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Super early preseason rankings are just for fun, and typically do not mean all that much, however we still talk about and obsess where teams are ranked.
Over at ESPN.com they put out their post spring top-25, and to very little surprise Mark Schlabach has Boise State at No. 21, up one spot from his prior set of rankings:
The Broncos went into the spring trying to replace a few key parts on defense. Boise State ranked No. 5 in the country in pass defense (169.5 yards per game) and No. 8 in scoring defense (15.8 points) last season, and having two lockdown cornerbacks was a big reason it fared so well. But Jamar Taylor and Jerrell Gavins both exhausted their eligibility, so the Broncos have to find two new starting cornerbacks.
Junior Bryan Douglas and sophomore Donte Deayon look like the next players in line, but Douglas missed the spring while recovering from a torn ACL and Deayon missed part of the spring with a sprained ankle. Juco cornerback Cleshawn Page was pretty impressive this spring, and four more cornerbacks -- juco transfer Mercy Maston and freshmen Jonathan Moxey, Dionza Blue and Cameron Hartsfield -- join the competition this fall. Juco defensive tackle Deuce Mataele was a big surprise this spring with two tackles for loss in the spring game.
Whether Boise State deserves to be in the top 25 is somewhat -- Fox Sports, Athlon and CBS Sports actually have the Broncos ranked in the top 20 -- and it does not help that they lost D.J. Harper the above mentioned defensive backs. However, they have earned the respect to be a ranked team year after year.
San Jose State and Utah State have a case to be made to be considered in the bottom part of the top 25, but they both lost their head coach and history is not on their side.