight more postseason games than before. What used to be three is now 11 to decide who is best,
The favorites might dominate in the first two rounds. Or the semifinals will be filled with bottom seeds. We can only hope.
Kick back, relax and enjoy every moment of it. As a primer, I will use this space over the next month and half to count down my preseason Top 50. I welcome complaints and disagreements I might even include them in future stories.
And away we go ...
11. Penn State Big Ten
What's to like?
James Franklin is an underrated coach, averaging almost nine wins a year his first 10 seasons in State College, Pa. His current team is capable of making the expanded College Football Playoff field. ... Despite being hard to get to, Penn State continues to bring in highly rated recruiting classes. ... The 2022 Big Ten Freshman of the Year Nicholas Singleton returns with Kaytron Allen, giving Penn State one of the best running back tandems in the conference. ... Starting quarterback Drew Allar returns with a new coordinator, former Kansas assistant Andy Kotelnicki. Allar had a ridiculous 25:2 touchdown to interception ratio in 2023. ... Tight end Tyler Warren caught seen TD passes in 2023 and could be part of the Mackey Award conversation. ... Defensive end Abdul Carter should thrive under new coordinator Tom Allen. ... Michigan and Oregon aren't on the schedule.
Reasons to worry
Penn State struggled scoring against the best teams, Ohio State and Michigan. ... Allar completed 60 percent of his passes, a number the coaches want to see climb. ... None of the starting receivers return. The team is counting on a big season from Ohio State transfer Julian Fleming. ... All three coordinators are new. ... The opener at West Virginia is a tester. So are consecutive October games at Southern California and Wisconsin.
Previous
50. Maryland Big Ten
49. Colorado Big 12
48. Georgia Tech ACC
47. Tulane American
46. UCF Big 12
45. South Florida American
44. Appalachian State Sun Belt
43. Rutgers Big Ten
42. Virginia Tech ACC
41. Texas Tech Big 12
40. Liberty Conference USA
39. South Carolina SEC
38. Washington Big Ten
37. North Carolina ACC
36. Boise State Mountain West
35. Memphis American
34. Kentucky SEC
33. Nebraska Big Ten
32. Florida SEC
31. Auburn SEC
30. SMU ACC
29. Wisconsin Big Ten
28. West Virginia Big 12
27. Iowa State Big 12
26. NC State ACC
25. Iowa Big Ten
24. Arizona Big 12
23. Louisville ACC--July 13
22. Southern California Big Ten
21. Kansas State Big 12
20. Texas A&M SEC--July 16
19. Kansas Big 12--July 17
18. Miami ACC
17. Oklahoma SEC
16. Clemson ACC
15. Oklahoma State Big 12
14. Tennessee SEC
13. Utah Big 12
12. LSU SEC
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