College Football Power Rankings | 41-55
One team that cracked the AP Top 10 poll last season finds themselves outside the top 40 heading into 2021.
55) Tennessee
The Volunteers offense ranked 109th in the nation last season and lost all of its best pieces. Both leading running backs are gone, the star receiver in Josh Palmer has gone pro, and two key pieces of the offensive line are no longer there. Josh Heupel may have proven to be an offensive mastermind at UCF, but he’s got his work cut out to turn around a Tennessee team in crisis.
They suffered defensive losses, too, with the most notable being Henry To’oto’o’s transfer to Alabama. They’ll face the Crimson Tide in October as the hardest game on their schedule.
54) Houston
The Cougars made Dana Holgorsen the highest-paid Group of Five coach in 2019, and they’re still waiting to see a return on that investment. Last year’s 3-5 record ensured Houston had consecutive losing seasons for the first time since 2001-2002. Sure, Holgorsen had excuses the last two years, but he needs the Cougars to compete this campaign.
Quarterback Clayton Tune and leading wide receiver Nathan Dell both return to the offense alongside four returning offensive linemen. However, the defense will have to overcome the loss of key pieces in Payton Turner and Grant Stuard. Avoiding UCF and Cincinnati on their schedule is a big boost to their chances of returning to winning ways.
53) Stanford
Although 2020 got off to a bad start with consecutive losses, David Shaw’s team got back above .500 by winning out down the stretch. However, they lost their starting quarterback, center, right tackle, and leading receiver from last year. Furthermore, their schedule is as brutal as it gets. They have to face the major Pac-12 contenders in Oregon, USC, Utah, and Arizona State before finishing the year with an out-of-conference clash with Notre Dame.
The performances of sophomore quarterback Tanner McKee and defensive end Thomas Booker will be critical for a team that could struggle this year.
52) Virginia Tech
Despite ranking as high as No. 19 during the season, the Hokies finished outside the AP Top 25 for the third consecutive season. Furthermore, they’ve entered the season outside of the Top 25 in the last two years. They enter the upcoming campaign outside the top 50 in our College Football Power Rankings.
Virginia Tech loses three key components from a ground attack that was one of the best in the nation last year. Although Braxton Burmeister presents a more aerial threat and they return their leading receivers from last year, Hendon Hooker’s presence under center made the Hokies a more dangerous offense than the one that starts the 2021 season.
51) Kansas State
Chris Klieman’s coaching history is rooted in the defensive side of the ball, yet the Wildcats struggled defensively in his second season at Kansas State. There has to be improvements there if they have any chance of competing in a wide-open Big 12 conference behind Oklahoma. Ironically, the Wildcats have beaten the Sooners in consecutive seasons.
The offense wasn’t much better than the defense last year. However, Skylar Thompson should be healthy and represents a significant upgrade over Will Howard. Furthermore, in Deuce Vaughn, they have a diminutive dynamo out of the backfield.
50) Florida State
The offense was abysmal, the defense was atrocious, and Florida State slipped to their worst record since 1975 in Mike Norvell’s first season as head coach. There’ll be allowances due to the global situation, but there was a lot not to like about FSU in 2020. Furthermore, some of the best players from last year are now gone, and with road games against UNC, Clemson, Boston College, and Florida, the schedule doesn’t do them any favors.
On the plus side, if McKenzie Milton can get on the field, he’s a dramatic upgrade under center. Additionally, linebacker Amari Gainer has the potential to emerge as one of the best linebackers in the conference.
49) Marshall
The top-ranked C-USA team in our College Football Power Rankings, Marshall captured the hearts of college football fans last fall as they embarked on a seven-game winning streak to start the season. Although their challenge ultimately faltered, they should once again challenge for the conference title. Why? They return eight starters to a defense that led the nation in points allowed last year.
More importantly, they have one of the best young quarterbacks in the nation in Grant Wells. Losing Cain Madden to Notre Dame is not ideal, and Josh Ball and Brenden Knox went to the NFL Draft, but Wells’ top targets return. Their game with UAB on November 13 is critical for both teams.
