As reported at "EU USA Today", head football coach Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide have been ranked No. 1 in the Amway Coaches Preseason Poll.
But we would not bet on it. Repeating as national champion is difficult, depending of course upon who you put up on that particular pedestal.
65 of the 130 FBS head coaches vote in the poll, and 61 of them gave their Number 1 nod to 'Bama, which was followed in the preseason rankings by Clemson, Ohio State, Georgia, and Oklahoma in the Top Five.
In spite of the move of former UCF head coach Scott Frost -- architect of Central Florida's amazing undefeated championship quality record last season -- to his alma mater Nebraska Cornhuskers, the Knights were ranked 23rd preseason under their new head coach Josh Heupel.
See what 247Sports writes about Heupel maintaining success at Central Florida.
Vegas apparently sees/saw problems in UCF maintaining its momentum, earlier having set the win total over/under for UCF at 8.5, which, however, in the last list that we saw at Oddsshark the win total over/under was set at 9.5. UCF AD whiz Danny White has an eye for champions, following former college national championship team quarterback Scott Frost (Nebraska, 1997) with former college national championship team quarterback Josh Heupel (Oklahoma, 2001). Champions breed champions. This year the surprise factor will be largely gone for UCF, but who is going to outscore the Knights in any game this season?
Frost's Huskers are unranked and not (yet) getting much respect in Vegas, with Nebraska's win total over/under earlier being set at 5.5. We just went to Oddsshark on August 3rd and saw that the win total over/under has not only risen to 6.5, but you have to put up $125 to win $100.
At Scott Frost plans to follow Osborne formula to rebuild Nebraska we read:
"The culture Frost promises ... is going to be akin to the one Osborne fostered back in the day when the Cornhuskers were among the best teams in the nation....
The Huskers already have seen significant gains under strength coach Zach Duvall, who worked with Boyd Epley as a Husker Power assistant in the 1990s and came with Frost from UCF along with most of the coaching staff. The 2018 fall roster shows the projected starting offensive linemen have gained 15-25 pounds since the spring."
Zounds!
That "visible" stat of the weight training program in action illustrates the massive changes being made under Frost's head coaching in Huskerland. This team is not being rebuilt on hype, but rather is based on a system geared for success. Frost did not go 13-0 at UCF by chance, you can be sure.
See Oddsshark and Scott Hastings for the
2018 College Football Over/Under Win Totals.
