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Notre Dame football: Early 2021 college football top-25 rankings

By Daniel Morrison

SOUTH BEND, IN - OCTOBER 12: Notre Dame Fighting Irish players face off at the line of scrimmage against the USC Trojans during a game at Notre Dame Stadium on October 12, 2019 in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame defeated USC 30-27. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN - OCTOBER 12: Notre Dame Fighting Irish players face off at the line of scrimmage against the USC Trojans during a game at Notre Dame Stadium on October 12, 2019 in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame defeated USC 30-27. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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Dillon Gabriel. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
Dillon Gabriel. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /

Notre Dame football: Early 2021 college football top-25 rankings

25. Washington

2020 was a weird year for Washington, but at 3-1, they won the PAC-12 North. They had to give up their spot in the PAC-12 Championship Game due to COVID-19 issues, though, making this a largely forgotten season.

They flashed a lot of potential under new coach Jimmy Lake, though. Their quarterback, Dylan Morris, is an exciting player with a cannon for an arm, but can he hold of Brock Huard’s son, Sam Huard, a 5-star quarterback prospect?

24. Boise State

There are questions in Boise. Is Andy Avalos the right man for the job? Can the Broncos find a way to protect their quarterback Hank Bachmeier? If those answers are “yes” then Boise State is still in great shape in the Mountain West, for however long they’re in the Mountain West.

23. UCF

UCF certainly had some issues last season, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. Between a day two NFL prospect opting out before the season, four players being dismissed from the team, and several injuries throughout the season UCF had three players who started Week 1 through the end of the season on defense.

They’ll have to bounce back and improve defensively, which now includes replacing a Jim Thorpe finalist who was one of those three players to start the whole season. Luckily, their offense is still explosive and terrifying to handle for opponents.

22. Northwestern

After being one of the worst offensive teams in the country in 2019, Northwestern was good enough on offense and great on defense in 2020. Much of that B1G 10 West winning defense is back in 2021, which is a good thing.

The bad thing is their longtime defensive coordinator, Mike Hankwitz has retired. His replacement is vital to the program, as well as continuing to improve offensively.

21. Oklahoma State

The Cowboys are certainly going to be losing some talent, particularly on offense. Chuba Hubbard will notably be moving on, but Oklahoma State didn’t fully rely on him in 2020, so they should be fine in terms of replacing him.

They also return their quarterback, Spencer Sanders, who is one of the more dynamic quarterbacks in the Big 12. There are talent and potential here, but they never seem to live up to it and they’re always a step behind in-state rival Oklahoma. The Cowboys need to prove they’re ready to compete at a top-10 level.

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