College Football Power Rankings | 56-70
Which schools sit outside the top half of the rankings, and which ones sit just inside?
70) Ball State
Can Ball State go back-to-back in the MAC? History is against the Cardinals; they haven’t had consecutive winning seasons in almost 10 years. Still, the 2020 campaign was their first winning season since 2013, so smashing convention is something this unit is familiar with.
Although they lose running back Caleb Huntley and cornerback Antonio Phillips, they return almost their entire starting team from last year, including quarterback Drew Plitt. As a result, the Cardinals are the second-highest MAC team in our College Football Power Rankings.
69) Tulsa
The defense was the soul of last season’s 6-3 Golden Hurricane team, but unfortunately, it has been decimated. Zaven Collins parlayed a sensational season into a first-round NFL Draft selection. Furthermore, both starting cornerbacks in Akayleb Evans and Allie Green IV are gone. Despite having impressive defensive pieces like Jaxon Player, it’s unlikely they can dominate on defense again this year.
The offense returns exciting pass catcher Keylon Stokes. Additionally, the entire offensive line is back. Their importance can’t be understated with a new starting quarterback in Davis Brin. They avoid UCF, but traveling to conference contender Cincinnati is a killer.
68) UAB
Anything less than a trip to the C-USA Championship game is a disappointment to the Blazers, such has been the rapid elevation of the program under Bill Clark. There is plenty of reasons to believe that this UAB team can follow last year’s success.
However, at the same time, it would be wise to temper expectations. They’ve lost Spencer Brown, Austin Watkins, and Myron Mitchell from the offense, and Jordan Smith headlines the defensive losses. Still, the offense is elite, and Tyler Johnston III should be back to full fitness and refined form.
67) UTSA
In his first season as a head coach, Jeff Traylor led the 2020 Roadrunners to their best record since 2013. Meanwhile, they reached a bowl game for only the second time in their existence. Can they challenge for a C-USA title this year? As the second-ranked team from the conference in our College Football Power Rankings, we think so.
They return one of the country’s best running backs in Sincere McCormick, and quarterback Franco Harris offers an additional ground threat. Rashad Wisdom, Tariq Woolen, and Lorenzo Dantzler all return for the 41st-ranked defense in the nation from a year ago.
66) Mississippi State
There was much anticipation for Mike Leach’s offense at Mississippi State — it got off to a record-setting start against LSU. Subsequently, the wheels fell off and the cowbells were silenced in Starkville. Will Rogers beat out K.J. Costello for the starting job last year but faces competition from Southern Miss transfer Jack Abraham. One of them has to get it going for an offense that ranked 110th in the nation.
Whoever wins the QB battle will have ample protection from left tackle Charles Cross. The defense lost their leader in Erroll Thompson but added multiple transfer portal pieces. Back-to-back games against Texas A&M and Alabama could break the back of their season by mid-October.
65) Colorado
Colorado was one of the surprise teams of 2020, getting off to a 4-0 start in Karl Dorrell’s first season in charge. Despite losing their final two games of the season, it was their best record since 2016. Although they lost quarterback Sam Noyer, the Buffaloes should have a strong ground offense this season. Jarek Broussard returns as does Alex Fontenot, who missed last season but put up nearly 900 yards in 2019.
Their key to success will be linebacker Nate Landman, who was outstanding before an injury last fall. A fairly brutal schedule with road trips to Utah and Oregon and an out-of-conference clash with Texas A&M isn’t kind to their chances of repeating last year’s performance.
64) Wake Forest
Despite one of the worst records of the Dave Clawson era last year, the Wake Forest offense was one of the best in the nation. Sam Hartman led the Demon Deacons to four consecutive wins in the middle of the year and went toe to toe with Sam Howell as the Demon Deacons almost upset North Carolina. However, the defense was abysmal, ranking 91st in the nation. Additionally, they lost the defense’s best piece in Carlos Basham Jr.
A brutal schedule that features road trips to UNC, Clemson, and Boston College could ensure another losing season. On the plus side, they should win against Duke and Syracuse, who are the only ACC teams ranked below them in our College Football Power Rankings.
63) Nebraska
For someone whose surname is synonymous with the cold, the seat which Scott Frost sits on sure feels hot heading into the 2021 college football season. Since his arrival, the Cornhuskers have had three consecutive losing seasons, and it’s difficult to see that changing this year.
