We hit the halfway point of my pre-spring Top 25 rankings. My rankings probably will change after spring practices are completed, and they’ll most assuredly be tweaked when I submit my Associated Press Preseason Top 25 ballot in August.

[READ: McMurphy’s Top 25 – Nos. 25-21]

Today: Teams ranked 11-15.
Thursday: Teams ranked 6-10.
Friday: Teams ranked 1-5.

[READ: McMurphy’s Top 25 – Nos. 20-16]

No. 15 – Washington

Last year: 10-4 (7-2 Pac-12)
Bowl result: Lost to Ohio State 28-23 in Rose Bowl
Consecutive bowl trips: Nine years (3-6)
Returning starters: 8 offense, 2 defense
Toughest non-conference game: At BYU, Sept. 21
Toughest conference game: Home vs. Oregon, Oct. 19

The Huskies have won at least 10 games in three consecutive seasons, but Jake Browning, the starting quarterback during that span, is gone. In all, Washington also will have a Pac-12-high nine players at the NFL Scouting Combine. Replacing Browning is expected to be Jacob Eason, who sat out last season with the Huskies after transferring from Georgia. Eason will have the luxury of eight returning starters on offense along with the addition of highly-touted incoming freshman wide receiver Puka Nacua.

The defense has been the Huskies’ strength in recent seasons. In each of the past four years, Washington has led the Pac-12 in total defense and scoring defense. However, only two starters return from last year’s unit that ranked fifth nationally in scoring defense (16.4 points) and 12th in total defense (306.2 YPG). Washington enters 2019 with a streak of having limited its last seven opponents to less than 30 points, tied for the nation’s fifth-longest current streak.

Washington plays at home in four of its first five games and if the Huskies start strong, they will probably be favored in all 12 regular season games as they bid for a third Pac-12 title in four years.

Record last 5 years:
2018: 10-4
2017: 10-3
2016: 12-2
2015: 7-6
2014: 8-6

Record vs. spread last 3 years: 19-22

File away: Washington is one of only six programs with double-digit victories in each of the past three seasons. The others: Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Boise State.

Odds to win College Football Playoff (via Westgate SuperBook): 30/1

 

No. 14 – Wisconsin

Last year: 8-5 (5-4 Big Ten)
Bowl result: Defeated Miami 35-3 in Pinstripe Bowl
Consecutive bowl trips: 17 years (9-8)
Returning starters: 6 offense, 6 defense
Toughest non-conference game: At South Florida, Aug. 30
Toughest conference game: At Ohio State, Oct. 26

Earlier this week, Wisconsin starting offensive guard Jon Dietzen announced he was retiring from football because of injuries. The loss of Dietzen, a three-year starter for the Badgers, is huge and impacts UW’s depth on the offensive line. The good news is running back Jonathan Taylor, who led the nation in rushing last season with nearly 2,200 yards, is back. Quarterback Alex Hornibrook also returns after a disappointing 2018, which saw him regress from 2017, finishing with 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He could be challenged for the starting position this year by Jack Coan and heralded incoming freshman Graham Mertz.

Wisconsin looks to bounce back from last year’s disappointing season that at least ended on a high note with the Badgers blasting Miami in the Pinstripe Bowl. They should be able to continue that momentum early on in 2019. Wisconsin opens the season at South Florida and then plays its next five games in Madison before closing the second half of the season with four of its final six games on the road. The toughest are trips to Ohio State and Nebraska.

Record last 5 years:
2018: 8-5
2017: 13-1
2016: 11-3
2015: 10-3
2014: 11-3

Record vs. spread last 3 years: 23-16-2

File away: Last year Wisconsin became only the third team in the past 10 years that started the season ranked in the top five of the AP Preseason poll (No. 4) and finished the year unranked.

Odds to win College Football Playoff (via Westgate SuperBook): 60/1

 

No. 13 – Michigan

Last year: 10-3 (8-1 Big Ten)
Bowl result: Lost to Florida 41-15 in Peach Bowl
Consecutive bowl trips: 4 years (1-3)
Returning starters: 8 offense, 5 defense
Toughest non-conference game: Home vs. Notre Dame, Oct. 26
Toughest conference game: Home vs. Ohio State, Nov. 30

Is this finally the year? The year that Jim Harbaugh defeats Ohio State? So far, Harbaugh is 0-4 against the Buckeyes. This year’s regular season finale is in Ann Arbor so at least UM will enjoy home field advantage. Before Michigan gets to the Ohio State showdown, the Wolverines will be tested several times. In Week 2, Army visits the Big House and the Black Knights took Oklahoma to overtime in Norman last year, so Michigan has to be on upset alert. Michigan also has home games against Iowa, Notre Dame and Michigan State and visits Wisconsin and Penn State.

A key for Michigan will be which defense emerges in 2019? Will it be the one that allowed 102 points in its first eight Big Ten games last season or the one that allowed 103 points in consecutive losses to Ohio State and Florida? Michigan does return five starters on the ‘D’ that finished second in total defense (275.2 YPG) and ninth in yards per play allowed (4.6). Michigan returns linebackers Devin Gil and Khaleke Hudson, but will have to replace Devin Bush, Rashan Gary and Chase Winovich.

