2020 College Football Rankings Early Top 25 (College Football News)

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19. Tennessee Volunteers

Biggest Positive: The defensive front gets everyone back. The team started to find its footing as the season went on, and 2020 will start around the lines. There’s depth and plenty of experience on the D line.

Biggest Concern: Will the receivers step up? Three of the top four targets are done, and there will be way too many young parts needing to rock for a passing game that wasn’t anything special.

Key New Addition: QB Harrison Bailey. It always seems like Tennessee wants to find another option for Jarrett Guarantano, and Brian Maurer and JT Shrout got their shot last year, but the 6-4, 220-pound Bailey will get a chance.

Key Loss: LB Daniel Bituli. He combined with Darrell Taylor and S Nigel Warrior to give the Vol D playmakers to work around. Bituli led the team in tackles, and Taylor led the way in tackles for loss.

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13. Auburn Tigers

Biggest Positive: Okay, Bo Nix, let’s go. The big recruit of 2019 got his feet wet, he went through the wars, and now he needs to take the next step up as the leader and star of a good-looking passing game. The O should open it up more.

Biggest Concern: The offensive line is starting over. The defensive front is losing some key parts, and the secondary has a whole lot of work to do, but replacing four starters on the offensive front hurts.

Key New Addition: RB Cartavious Bigsby. The Tigers have their quarterback for the next few years in Nix, but they need the star running back to help the cause. That should be the 6-1, 215-pound Bigsby sooner than later.

Key Loss: DT Derrick Brown. The defensive front loses enough starters to be a problem, and not having Brown anymore hurts the most. He was the heart-and-soul type for the fantastic D.

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11. Texas A&M Aggies

Biggest Positive: Everyone is back on defense. Okay, there are a few losses, and not having Justin Madubuike anymore for the line or corner Debione Renfro hurts, but for the most part, this is the year when things are supposed to come together on that side of the ball under Jimbo Fisher.

Biggest Concern: The receiving corps needs the young guys to shine for Kellen Mond. Getting leading receiver Jhamon Ausbon back for one more year is massive, but losing Quartney Davis and Kendrick Rogers early is disappointing, but expected. Fortunately, there’s …

Key New Addition: Demond Davis. The 6-3 freshman fits the mold the program is going for. This is already a talented young group around Ausbon, and Davis fits right in.

Key Loss: Braden Mann. You don’t replace one of the greatest punters in college football history with just anyone. He was a weapon who bailed the team out of jams time and again.

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7. Georgia Bulldogs

Biggest Positive: Okay, Georgia receiving corps. Let’s go. A problem at times throughout the 2019 season, getting back George Pickens and a decent-looking group overall should crank up a more explosive passing game.

Biggest Concern: Offensive line. Everything was fine in the Sugar Bowl win over Baylor, and great recruiting classes should make this all okay soon enough, but Andrew Thomas, Isaiah Wilson and Solomon Kindley formed the nucleus for one of the nation’s best offensive fronts. Losing Cade Mays to Tennessee makes things even worse.

Key New Addition: QB Jamie Newman. With Jake Fromm bolting for the NFL, Georgia needed another option to step into the quarterback mix. Newman – the former Wake Forest starter – closed out his season with a thud, but he was a red hot playmaker over the first half of the year. He’s got the size and experience to shine if the rest of the parts around him are in place.

Key Loss: RB D’Andre Swift. The offense was able to work with its main man limited in the final two games, and Zamir White looked the part in the bowl win over Baylor, losing Swift and Fromm is a huge letdown for the Bulldog backfield.

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6. LSU Tigers

Biggest Positive: It looks like most of the main parts of the coaching staff will stick around. Ed Orgeron was named the Coach of the Year, the top assistants are in place, and for now, Joe Brady appears to be committed to the cause for 2020.

Biggest Concern: This is put together before the national championship happens, and there’s a shot that LSU gets hammered by early losses to the NFL to go along with the departure of Joe Burrow and several other seniors. At least seven Tigers should be taken in the first three rounds of the 2020 NFL Draft. There isn’t any one area that will get decimated, but the losses across the board might be huge. If they’re not … all apologies, and put LSU in the top three.

Key New Addition: CB Elias Ricks. S Grant Delpit is a lock to be a top ten overall pick, and Kristian Fulton is going to be someone’s top corner get. The 6-3 Ricks should get a long look at corner on the other side of Derek Stingley.

Key Loss: Burrow. Myles Brennan knows the offense, he’ll have good targets to throw to, and he should be ready to take over the attack. But to do what Burrow just did? That’s asking for lightning to strike twice.

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4. Florida Gators

Biggest Positive: The offensive line is loaded. It was more than good enough to blast away for a more powerful offense than it got credit for – now it should be better. It’s a veteran group that should give Kyle Trask plenty of time to work.

Biggest Concern: Wide receiver. Four of the top five receivers are gone. Leading target Kyle Pitts is back at tight end, but Trask needs the guys on the outside he can rely on.

Key New Addition: RB Lorenzo Lingard. Florida has been active on the transfer circuit, but out of all the new parts to the mix, getting the ultra-talented speed back from Miami was the strongest signing … for 2021. He won’t be eligible yet.

Key Loss: The defensive front will be fine – it’s Florida. It managed to survive and be fine when Jonathan Greenard and Jabari Zuniga were hurt, but the line needs more bodies. Those two – when they were on the field and healthy – were killers.

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3. Alabama Crimson Tide

Biggest Positive: The defensive back seven should be a killer. Injuries and youth have kept the Bama D from being the BAMA D over the last few seasons. That’s about to change. The receiving corps isn’t going to be all that bad, either.

Biggest Concern: Tua Tagovailoa. Mac Jones was more than okay filling in late in the season, and superstar prospect Bryce Young is on his way – and don’t forget about the transfer portal options – but Tua was all-timer special.

Key New Addition: Outside of Young for the offensive backfield? Here come the linebackers. The recruiting class has the reinforcements coming in Demouy Kennedy and Chris Braswell to boost the depth.

Key Loss: Besides Tagovailoa, who was lost well before the end of the season, not having Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs around matters. The receiving corps is still loaded, but Bama is losing two top 15 overall draft picks from the O.

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