The future power rankings series has reached its annual zenith with the team rankings.
You’ve already digested top-25s for quarterbacks, offenses and defenses, and likely have a rough idea of how the team list will unfold. But the team rankings don’t always weigh everything equally, and put greater emphasis on other factors such as coaching stability, overall program trajectory and recruiting operation.
FPR is ultimately a personnel-based projection, and some of the players cited in previous lists will be recognized here. But the team rankings take a wider-angle view of the nation’s top-25 teams over the next three seasons: 2021, 2022 and 2023. Some teams just consistently outperform their personnel, which deserves recognition here.
Here’s a look at last year’s team list, which slotted eventual national champion Alabama at No. 3, defending national champion LSU at No. 5, and Texas and Auburn — two teams that would make coaching changes — at No. 11 and 12, respectively. All four eventual College Football Playoff participants placed in the top nine, but three teams that finished in the AP top 10 — Cincinnati, Iowa State and Northwestern — were not ranked.
Now let’s look ahead to the next set of team rankings, which account for the most recent roster updates around the country.