Offensively, quarterback Shea Patterson is back. The addition of Patterson was significant last year as the Wolverines’ offensive production increased from 348 yards per game in 2017 (without Patterson) to 419 yards per game last season (with Patterson). Michigan also increased its scoring average from 25 points per game in 2017 to 35 points per game in 2018. With Patterson among eight returning starters on offense, the Wolverines could be even better offensively in 2019. But will it be enough to finally beat Ohio State? We’ll find out on Nov. 30.

Record last 5 years:
2018: 10-3
2017: 8-5
2016: 10-3
2015: 10-3
2014: 5-7

Record vs. spread last 3 years: 17-22

File away: In four years at Michigan, Coach Jim Harbaugh’s Wolverines have been an underdog only six times. Michigan, under Harbaugh, is 0-6 straight up when it is not favored.

Odds to win College Football Playoff (via Westgate SuperBook): 14/1

 

No. 12 – Texas

Last year: 10-4 (7-2 Big 12)
Bowl result: Defeated Georgia 28-21 in Sugar Bowl
Consecutive bowl trips: Two years (2-0)
Returning starters: 5 offense, 3 defense
Toughest non-conference game: Home vs. LSU, Sept. 7
Toughest conference game: Oklahoma in Dallas, Oct. 12

Texas’ upset of Georgia in the Sugar Bowl had just went final when Sam Ehlinger announced to a national television audience what Texas fans have been waiting for years to hear: “Longhorn Nation, we’re baaaacckkkk!” Yes, the Horns are back. But for how long? Texas finished with its first 10-win season since 2009, but can the Longhorns follow up last year’s success in 2019?

It won’t be easy. The Longhorns return only eight starters, including Ehlinger, and have the lowest returning production percentage of any Power 5 team, according to stats guru Bill Connelly. Ehlinger, along with Iowa State’s Brock Purdy, will be the Big 12’s top returning quarterbacks, but Texas must replace its leading rusher (Tre Watson), wide receiver (Lil’Jordan Humphrey), three starters on the offensive line and nearly its entire defense.

Texas will count on safeties Caden Sterns, the Big 12 Freshman of the Year last season, and senior Brandon Jones, a four-year starter, and linebacker Malcolm Roach. The Longhorns must be ready out of the gate because they host LSU on Sept. 7. Two weeks later starts a three-game stretch against nemesis Oklahoma State in Austin, where the Cowboys have won the last five meetings, at West Virginia and then Oklahoma in Dallas. The back end of the schedule is much more manageable with the exception of a visit to Iowa State Nov. 16. If the Longhorns can survive the early tests and Coach Tom Herman can continue his magic as an underdog, then UT will be summing up 2019 as only Texas superfan Matthew McConaughey can: “Alright, alright, alright.”

Record last 5 years:
2018: 10-4
2017: 7-6
2016: 5-7
2015: 5-7
2014: 6-7

Record vs. spread last 3 years: 24-15

File away: Tom Herman is a wizard as an underdog. In his four years as head coach at Houston and Texas, Herman’s teams have been an underdog 15 times. They have won 10 of those 15 games and are 14-1 against the spread as an underdog.

Odds to win College Football Playoff (via Westgate SuperBook): 25/1

 

No. 11 – Oregon

Last year: 9-4 (5-4 Pac-12)
Bowl result: Defeated Michigan State 7-6 in Redbox Bowl
Consecutive bowl trips: Two years (1-1)
Returning starters: 10 offense, 7 defense
Toughest non-conference game: Auburn in Arlington, Texas, Aug. 31
Toughest conference game: At Washington, Oct. 19

Oregon already picked up its first victory for 2019 when junior quarterback Justin Herbert decided to remain with the Ducks and wait another year before heading to the NFL. The difference with Herbert in the starting lineup the past two years has been staggering. Herbert missed five games in 2017 with a broken collarbone. In the past two years with Herbert starting, Oregon has averaged 40.3 points per game. In five games without Herbert, Oregon averaged only 15 points a game. Besides Herbert, almost the entire starting offense is back with the exception of wide receiver Dillon Mitchell.

The Ducks should also be loaded on defense, returning seven starters from last year. Coach Mario Cristobal also welcomes a consensus Top 10 recruiting class, the best in school history, as the Ducks bid for their first double-digit win season since 2014 when Oregon qualified for the inaugural College Football Playoff.

To return to the playoff, Oregon must handle a tough schedule, including a season-opening matchup with a desperate Auburn program in Arlington, Texas on Aug. 31. In Pac-12 play, the Ducks face their toughest competition away from home: games at Stanford, Washington, USC and Arizona State.

Record last 5 years:
2018: 9-4
2017: 7-6
2016: 4-8
2015: 9-4
2014: 13-2

Record vs. spread last 3 years: 13-24-1 ATS

File away: Oregon might have the biggest disparity of success in home/road games of any Power 5 program. In the past three years, the Ducks are only 4-12 straight up on the road, compared to 15-5 at home in that span.

Odds to win College Football Playoff (via Westgate SuperBook): 30/1

MORE: Predicting the 2019 Over/Under Win Totals for the Big Ten