How do you beat the 25 best teams in college football? We asked coaches of rival teams who spend all year trying to solve that problem for their unfiltered opinion of each team in SI's preseason rankings. One overarching conclusion: It's easier said than done.

As part of Sports Illustrated’s preseason Top 25, we set out to learn as much as we could about the strengths and weaknesses of the nation’s best teams heading into 2017. Who better to ask than the opposing coaches who spend all year scheming to knock these teams off?

The coaches quoted below were granted anonymity in exchange for their candor in assessing teams that could loom large on the upcoming season’s schedule. What follows is the result of that candor: unfiltered takes on the national title contenders, superstars and coaches everyone will be talking about when the season kicks off at the end of August.

Reporting by Bruce Feldman, Andy Staples, Joan Niesen, Chris Johnson, Colin Becht and Eric Single.