The Preseason Joe Rankings: 26-50

26. Georgia Tech--ACC (3)
27. South Florida--Big East (4)
28. Miami--ACC (4)
29. Boston College--ACC (5)
30. Notre Dame--Independent (1)
31. Texas Tech--Big XII (5)
32. Clemson--ACC (6)
33. Cincinnati--Big East (5)
34. Kentucky--SEC (7)
35. Wake Forest--ACC (7)
36. South Carolina--SEC (8)
37. Oregon--Pac 10 (5)
38. Maryland--ACC (8)
39. Oklahoma St--Big XII (6)
40. BYU--Mountain West (2)
41. Missouri--Big XII (7)
42. Penn St--Big 10 (4)
43. Arizona St--Pac 10 (6)
44. Kansas St--Big XII (8)
45. Washington St--Pac 10 (7)
46. Arizona--Pac 10 (8)
47. Iowa--Big 10 (5)
48. Alabama--SEC (9)
49. Houston--Conference USA (1)
50. Utah--Mountain West (3)

I know, I know. There will be an outrage from my Ute-loving friends and family that they are ranked as low as #50. Keep in mind that this is not an indication of which team is better or which team will be the best in the future. This is a preseason indicator of what they have earned. Last year was average for the Utes, which hurt their ranking a little bit. In addition, they lost their best player at every position from last year's team. They will need to prove on the field of play that they deserve a higher ranking.

Having said that, I think Utah will be a solid team that will surprise people nationally. But my predictions for BYU's and Utah's seasons will come in a future post.

As you can also see, BYU made the rankings at #40. I think they, too, will be a solid team. I am nervous about their kicker, quarterback, and depth at running back and defensive line. But other than that, I think they seem pretty deep and talented. I will of course post more on the cougars in future posts.

You will also notice that the Conference USA's top-ranked team is featured here. Houston (at #49) leads the way. As always, I tip my hat to Conference USA. What a great conference.