It looks like ND is not included here, but (3) opponents are. I am sure you will all be delighted that Michigan is one of them. I am not surprised by Stanford, but a bit by Georgia (though their reasoning is fair). Actually a pretty good list overall in my opinion.
https://www.cbssports.com/college-f...ms-in-the-2019-preseason-coaches-poll-top-25/
5. No. 7 Michigan: Listen, I am fully on board with Michigan heading into the regular season. I think this is the season that the Wolverines and Jim Harbaugh will get over the hump, beat Ohio State and win the Big Ten. Because, seriously, if not now, when?
All that said, it'd be dishonest of me while writing a post like this to ignore that Michigan is slightly overrated to start the season. The Wolverines will start at No. 7 while Florida, the team that beat them 41-15 in the Peach Bowl in December, starts at No. 8. Does that seem right to you? Plus, during Harbaugh's tenure with the Wolverines, they're 1-9 against top 10 teams. So while I believe Michigan is going to finish in the top five and possibly reach the CFP, I have a hard time putting it this high when it has performed so poorly against teams of this caliber in recent years.
4. No. 3 Georgia: Georgia is in a somewhat similar position as Michigan here. For the most part, I believe the Coaches Poll got the top 15 right. Sure, I'd move a couple teams up or down a spot or two, but there's nothing egregiously wrong with it. One of the bigger of their small mistakes, in my mind, is having Georgia at No. 3 ahead of Oklahoma at No. 4. Georgia is talented and good enough to win the SEC and get to the playoff. But should it start the season ranked ahead of an Oklahoma team that has won 46 games the last four seasons, at least 10 games in 16 of the last 19 seasons, and been selected for the last two College Football Playoffs (and three of the last four)?
No, it shouldn't. Particularly when you consider that last we saw the Bulldogs, they were losing to Texas in the Sugar Bowl. And spare me all the excuses about Georgia not caring about the game because they felt they should be in the playoff. That's an excuse for losers, and this Georgia team isn't full of losers.
2. No. 23 Stanford: When I mentioned the voters realizing they had to pick a Pac-12 school at some point, I would bet Stanford was a "well they're usually good" choice on a lot of ballots. And Stanford usually is! I just don't know how good it will be this season. While the Cardinal get K.J. Costello back at quarterback, they lose a lot of production elsewhere and are especially hit hard at receiver and on the offensive line. What further complicates matters is that Stanford's last couple of recruiting classes haven't quite been up to its recent standards, so I'm not sure there are ready-made replacements around to step right in and pick up the slack.
Then there's the schedule, which sees the Cardinal starting the season with Northwestern, USC, UCF and Oregon. That's not an easy start, particularly with both USC and UCF on the road. Then, after a brief respite against Oregon State (also on the road), the Cardinal play Washington. Things get easier from there, but not as easy as you might think, as there's still a road trip to Wazzu and the regular-season finale against Notre Dame. This is a Stanford team that finished 9-4 last season and was unranked in 2018. I think it'll have a much more difficult time getting to nine wins again this season, so it's hard to envision this team finishing where the Coaches Poll has it starting.
https://www.cbssports.com/college-f...ms-in-the-2019-preseason-coaches-poll-top-25/
5. No. 7 Michigan: Listen, I am fully on board with Michigan heading into the regular season. I think this is the season that the Wolverines and Jim Harbaugh will get over the hump, beat Ohio State and win the Big Ten. Because, seriously, if not now, when?
All that said, it'd be dishonest of me while writing a post like this to ignore that Michigan is slightly overrated to start the season. The Wolverines will start at No. 7 while Florida, the team that beat them 41-15 in the Peach Bowl in December, starts at No. 8. Does that seem right to you? Plus, during Harbaugh's tenure with the Wolverines, they're 1-9 against top 10 teams. So while I believe Michigan is going to finish in the top five and possibly reach the CFP, I have a hard time putting it this high when it has performed so poorly against teams of this caliber in recent years.
4. No. 3 Georgia: Georgia is in a somewhat similar position as Michigan here. For the most part, I believe the Coaches Poll got the top 15 right. Sure, I'd move a couple teams up or down a spot or two, but there's nothing egregiously wrong with it. One of the bigger of their small mistakes, in my mind, is having Georgia at No. 3 ahead of Oklahoma at No. 4. Georgia is talented and good enough to win the SEC and get to the playoff. But should it start the season ranked ahead of an Oklahoma team that has won 46 games the last four seasons, at least 10 games in 16 of the last 19 seasons, and been selected for the last two College Football Playoffs (and three of the last four)?
No, it shouldn't. Particularly when you consider that last we saw the Bulldogs, they were losing to Texas in the Sugar Bowl. And spare me all the excuses about Georgia not caring about the game because they felt they should be in the playoff. That's an excuse for losers, and this Georgia team isn't full of losers.
2. No. 23 Stanford: When I mentioned the voters realizing they had to pick a Pac-12 school at some point, I would bet Stanford was a "well they're usually good" choice on a lot of ballots. And Stanford usually is! I just don't know how good it will be this season. While the Cardinal get K.J. Costello back at quarterback, they lose a lot of production elsewhere and are especially hit hard at receiver and on the offensive line. What further complicates matters is that Stanford's last couple of recruiting classes haven't quite been up to its recent standards, so I'm not sure there are ready-made replacements around to step right in and pick up the slack.
Then there's the schedule, which sees the Cardinal starting the season with Northwestern, USC, UCF and Oregon. That's not an easy start, particularly with both USC and UCF on the road. Then, after a brief respite against Oregon State (also on the road), the Cardinal play Washington. Things get easier from there, but not as easy as you might think, as there's still a road trip to Wazzu and the regular-season finale against Notre Dame. This is a Stanford team that finished 9-4 last season and was unranked in 2018. I think it'll have a much more difficult time getting to nine wins again this season, so it's hard to envision this team finishing where the Coaches Poll has it starting.
