Ohio State leads CBS Sports Preseason 128 college football rankings for 2015 – CBSSports.com

2015 CBS Sports Preseason 128 Rankings: 1-25 | 26-128

With a loaded roster including plenty of starters returning from last season’s national title team, Ohio State will begin the 2015 season as the No. 1 team in the CBS Sports Preseason 128 rankings.

The rankings, as voted on by CBS Sports’ college football experts, feature the Buckeyes at the top followed by the two teams left out of last year’s inaugural College Football Playoff, TCU (No. 2) and Baylor (No. 3).

The SEC is well-represented with three teams in the top eight and seven in the top 25, led by Iron Bowl rivals Alabama (No. 4) and Auburn (No. 6). Michigan State checks in at No. 5, while Oregon (No. 7), Georgia (No. 8), USC (No. 9) and Notre Dame (No. 10) fill out the top of the rankings.

Boise State is the highest-ranked team from the Group of Five at No. 20 in the preseason poll.

CBS Sports voters were down on LSU, ranking the Tigers at No. 24, perhaps because of the shaky quarterback situation in Baton Rouge. Arizona State, on the other hand, has a much higher ranking than we have seen elsewhere this preseason at No. 12, just ahead of Pac-12 South foe UCLA.

Here’s a breakdown how each conference fared in the top 25 of the CBS Sports Preseason 128 (highest-ranked team in parenthesis).

SEC: 7 (No. 4 — Alabama)
Pac-12: 6 (No. 7 — Oregon)
ACC: 4 (No. 11 — Florida State)
Big Ten: 3 (No. 1 — Ohio State)
Big 12: 3 (No. 2 — TCU)
Mountain West: 1 (No. 20 — Boise State)
Independent: 1 (No. 10 –Notre Dame)

2015 CBS Sports Preseason 128 Rankings: 1-25 | 26-128