With Luke McCaffrey and Wan’Dale Robinson transferring out of the program, there’s a distinct lack of talent around Adrian Martinez for an offense ranked 101st in the nation. Cam Taylor-Britt and JoJo Domann are nice defensive pieces but can the defense carry the team to wins?
62) Appalachian State
Since their arrival in the Sun Belt in 2013, the Mountaineers have been a perennial championship challenger. They face a tough challenge from Louisiana and Coastal Carolina, but their positioning as the third-best Sun Belt team in our College Football Power Rankings suggests they’ll be in the mix.
They return a ton of offensive talent in Thomas Hennigan, Camerun Peoples, and Corey Sutton. Meanwhile, cornerback Shaun Jolly returns to lead a defense that ranked 16th in the nation last fall. The Mountaineers will live or die by the performances of transfer quarterback Chase Brice, who threw 15 interceptions in a nine-loss season for Duke just a year ago.
61) San Jose State
Brent Brennan’s team went undefeated in the regular season for the first time in program history, won a Mountain West title, and ranked the highest the program has been since 2012. It feels like quarterback Nick Starkel has been around since then, and the veteran signal-caller returns for another year with the Spartans.
Almost more importantly for San Jose State’s chances, they return 10 starters from the defense that ranked 15th in the nation last year. An early November trip to Nevada will likely decide their chances of landing consecutive titles.
60) Kentucky
After four consecutive winning seasons, Kentucky slipped below .500 for the first time since 2015. Can the Wildcats claw their way back to a winning record this year? They should have a dynamic ground game behind Chris Rodriguez Jr. and Kavosiey Smoke, while offensive tackle Darian Kinnard is one of the best in the business.
However, their defense (undoubtedly the strength of the team last season) suffered major losses. Furthermore, with the departure of Terry Wilson, there is uncertainty at the quarterback position for a Kentucky team whose passing game was the worst in the nation. Will Levis should win the job, having been (arguably) the better Penn State quarterback last year.
59) Arkansas
On the surface, a three-win season is nothing to shout about. However, not only did Sam Pittman deliver the most wins for the program since 2017, they also won an SEC game for the first time in three years. Then, they won two more and were (arguably) cheated out of another against Auburn.
The Razorbacks have talent on both sides of the ball. Treylon Burks is one of the best pass catchers in the country, and the defense is led from the secondary by young safety Jalen Catalon. It remains to be seen how K.J. Jefferson will lead the offense this fall with the departure of Feleipe Franks. Furthermore, they face road games at Alabama and Georgia, strong contenders for the College Football Playoff.
58) Western Michigan
In a shortened 2020 season, the Broncos had their best record since going 13-1 under P.J. Fleck in 2016. Although they lost D’Wayne Eskridge to the NFL, there are plenty of pieces back from an offense that ranked 10th in the nation last year.
Quarterback Kaleb Eleby is an under-the-radar quarterback prospect for the 2022 NFL Draft. Furthermore, in Jaylen Hall, they return the nation’s leading yards-per-catch receiver. Their campaign starts with a trip to Buffalo but hosting Ball State could be the key to contending for a MAC title. Their positioning as the top MAC team in our College Football Power Rankings suggests that the offense can take them all the way in the conference.
57) California
There were big expectations for the Cal Bears ahead of the 2020 season. Then, everything got turned upside down and they struggled to a 1-3 record. However, things weren’t as bad as they seemed. Two of the losses were in close games, and they finished the year strong with a win over Oregon.
The Bears return the majority of their offensive line, all of their leading receivers, and Kuony Deng (a unique LB to lead their defense). Their success will ultimately depend on Chase Garbers returning to 2019 form, which looks like an outlier at this moment in time.
56) Purdue
The Boilermakers went 2-4 in limited action last season, the third consecutive losing campaign of Jeff Brohm’s tenure. Losing a talented playmaker like Rondale Moore to the NFL is always difficult, but David Bell has actually led the team in receiving yards the last two seasons and returns for another year.
On the defensive side, George Karlaftis is one of the best defensive ends in the nation and should be back to full fitness this campaign. Committing to a quarterback would give the Boilermakers more certainty, but they continue to rotate Jack Plummer and Aidan O’Connell.