Amway Coaches Poll: Five teams poised to move into the top 25

Paul Myerberg | USA TODAY Sports

Show Caption Hide Caption Amway Coaches Poll: Ohio State No. 1 in preseason Top 25 USA TODAY Sports breaks down the preseason edition of the Amway Coaches Poll, which features the defending champion Buckeyes at No. 1.

If you can, try to remember how the preseason Amway Coaches Poll looked in 2014. Oklahoma was No. 3. South Carolina was No. 9. North Carolina, Texas and Washington rounded out the Top 25.

Meanwhile, Missouri, TCU and Boise State were nowhere to be found — along with Louisville, Marshall and several others. The lesson: How things look today, one month-plus until kickoff of the 2015 season, is not how things will look come January.

So let's think about those teams who, much like TCU and the rest, find themselves unranked today but are set to crack the Coaches Poll top 25 during the course of the regular season. Here are five to keep in mind:

1. Virginia Tech. We've wasted three seasons waiting for Virginia Tech to reclaim its perch in the Atlantic Coast Conference pecking order. Cautious optimism is in order as the Hokies prepare for 2015, thanks to three positive factors in the team's corner. The first is an offense that simply can't get any worse; it should take a nice step forward, in fact, thanks to senior quarterback Michael Brewer's increased experience in the system. The second is a defense that can only be described as vintage, with a rock-solid front seven and one of the nation's top defensive backfields. And then there's the schedule, which does draw Ohio State in the opener but avoids Clemson, Florida State and Louisville from the ACC Atlantic Division.

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This team won't win a national championship — it could with a strong offense — but Tech should win 10 games and a reclaim a spot in the Coaches Poll.

2. Marshall. Even without former quarterback Rakeem Cato, the Thundering Herd are talented, experienced and deep enough to notch double-digit wins during the regular season. The schedule is a snap, as Marshall's docket usually is: Purdue and Ohio in September, and then no major threat until Western Kentucky in the finale. Don't be surprised if the Herd are knee-deep in the mix for an access bowl by late November. The Hilltoppers are equally talented — if not more so — but three games against Power Five competition should keep them outside of a national ranking.

3. Cincinnati. There's something to be said for Navy, UCF, Temple, Memphis and others in the American Athletic Conference, which certainly doesn't lack for likely bowl participants. But the best of the bunch is Cincinnati, winner of nine games in each of Tommy Tuberville's first two seasons and the league's best shot at 10-plus wins and a New Year's Six bowl. Given the Bearcats' talent — don't sleep on quarterback Gunner Kiel — and coaching ability, I would expect 10 wins in advance of the American championship game and a spot along the back end of the top 25.

4. Oklahoma State or Texas. The preseason Coaches Poll includes three teams from the Big 12 Conference in No. 2 TCU, No. 4 Baylor and No. 19 Oklahoma. There's more than enough room for a fourth team from the conference inside the Top 25. The only question asks which team joins that threesome, whether Oklahoma State, which is riding high on confidence after a strong close to 2014, or Texas, which is expected to take a step forward in its second season under Charlie Strong.

The Cowboys might be the safer pick, because recent history suggests this program will rebound from last season's 7-6 finish, but Texas has the higher ceiling.

5. Nebraska. The Cornhuskers are no more a contender for the College Football Playoff than any other member of the Big Ten Conference's second tier, from Iowa and Michigan through Penn State and Minnesota. What Nebraska has, however, is a workable schedule for Mike Riley's debut. There are noteworthy but winnable games in September against Miami (Fla.) and Brigham Young. The conference slate brings both Wisconsin and Michigan State to Lincoln while avoiding the Wolverines, Nittany Lions and Ohio State from the East Division.

Again: Nebraska's not going to ride this schedule to a spot in the top 10. But the Cornhuskers should win nine games during the regular season.

