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1.  Indiana - I admit I am breaking my number 1 rule,  which is always rank Ohio St #1 until they lose.  But i have bought in.  In Curt Cignetti I trust (until the bubble bursts).  All he does is win.  Google it! 

2.  Oregon - This could be the year the Ducks put it all together

3.  Ohio St -  the consensus #1 in the pre-sesson polls but I am skeptical.  Not the strongest finish last season.  But still a solid bet to make the CFP.

4.  USC -  started week 0 with a win over SJSU,  which is the game that replaced USC-Nortre Dame.  Basically traded a loss for a win but not sure if that will impress the CFP committee.

5.  Penn St - can PSU win with Iowa St's former coach,  players and QB?

6.  Michigan - how fast can Mich's new coach get Michigan up to speed?

7.  Washington-  could this be the year that Washington steps it up to next level?

8.  Minnesota -  thought the Gophers were under-rated last year.

9.  Iowa - lost a lot on defense and OL and Iowa still doesnt know who its starting QB is.  But they got 3 weeks of non-conference games to figure it out.

10.  Illinois - could be a rebuilding year

11.  Nebraska -  not sure if the coach lasts the whole season,  but a big buyout will probably keep him around

12.  UCLA - New coach but UCLA feels like a sleeping giant ready to step it up, but nit till next year.

13.  Rutgers -  program just seems stuck near the bottom every year

14.  Michigan St - Can Pat Fitsgerald win in the NIL era?

15.  Wisconsin -  Badgers are now spending money.  Is it enough to save Fickel's job?

16.  Northwestern -  rolling out the new stadium.  Could inspire NW to a few upsets?

17. MARYLAND - I predict MD"'s coach will be gone by the end of the season

18. PURDUE - They couldn't be any worse than last year, right?

1) Ohio State: because they have a longer history of staying power than Indiana
2) Indiana: returning national champs
3) Oregon: so close so many times
4) Michigan: I hate this, but money talks, and USC has to travel too far
5) USC: money talks, but travel is hard
6) Iowa: just keeps going, and doing more with less
7) Illinois: Bret knows how to coach a team into this position, and they are spending the right amount for it
8) Washington: don't sleep on the Huskies
9) Penn State: I don't expect an immediate turnaround, but Campbell did more with the Cyclones than he had any right to
10) Minnesota: PJ knows mediocre
11) Nebraska: spending more money, need to win more games
12) Michigan State: not spending the money, but Fitzgerald has a chip on his shoulder and can coach
13) Wisconsin: this is too low for the money spent, but I've seen the coaching for the last three seasons
14) UCLA: have to go somewhere
15) Northwestern: why not?
16) Purdue: sure
17) Maryland: but will be top 10 in September
18) Rutgers: because I feel like it 

1.  Indiana - I admit I am breaking my number 1 rule,  which is always rank Ohio St #1 until they lose.  But i have bought in.  In Curt Cignetti I trust (until the bubble bursts).  All he does is win.  Google it! 

2.  Oregon - This could be the year the Ducks put it all together

3.  Ohio St -  the consensus #1 in the pre-sesson polls but I am skeptical.  Not the strongest finish last season.  But still a solid bet to make the CFP.

4.  USC -  started week 0 with a win over SJSU,  which is the game that replaced USC-Nortre Dame.  Basically traded a loss for a win but not sure if that will impress the CFP committee.

5.  Penn St - can PSU win with Iowa St's former coach,  players and QB?

6.  Michigan - how fast can Mich's new coach get Michigan up to speed?

7.  Washington-  could this be the year that Washington steps it up to next level?

8.  Minnesota -  thought the Gophers were under-rated last year.

9.  Iowa - lost a lot on defense and OL and Iowa still doesnt know who its starting QB is.  But they got 3 weeks of non-conference games to figure it out.

10.  Illinois - could be a rebuilding year

11.  Nebraska -  not sure if the coach lasts the whole season,  but a big buyout will probably keep him around

12.  UCLA - New coach but UCLA feels like a sleeping giant ready to step it up, but nit till next year.

13.  Rutgers -  program just seems stuck near the bottom every year

14.  Michigan St - Can Pat Fitsgerald win in the NIL era?

15.  Wisconsin -  Badgers are now spending money.  Is it enough to save Fickel's job?

16.  Northwestern -  rolling out the new stadium.  Could inspire NW to a few upsets?

17. MARYLAND - I predict MD"'s coach will be gone by the end of the season

18. PURDUE - They couldn't be any worse than last year, right?

Pretty good best guess.  I would put Oregon 1st and then the Hoosiers- but that’s just a guess.  I like Oregon as a good chance to win it all. 

3.  Ohio St -  the consensus #1 in the pre-sesson polls but I am skeptical.  Not the strongest finish last season.  But still a solid bet to make the CFP.

I think both of these statements might be overblown.  

"Not the strongest finish last season".
Yes, the Buckeyes finished with back-to-back losses and nobody in Columbus is happy about that BUT, they lost to the two teams that played for the NC and both losses were close.  

Indiana:
The Buckeyes missed a 27 yard FG with just under two minutes to play in a game they lost 13-10.  Even after the missed FG they forced IU to punt, got the ball back, and drove to the IU 39 but simply ran out of time.  

Miami:
It ended up as a 10 point, 2-possession game but it came down to the final minutes.  Miami's clinching TD came with less than a minute to play and with about half of the fourth quarter remaining the Buckeyes were down 3 and had the ball at roughly midfield.  That fell apart, Maimi scored after the punt and viola, 10 point loss 

I don't mean to take anything away from IU's and Miami's wins I'm just saying that the Buckeyes' two losses to end the season were far from 'bad' losses.  They lost close games to the teams that ended up #1 and #2.  

"(S)till a solid bet to make the CFP".  
I hope you are right but this schedule has me spooked.  I feel like Ohio State could actually be the best team in the country and still potentially miss the playoffs.  They have road games against the preseason #5 (at Texas on 9/12), #6 (at Indiana on 10/17), #14 (at USC on 10/31), and #22 (at Iowa on 10/3) and they have two ranked teams at home.  The Oregon game is a revenge game for the Ducks as the last meeting was Ohio State's blowout win in Pasadena when the Ducks were #1 and The Game is a revenge game for the Wolverines as the last meeting was a 27-9 tOSU win in Ann Arbor.  Plus when you are #1 you are basically everybody's 'SuperBowl' all year long.  

If the Buckeyes really are the best team they *should* find a way to navigate this slate with the requisite one or two losses to make the CFP but if they are actually more like #10 which is still a REALLY good team, they could easily end up 9-3 and sweating it out or 8-4 and out.  

I have no idea who is on what team anymore, including many on my own.

Can't do this one now. Maybe I'll start in October.

MINNESOTA - probably Fleck's last year

Want to elaborate? 

Unless he resigns, his seat is ice cold. And the last coach to go from here to somewhere that meant anything was Lou Holtz, and that move happened when I was still in diapers.

the only guy doing more with less than Ferentz