March 4, 2022 · 7:30 AM

Steele projects the AP preseason top 10

Here you go:

(For shits and giggles, you can find how the AP finished out the 2021 season here.)

Three SEC teams in the top five, eh?  And look at Oregon, last year’s number 22.

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35 Comments

Filed under Phil Steele Makes My Eyes Water

35 responses to “Steele projects the AP preseason top 10”

  1. Hogbody Spradlin
    March 4, 2022 at 7:42 AM

    I predict Klimzen going down, down, down. Dabo’s gotta coach, not just preach.

    Liked by 3 people

    • godawgs1701
      March 4, 2022 at 9:13 AM

      Clemson has a whole lot of ingredients to cook one hell of a meal again this year. But if they’re going another year with DJ U at quarterback it might be a problem. I won’t go all Dawg homer and say that we broke him but he definitely got broken at some point between that promising start at Notre Dame and the 2021 season. They need to get him right, get him confident, and get him making good decisions. If not, they’d better hope the other kids are ready to go.

      Like

      • Hogbody Spradlin
        March 4, 2022 at 11:10 AM

        I just can’t see Dabo doing great without coordinators to prop him up.
        As for D.J. Ukulele, remember that Greyson Lambert went 24-25 against SC in 15 (absolutely loved that game), and promptly went South after that.

        Like

  2. munsonlarryfkajim
    March 4, 2022 at 7:54 AM

    Wow.

    Clemson should be much lower. Dabo and that team need to earn their way back to the top tier

    A&M? I did not realize one incredible recruiting class that isn’t even on campus can have that kind of impact. Do they have a qb?

    Notre Dame – if they waltz into the playoff – with a new coach no less – they will be a sacrificial lamb for UGA or Alabama in round 1

    Michigan – didn’t they lose most of their good players and a couple coordinators?

    Oklahoma – I thought most of their team transferred to USC (east AND west). Who is their QB now? Venables first time head coach

    Oregon – Bo Nix is their QB. That’s all you need to know that they aren’t a top 10 team. I wish Lanning the best except when playing us, but I’d expect some first year first time head coach leaning curve issues like we saw with Kirby

    If the Dawg graders thought college football was down in 2021 just wait until they see 2022

    Liked by 6 people

    • W Cobb Dawg
      March 4, 2022 at 9:01 AM

      “A&M. Do they have a QB?”

      They picked up CMR nephew Max Johnson from LSU. I was really hoping he’d transfer to Athens. Has all the tools, and I’m fairly certain he’ll be playing on Sundays in the not to distant future.

      Like

    • godawgs1701
      March 4, 2022 at 9:11 AM

      A&M has been recruiting on a very high level before this year. They’ve got a lot of talent. They tripped over their own … shoelaces a lot last year, but they also went out and throttled Alabama for three quarters and were able to hold on to win. Can they do it again? I have no idea, they’ll have to do it in Tuscaloosa for one thing. But they’re a good football team.

      Like

      • Russ
        March 4, 2022 at 9:28 AM

        They got hammered by Arkansas. Their recruiting has been good on a national level but still behind Bama, Georgia and LSU. They’re about level with Florida. Plus, unless their QB likes crab legs, I can’t see Jimbo coaching them up.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Doug Gillett
        March 4, 2022 at 12:29 PM

        I don’t know how much credence to give A&M’s win over Bama in hindsight. Bama got played really close by Florida, LSU, and Auburn last season, all of whom finished with seven losses. So in the grand scheme of things, it could just be that last year’s Aggies were only a little bit better than a bunch of mediocre teams.

        Will A&M get better if Jimbo keeps recruiting at a high level? I would assume so, yes. But one #1 class isn’t enough to convince me that he’s going to bring in higher-ranked classes than Saban and Kirby year after year after year. And recall that in arguably Jimbo’s best season in College Station (2020), they still caught a four-touchdown ass-kicking from the Tide. Basically I’ll believe A&M is a juggernaut when I see it.

        Liked by 4 people

  3. Hobnail_Boot
    March 4, 2022 at 8:13 AM

    This can’t be right; I’m told Tennessee is elite.

    Liked by 2 people

  4. unionjackgin
    March 4, 2022 at 8:30 AM

    Here is the Top 10 from last year:

    1 Alabama (47) 1,548 13-0
    2 Oklahoma (6) 1,462 9-2
    3 Clemson (6) 1,447 10-2
    4 Ohio State (1) 1,393 7-1
    5 Georgia (3) 1,364 8-2
    6 Texas A&M 1,223 9-1
    7 Iowa State 1,160 9-3
    8 Cincinnati 1,014 9-1
    9 Notre Dame 1,009 10-2
    10 North Carolina 999 8-4

    So this begs the question – is what Steele just posted really a “prediction”? 7 of the teams were in the 2021 Top 10 with the biggest mover being Oklahoma dropping from 2 to 9. UGA, Bama, Clemson, OSU, A&M & ND are all within 3 spots of their 2021 preseason ranking.

    He dropped the underachievers from 2021 Iowa St & UNC and the senior-laden Group of 5 team for a B10 team that made the playoff and the two teams from the Pac12 championship game.

    II think Steele is great but he really isn’t going out on a limb here. Of course neither does the AP.

    Liked by 2 people

  5. uga97
    March 4, 2022 at 8:38 AM

    Oregon at #10 could turn out to be significant if they take care of the rest of their schedule

    Liked by 1 person

    • godawgs1701
      March 4, 2022 at 9:09 AM

      I have no idea what Oregon has this year on their roster, but if Lanning can find a way to turn them into a tougher team this year (I watched both of their games against Utah and they were absolutely bullied) the path appears wide open through the Pac 12. With what might be building at USC there won’t be many more years you can say that.

