🏈 2019 PFF Preseason Top 25 College Football Power Rankings --Pro Football Focus on college footbal

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With spring football coming to a close, we’re nearing the dog days of summer. Week 0 is still a few months away, but to tide you over, we’re going to give you all our first set of PFF ELO Top 25 rankings.

The Elo algorithm updates a team’s rating dynamically through using the outcome of a game versus what was expected to happen in a game, assigning bigger bumps to teams that upset great teams than teams that narrowly beat teams for which they are big favorites. The PFF version uses PFF grades for every facet of play to derive what the score of a game should have been based on an ensemble of models that weigh positive and negative plays in said facets.

There are offseason adjustments for coaching changes and quarterback changes, as well as a realignment that takes into consideration the strength of a team’s conference (which is new for this year). Since not all quarterback changes are final, and there are often some surprises with respect to coaches, these are not the Week 0 final rankings. Nonetheless, enjoy!


1. CLEMSON
While a spring injury to Amari Rodgers was a big blow to the defending champions, Clemson still has the incomparable Trevor Lawrence and a great stable of receivers that includes Justyn Ross. His 4.98 yards per route run average was the best of any qualifying wide receiver a season ago, and he should only get better with Lawrence, who boasted a 24-to-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio when kept clean as a true freshman. Some regression is likely to be in order for Lawrence and company, but the underlying process is still likely good enough to roll through the ACC again and vie for a repeat in 2019.

2. ALABAMA
Much like Clemson, Alabama has a great quarterback surrounded by a terrific supporting cast of wide receivers capable of taking passes both deep and short to the end zone. Their coverage was exposed in the National Championship Game, however, surrendering over 16 yards per pass attempt when they blitzed Clemson freshman Trevor Lawrence for a passer rating above 145.0. They will need to properly reload in this area if they want to be the favorite to win the title, as that distinction is now the Tigers’

3. LSU
We were higher on LSU going into last season than most, and hence we’re probably going to be doubling down on what was a pretty impressive season by the Tigers in 2018 as we go into 2019. While the emergence of quarterback Joe Burrow was a notable story last season, the biggest reason for LSU’s improvement was their defense, which was a top-10 group in terms of coverage. Losing Greedy Williams (Browns) does not help, but they have Kristian Fulton and Grant Delpit back, and the latter might be college football’s best safety. Will they be able to get over the hump that is Alabama in 2019?

4. GEORGIA
After having been caught from behind by Alabama’s backup quarterback the last two seasons, Georgia comes into 2019 with some real potential (again) to make some noise atop the SEC and college football in general. D’Andre Swift comes back as one of the nation’s best running backs, averaging over four yards per carry after contact over the last two years while generating 10 or more yards on over 20% of his carries. Jake Fromm returns, having held off new Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields through increasing his completion percentage six points from 2017, throwing 30 touchdowns (to just six interceptions) and earning a top-15 grade among Power 5 players at the position.

5. NOTRE DAME
6. OHIO STATE
7. OKLAHOMA

8. FLORIDA
Florida is a team on the up-and-up in the SEC, boasting a great defense and an improving quarterback in Felipe Franks. Dan Mullen has cemented his spot as one of the best coaches in college football, improving the Gators’ win total by six wins in 2018. If Franks can make a jump similar to the one he made in 2018 (14 points on the PFF grading scale) and edge Jabari Zuniga can continue a progression that has seen his pressure total go from 21 to 28 to 36 in three seasons, this team can be one of the more complete in the nation.

9. WASHINGTON
10. IOWA
11. PENN STATE
12. TEXAS
13. AUBURN
14. TEXAS A&M
15. MISSISSIPPI STATE
16. SYRACUSE
17. MISSOURI
18. MICHIGAN
19. KENTUCKY
20. VIRGINIA
21. IOWA STATE
22. UTAH
23. WASHINGTON STATE
24. NORTHWESTERN
25. STANFORD