48) NC State
Dave Doeren’s team proved that 2019 was just a blip on an otherwise winning landscape with a solid 8-4 season in 2020. Although the offense finished 48th in the nation, there are reasons to believe they can be even better this season. Devin Leary, Zonovan Knight, and Emeka Emezie are an exciting offensive trio, while excellent offensive lineman Ikem Ekwonu will pave the way.
The question marks are predominantly on defense, and a conference schedule that starts with Clemson and ends with UNC is challenging.
47) Louisville
After a strong 2019 campaign, Scott Satterfield’s team was expected to elevate in 2020 but it never came. Although they return starting quarterback Malik Cunningham, their leading rusher and receiver are both gone. Former Georgia Southern quarterback Shai Werts will, however, provide an interesting offensive wrinkle. Adonis Boone is an under-the-radar offensive lineman to keep track of this year.
The defense has lost even more than the offense and could struggle to contain the high-powered offenses on the schedule for this season.
46) BYU
The Cougars were one of the fairytale teams of 2020, emerging from relative obscurity to challenge the college football elite. However, their spot in our College Football Power Rankings reflects the difficulty of repeating that success. Zach Wilson‘s departure to the NFL is an obvious loss but other key pieces of last year’s third-ranked offense are equally hard to replace.
Similarly, there’s a lot of defensive pieces to figure out. Their second game of the season against Utah is more difficult than any game from last season, minus Coastal Carolina.
45) Auburn
A disappointing six-win season proved to be the final act of Gus Malzahn’s tenure. In his place comes former Boise State head coach Bryan Harsin. Although Harsin has been successful with the Broncos, there’s a giant leap from the Mountain West to the SEC. He also inherits an offense that ranked just 90th in the nation last season.
Tank Bigsby is one of the best running backs around, but the receiving room has been decimated, the offensive line is just okay, and there’s the uninspiring quarterback situation. There are reasons to be optimistic about the defense, starting with the hire of Derek Mason. However, they have to face Georgia, Alabama, and Texas A&M. Then, there’s the quarterback situation.
44) Maryland
For two games in each of Mike Locksley’s tenure at Maryland, the Terrapins look like the best offense in all of football. Remember the way they scorched Syracuse in 2019? How about the way they pummelled Penn State last year? Yet, somehow, they finished the season with the 98th-ranked offense last year. They’ve got playmakers in Taulia Tagovailoa, Dontay Demus, and Rakim Jarrett — but they need to be consistent.
The defense has to be more like the unit that held Penn State under 20 than the one that allowed 40+ points to Minnesota and Northwestern.
43) Virginia
Which version of the Cavaliers will we get this season? In 2019, they won the ACC Coastal and finished with a 9-5 record. Last year, they lost the same amount of games and only won five in a reduced schedule. One of those five was a shock win against North Carolina; they will travel to Chapel Hill this season.
Avoiding Clemson on the schedule is a huge boost for a team that returns many of last year’s starters. They have to hope that continuity and consistency help grind out wins, as there are few flashy playmakers on either side of the ball.
42) Texas Tech
Texas Tech averaged less than 300 passing yards for the first time in 20 years last season. There was certainly little “Air Raid” for the Red Raiders in 2020, with running back SaRodorick Thompson being the most potent offensive threat. Expect them to revert this season with the big-armed Tyler Shough transferring from Oregon. Wide receiver Erik Ezukanma gives him a go-to guy. Furthermore, they landed highly regarded freshman Jerand Bradley to add to the passing game.
Nonetheless, Texas Tech hasn’t had a winning season since 2015 and has to travel to Texas and Oklahoma.
41) Northwestern
Although Pat Fitzgerald is one of the most well-respected coaches in the game, last season was the first time his Northwestern team has cracked the top 10 of the AP poll. Yet, they drop significantly from there in our College Football Power Rankings.
Quarterback Peyton Ramsey made the Wildcats offense go last season — he’s gone. Their defense that ranked fifth in the nation has suffered significant losses, including Greg Newsome, Paddy Fisher, and defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz. Fitzgerald will have them well-coached, Brandon Joseph is one of the best safeties in the game, and they avoid Indiana and Ohio State on the schedule, but a repeat of last season may be a stretch.