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Editor's note: The following question was featured in Stewart Mandel's May 6 Mailbag.
Click here for the full Mailbag, and send future questions to stewart.mandel@fox.com.
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Hey Stewart, I was wondering why the huge disparity in post-spring game preseason rankings between Florida State and Alabama. Both teams lost similar numbers of starters (11) in pretty much in the same key areas, yet 'Bama is considered a top 5 team according to most analysts and FSU is in the mid-teens. If anything, FSU would likely have an easier time obtaining a higher ranking since they play in the ACC. Your thoughts?
-- MSgt Bradley Smith, Whiteman AFB, Missouri
I haven't put together a list of my own. I would likely have Alabama higher, but not by much. While Nick Saban's program has a longer track record of both winning and reloading at this point, Jimbo Fisher doesn't get enough credit for just how well he's recruited and developed his own roster. FSU's monster draft class this year gave it 29 picks over the past three years, a modern-day record even Saban's NFL assembly line hasn't yet achieved. The flip side of that is it's awfully hard to replace that many standouts at once, but unless there's some evidence Fisher's recruiting prowess has tailed off -- and I haven't seen it -- then it's reasonable to expect there's another wave of stars moving up the ranks.
Obviously, the one big difference between the two is that FSU has to replace a Heisman winner and No. 1 draft pick at quarterback. We can all agree the 'Noles would not have won 27 games over the past two seasons without Jameis Winston. While Blake Sims did not get enough credit for his own role in Alabama's SEC championship run last season, he's not Winston. Then again, we've actually seen less of Sims' likely replacement, former 'Nole Jake Coker, than FSU's Sean Maguire, who won his one career start last year against Clemson. For many reasons, this is the least confident I've been about Alabama going into a season since Saban's first year, but a "bad" year for the Tide may still be no worse than 10-2, which is about what I'd predict for FSU, too.
For readers: Where do you think the 'Noles should be ranked entering next season? Are they a top-10 team? Let us know in the comments below.
Stewart Mandel is a senior college sports columnist for FOXSports.com. He covered college football and basketball for 15 years at Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter @slmandel. Send emails and Mailbag questions to Stewart.Mandel@fox.com.