      Liked by 1 person

      • Russ
        March 4, 2022 at 10:58 AM

        What they have is Bo Nix on their roster.

        Like

      • stoopnagle
        March 4, 2022 at 11:54 AM

        Cristobal recruited really well the last 2 of 3 years and 2022 was the year he was pointing to as a breakthrough for Oregon; but then Mama Called and Mama also decided to start paying coaches, so he left.

        Dan’s a good coach, but he’s also going to be learning a lot as he goes. Kirby was way better prepared and he made all kind of mistakes in 2016.

        They’ve got players — not at our level, of course — but maybe mid-level SEC type: real good first 11, but lack depth. I can see them living up to being top ten.

        Like

  6. Remember the Quincy
    March 4, 2022 at 8:51 AM

    There is such a lack of creativity and critical thinking in preseason top 10 polls.

    Liked by 2 people

    • Down Island Way
      March 4, 2022 at 9:56 AM

      After the lashings received from UGA football and the bammers, surprised wasn’t what i felt about meeeeshigun and the bearcats final landing spots…GO DAWGS!

      Like

  7. biggusrickus
    March 4, 2022 at 8:53 AM

    I don’t really understand A&M at 5. I know they recruited well even before their number one class this year, but they’re losing quite a bit off the defense that carried them, and I don’t see where their offense is going to be markedly improved. Spiller’s gone, and their QB situation isn’t great. It’ll be either an unknown quantity in King or a known mediocrity in Max Johnson.

    Liked by 3 people

    • godawgs1701
      March 4, 2022 at 9:07 AM

      You could say much the same about Georgia. And a lot of the other teams in that top 10. It’s based on potential, and A&M has a lot of football players with potential. I just wish James Coley had more responsibility on their staff so I could feel more assured they were going to faceplant.

      Liked by 1 person

      • biggusrickus
        March 4, 2022 at 10:36 AM

        Sure, except these are the records over the last five years for the top five teams:

        Alabama: 64-6
        Georgia: 58-10
        Ohio State: 56-7
        Clemson: 61-8
        Texas A&M: 41-20

        One of those is not like the others. Fisher has one year there where he’s lost fewer than four games.

        Liked by 3 people

        • Russ
          March 4, 2022 at 11:05 AM

          The Jimbo love is really head-scratching to me.

          Liked by 2 people

        • biggusrickus
          March 4, 2022 at 11:09 AM

          In case anyone was wondering, these are the records for the rest of the top 10:

          Notre Dame: 54-10
          Michigan: 41-18
          Utah: 40-20
          Oklahoma: 56-10
          Oregon: 42-19

          Oregon is kind of trending upward since their 7-6 season in 2017, but I’d expect Michigan and Utah to take a step back from their success last year. Notre Dame may fall off now that Kelly’s gone, too.

          Like

    • stoopnagle
      March 4, 2022 at 11:54 AM

      This right here.

      Like

    • Gaskilldawg
      March 4, 2022 at 12:50 PM

      I agree that the number 1 2002 recruiting class does not mean they will be 18 and 19 year olds beating up SEC 21 and 22 year olds. Maybe they will after a year of growth. SEC strength and conditioning and SEC nutrition. and “maybe ” is doing a lot of heavy lifting.

      Like

  8. uga97
    March 4, 2022 at 8:59 AM

    Phil admits it’s not “his” prediction yet its just him guessing what the AP top 10 will likely look like. His actual book will be slightly different and may have a few different top 10 teams once it goes to print.

    Liked by 2 people

  9. godawgs1701
    March 4, 2022 at 9:06 AM

    Glad to see I’m not the only one who occasionally pulls up the 2021 final rankings just to enjoy seeing Georgia sitting on top of the AP poll. Just wish I had it in an old fashioned newspaper print.

    Liked by 1 person

  10. practicaldawg
    March 4, 2022 at 9:32 AM

    Ok Jimbo, you’ve recruited well. But can you get out of the SEC and into the CFP? You’ll just need to beat out Saban and his generational QB to win the west, then beat UGA in the SECCG. Piece of cake!

    Liked by 1 person

  11. MGW
    March 4, 2022 at 10:09 AM

    Sure do wish we played Clemson, Bama, and A&M a whole lot more often. That should be a list that shows at least two huge games for Georgia’s regular season. Georgia, two SEC schools and Clemson in the top ten. We play none of them. At least there’s Oregon, but let’s be realistic; that’ll be a bloodbath.

    Liked by 1 person

  12. FlyingPeakDawg
    March 4, 2022 at 10:32 AM

    Bama full of backups who lied to their coaches…

    Liked by 2 people

  13. Darin Cochran
    March 4, 2022 at 7:03 PM

    You heard it here first, the team that’s getting overlooked in all of these “way to early” polls is Miami. Yeah, they’ve been down a while, but they return the best QB in the ACC, Tyler Van Dkye. I didn’t realize this, but he finished the season with 6 games in a row of 300+ yards and 3+ TDs. Only one QB has topped that since the playoffs were formed; Joe Burrows with 7 in a row. Whoa…they return most of their OLine and Cristobal brought Alex Mirabal, OLine coach from Oregon with him from Oregon. This is one of the best OL coaches in the country and one that I said on another forum that I wished we would have looked at to replace Luke. This guy can coach up talent as good as anybody.
    The Canes will be 2-0 when they go to Texas A&M in game 3. If they win that game, they’ll be undefeated when they play Clemson, who is replacing both coordinators. If they win that game, they could run the table and make the playoffs. Go ahead and laugh…this is my darkhorse to meet us, Bama and maybe Ohio St or Notre Dame in the playoffs.

    Liked by 1 person