ESPN releases updated Top 25 future defense power rankings

On3 imageby:Nikki Chavanelle05/17/22

NikkiChavanelle

The age-old adage, “defense wins championships,” held true in 2021 with the Georgia Bulldogs‘ No. 1-ranked scoring defense edging out Alabama for the national title game. However, after losing a historic class of defenders to the NFL Draft, Georgia isn’t No. 1 in the latest ESPN future defense rankings.

The Clemson Tigers, which lost just two big-name stars to the draft, has the best projection for its defense through 2024. Even though Dabo Swinney lost defensive coordinator Brent Venables to the head job at Oklahoma, the Tigers still have a ton of talent. The stiff Clemson defensive line returns All-American candidates Bryan BreseeTyler Davis and Myles Murphy.

As far as Alabama goes, the Crimson Tide feature Heisman candidate Will Anderson on the edge, but after 2023 the picture isn’t as clear. Texas A&M’s work on the 2022 recruiting class helped propel the Aggies past Alabama for the No. 3 spot in the rankings.

The ESPN rankings project teams’ overall defense for the 2022, 2023 and 2024 seasons. They account for current rosters, incoming recruits and transfers, and potential NFL departures. Coaching changes also factor in, as the departure of coordinators and head coaches has shaken things up since the last future power rankings.

With defense being the main focus of these rankings, there’s a lot of variety between the top 25 here and ESPN’s FPI preseason rankings.

Top 25 Future Defense Power Rankings

Each program’s future defense rankings from 2021 are listed in ().

  1. Clemson Tigers (1)
  2. Georgia Bulldogs (2)
  3. Texas A&M Aggies (4)
  4. Alabama Crimson Tide (3)
  5. Wisconsin Badgers (9)
  6. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (11)
  7. Iowa Hawkeyes (13)
  8. Cincinnati Bearcats (7)
  9. LSU Tigers (8)
  10. Michigan Wolverines (24)
  11. Ohio State Buckeyes (5)
  12. Utah Utes (16)
  13. Baylor Bears (n/r)
  14. Oregon Ducks (6)
  15. Oklahoma State Cowboys (n/r)
  16. San Diego State Aztecs (n/r)
  17. Penn State Nittany Lions (17)
  18. Kentucky Wildcats (n/r)
  19. UAB Blazers (21)
  20. NC State Wolfpack (n/r)
  21. Florida Gators (12)
  22. Iowa State Cyclones (18)
  23. Auburn Tigers (10)
  24. Oklahoma Sooners (19)
  25. Boise State Broncos (n/r)