3 teams getting too much love and 3 who aren't getting enough love in way-too-early Top 25

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Texas A&M

Where they’re ranked: No. 4 (ESPN) No. 5 (CBS Sports), No. 6 (Sporting News), No. 6 (The Athletic)
Where I’d rank them: Borderline top 10

I think a few things led to an 8-4 team being ranked this high to start off 2022.
One is that A&M is in the midst of signing the best recruiting class in the 247sports rankings era. That’s big for the future. The other is that after Nos. 1-3 with Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State, No. 4 is a major crapshoot. That’s because Oklahoma, Notre Dame, LSU, USC, Oregon and Florida are all going through coaching changes and even Clemson is coming off its worst season in 7 years.
And maybe this isn’t really the case, but now that Georgia ended its title drought, A&M has buzz as the next team to end a title drought (1939 is a different category than 1980). We always like what’s next. It’s also helpful that A&M is led by 1 of 5 active coaches in the sport who has a ring.
Ergo, A&M is considered a top-5 team by many. But to me, that’s a major oversight. The Aggies lost a ton of talent, especially on defense with DeMarvin Leal, Jayden Peevy, Leon O’Neal Jr. and Michael Clemons off to the NFL. It’s essentially a brand new defensive line, and that’s for a group who lost one of the top defensive minds in the sport in Mike Elko. I’m not convinced DJ Durkin will hold up that standard.
And offensively, the Aggies just lost Isaiah Spiller, Jalen Wydermyer and first-round offensive line prospect Kenyon Green. I’d argue that was 3 of the team’s best 4 offensive players. There’s no guarantee that LSU transfer Max Johnson or a healthy Haynes King is going to light a fire under an offense that was mediocre at best.
The Aggies might have a lot of incoming talent, and the offensive line should be a strength, but preseason top-5 is a bit much for a group that couldn’t post a winning record in conference play in 2 of the past 3 years.

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Arkansas

Where they’re ranked: No. 10 (CBS Sports), No. 13 (Sporting News), No. 17 (The Athletic), No. 20 (ESPN)
Where I’d rank them: Top 20-ish

I’ll admit that part of this was based on where I saw Joel Klatt had Arkansas at No. 7. I’m a Sam Pittman believer, but that’s too much love for a team that just had its first 9-win season in a decade and also just lost its best player on each side of the ball. Treylon Burks and Grant Morgan will both leave massive holes to fill. There’s no doubt about that. Burks had 3 times as much production as the next-closest Arkansas receiver and Morgan is now an Arkansas legend for his role in helping rebuild the program the last 2 years.
On top of that, the Hogs lost Joe Foucha and Greg Brooks to LSU while veterans like Hayden Henry and Tre Williams both moved on, as well. But it’ll be easy to overlook that because Jalen Catalon and Bumper Pool are both returning as likely preseason first-team All-SEC guys. We still need to find pass-rushers in Barry Odom’s defense.
Offensively, I can be a KJ Jefferson believer while also admitting that the non-Burks passing game is virtually non-existent so far. I don’t think we can just assume that 5-star Oklahoma transfer Jadon Haselwood is about to enter and immediately fill Burks’ gigantic shoes. He was a program-changer. It was great to see Arkansas finish on that note with another imposing ground-game showing, but if you’re going to be borderline top-10 to start the year, you’ve got a fringe Playoff shot.
I’m not convinced next year is a step forward for the Hogs.

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Ole Miss

Where they’re ranked: No. 19 (Sporting News), No. 23 (ESPN), Unranked (The Athletic), Unranked (CBS Sports)
Where I’d rank them: No. 15-20

I realize that it’s hard to rank Ole Miss too high when we honestly have no idea who the starting quarterback will be. Luke Altmyer? Jaxson Dart? JT Daniels?!? Matt Corral’s replacement will be a key piece to this, but knowing Kiffin’s track record with quarterbacks, I wouldn’t necessarily be worried if that’s the biggest question mark. Yes, I still say that even with the loss of Jeff Lebby.
It’s fair to question the defense, which took a major step forward in 2021 but then lost the aforementioned Durkin to A&M. I wouldn’t say he’s irreplaceable. I’m more worried about replacing Chance Campbell, Sam Williams and the underrated Jake Springer. There are still some solid pieces expected back on that side of the ball, though. That group shouldn’t necessarily revert back to its 2020 ways.
I’m more sold on the belief that Kiffin has recruited well and made some critical additions in the transfer portal to prevent a steep drop-off after a 10-win regular season. Zach Evans will step in nicely after Jerrion Ealy and Snoop Conner both left for the NFL and they should be running behind an experienced offensive line.
It’ll be a different Ole Miss team from the one that made school history, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the first year of the post-Corral era will bring the program back to mediocrity.

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