Georgia takes over as No. 1 in the USA TODAY Sports post-spring college football NCAA Re-Rank 1-134, followed by Nick Saban-less Alabama at No. 7 and defending national champion Michigan at No. 14.
Led by one of the nation’s top quarterbacks in Carson Beck, the Bulldogs left spring practices looking the part of the best team in the Bowl Subdivision and the current favorite to win a third national championship in four years.
Rounding out the top group are No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Texas, No. 4 Oregon, No. 5 Notre Dame, No. 6 LSU, the No. 7 Crimson Tide, No. 8 Florida State, No. 9 Clemson and No. 10 Mississippi.
The Wolverines remain talented enough to win the Big Ten and get back into the College Football Playoff but enter the summer with question marks: How well can they replace J.J. McCarthy? Will there be a seamless transition from Jim Harbaugh to Sherrone Moore?
LOOKING AHEAD: Our way-too-early Top 25 after spring practices
Overall, the post-spring Top 25 includes eight teams from the SEC and seven from the Big Ten. The biggest roll of the dice is No. 25 Nebraska, which finished with a losing record in coach Matt Rhule’s debut. But the re-rank is banking on Cornhuskers experiencing a second-year bump similar to what Rhule’s teams experienced at Temple and Baylor.
The re-rank keeps adding teams. We’re now up to 134 with the addition of Kennesaw State, which slots in at No. 132 after going 3-6 last season as a Championship Subdivision independent. The Owls are ahead of No. 133 Louisiana-Monroe and No. 134 Kent State.
*Kennesaw State’s record was from playing in the Championship Subdivision last year.