This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/cfb by /u/usffan on 2025-05-17 16:03:06+00:00.
The cumulative link to the preseason rankings can be found here.
Arkansas State (high = 89, low = 106) concludes our run on Sun Belt teams until Memorial Day. Butch Jones led the Red Wolves to their first winning season in 5 years in 2024, capping it off as the 68 Ventures Bowl champions as well as champions of life, marking consecutive bowl appearances for the only time since their 8 year consecutive run in the 2010s. The consensus seems to predict a bit of a step back next season, really only predicting two teams to be markedly worse in the division, which seems surprising at first since they return starting QB Jaylen Raynor, his 1,000 yard WR Corey Rucker and RB Ja’Quez Cross. In fact, their returning offensive production ranks 33rd nationally, but is offset by the 130th ranked returning defensive production, leading to Arkansas State ranking 100th overall. They also didn’t impress with their portal class (8th in the SBC and 97th overall), even though they’re projecting 8 defensive starters and 12 on the defensive two deep. Jones did bring in the 2nd best recruiting haul in the conference (76th nationally), leading to the 93rd rated overall incoming class. With games at Arkansas and hosting Iowa State, they only play 4 teams ranked below them here (with one of those being @ Troy, who’s only one spot below them, and on the road), so at least the pundits don’t see that bowl streak continuing into 2025.