2016 College Football Preview

There are quite a few reasons that college football teams are ranked every year, and the biggest reason for the hierarchy is actually all about money. Yeah, not even college football can escape this money trap. First and foremost, ranking teams is all about directing teams to a bowl game at the end of the season, with better and more popular bowl games bringing in a lot more money. Though why have preseason rankings and mid-season rankings instead of just ranking at the end? While there are also many reasons for this, a big reason here also has to do with money; e.g. how the odds line up in Vegas and how gamblers perceive strong teams vs. weak teams based on placement. College Football Betting Sites wants to give you the information necessary on team rankings, and we're doing things a little early for 2016.

Rather than waiting until the season is in full swing, when everyone knows where these teams rank, we instead want to give you a preseason preview of where the teams are lining up and how they're perceived to do this season. So if you want to know what to expect from your favorite college football teams, here's some food for thought.

For the most part, you're looking at some of the usual suspects in the top-25 polls. There are coaches polls, the AP poll, fan polls, ESPN polls, and more. Though, at the end of the day, all that really matters for the past couple of years in college football is where the playoff committee ranks the teams. And their poll doesn't come out in the preseason; you would have to wait until the season is well underway before the committee blesses we mere mortals with its divine presence. So, until that point, we're looking at polls like the AP, and they have many of the same teams ranked. You'll find teams like Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State, all of which were in the playoff last season. And you'll find some other front-runners for their conference. Below, we'll list out the teams in the order they're ranked per the AP.

There are actually dozens of conferences in NCAA D1 Men's college football, although only a few of them actually account for anything under the BCS (Bowl Championship Series) system. These would be the power-five conferences: The Southeastern Conference (SEC), the Pac-12, the Big Ten, the Big 12, and the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). These conferences align with their bowl games for the “power,” so to speak, and these conferences are likely to produce the playoff contenders every single year, barring something amazing like an undefeated with a good schedule outside of the power-five, or an undefeated independent like Notre Dame.

So, which teams are expected to win their respective conferences? Let's have a look at the preseason predictions for conferences:

1: SEC: Although packed to the rafters with competition from Auburn, LSU, A&M, Ole Miss and more, Alabama is actually expected to take home its third consecutive SEC Championship.

2: Pac-12: Another conference that isn't short on talent, the Pac-12 will be a dogfight with teams like Stanford and USC, though Oregon is looking the strongest in the preseason for a conference victory, even if they're not the highest rated team in the preseason. It comes down to scheduling and on-field talent.

3: Big Ten: Michigan has really come to life under coach Jim Harbaugh, and the Michigan State Spartans actually won the conference last year and went to the playoff. However, Ohio State is looking much stronger than any other team in the Big Ten this season, and likely is the case that coach Urban Meyer will lead his team to its second playoff appearance in three seasons.

4: Big 12: Typically has been the case for the past five or so years that the Big 12 is a toss-up between the Baylor Bears and the Horned Frogs of Texas Christian University (TCU). However, the Oklahoma Sooners actually dominated this Texas-based conference last season. Though after losing many of their key players, and other teams in the conference getting stronger, we're back to Baylor-TCU vying for the top spot. The Big 12 doesn't play a championship game, so it comes down to the best record. Going by pure talent on the field, Baylor has a much better chance to win than TCU this season.

5: ACC: The ACC isn't always known as a hotbed of football talent, but that was prior to Clemson's undefeated run last season, en route to a National Championship game, which they lost to Alabama. With most of their star power returning, and no real improvements elsewhere in the conference, this is Clemson's conference to lose. Barring something spectacular from Florida State, Clemson should end up on top.

Unlike college basketball, where the best players only play a single season, it's very common in men's D1 football for the biggest and brightest stars on the field to play at least three seasons. It's not a rule necessarily; it's more of a custom. The top players vie for the Heisman and a National Championship to improve their draft stock, and so they have a habit of sticking around a lot longer than basketball. This means that many great players are returning to the field for the 2016 season. Here are some of the best you can hope to see playing this year.

• Christian McCaffrey, RB, USC
• Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson
• Leanord Fournette, RB, LSU
• Dalvin Cook, RB, FSU
• Myles Garret, DE, T-A&M
• Jonathan Allen, DE, Alabama
• J.T. Barrett, QB, OSU
• O.J. Howard, TE, Alabama
• Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma
• Cam Robinson, OT, Alabama
• Seth Russell, QB, Baylor
• Nick Chubb, RB, Georgia

Odds to win this year's National Championship and make the playoffs change depending on which site/source you check out. For instance, some have Ohio State leading the pack at 11/2, while Bovada has Alabama and Ohio State neck and neck at 5/2 each. Notre Dame is actually in the conversation this season, going off at 12/1. Likely is the case that their semi-home in the ACC has prompted some discussion on what the Fighting Irish can accomplish if they slip past Clemson. Baylor is the front-runner in the Big 12, while most believe it's a toss-up between Stanford and Oregon out there in the Pac-12. Although every team starts with a blank slate and technically has the same odds, you can whittle things away to around six or so teams who have a legitimate shot. Rarely if ever does a team come from nowhere and shock the world. Clemson, although a surprise, wasn't really a shock; they were just under the radar in the ACC. This year they're above board and have media attention, and they're another team that could threaten to win.

Be warned that these rankings are going to change, and change right soon. As of the middle of July, this is where the AP has the top-10 teams ranked. Though once the season starts, you can expect a change every single week.

1: Clemson
2: Oklahoma
3: LSU
4: Tennessee
5: Baylor
6: Ohio State
7: Alabama
8: Houston
9: Florida State
10: Michigan

If you want a much better and more complete picture of how the teams are likely to do during the course of the football season, then the composite rankings based on recruiting and team strength are a much better gauge to go by than the preseason AP polls. This is because the AP rates on end of the year projections, which is a really advanced time frame, whereas the composite rankings rate teams based on player strength and how the teams actually look. Here are the top-10 composite rankings.

1: Alabama
2: Florida State
3: LSU
4: Ohio State
5: Michigan
6: Ole Miss
7: Texas
8: Georgia
9: Auburn
10: USC

Obviously nothing here is written in stone. Though if you want to bet on football or at least keep current with what's really going on, then looking at actual player strength and recruiting classes typically pans out more productively than going with AP projections for how teams will rank in another six months.

Overall, the NCAAF coaches admit that "any team in the current top 10 could easily win the national title this years." Check out our list of USA college football betting sites if you want to get down on some betting action this year. And if you are unclear about the legalities of betting on sports in the United States, check out our football betting laws section.