This isn't your average ranking. This is the full scope. My Ultimate 136 is a set of rankings that is fluid, but it's my job to look ahead and make a claim for all FBS teams based on what I know and why I know it. Here are the three pressing questions I started by asking when putting together this list:
Getting those answers required excessive reading and studying of rosters, transfer portal additions and attrition, 2025 recruiting classes, changes in coaches, changes in philosophy, changes in athletic department administration and grasping what the addition of two new FBS-level teams means to the landscape of the sport and where they fit in. In this ranking, you'll find that I accounted for all of those details. You'll find that I accounted for variables like strength of schedule, coaching continuity, star players and players I expect will become household names by season's end. None of that was as difficult as shaping this set of rankings into a piece that reflects my sensibilities within my traditional top 25, which often reflects who I think is most likely to win the national championship.
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