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ESPN’s Mark Schlabach lists 10 ‘most watchable teams’ for 2017
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When you’re looking for the most interesting teams in college football, you can’t simply look at the ranking to determine the entertainment value. At least that’s not how ESPN’s Mark Schlabach does it.
Schlabach recently released the 10 most watchable teams in college football for the 2017 season, and the results were pretty intriguing.
Sure, all of the teams listed are ranked in the top 25, but he didn’t simply list the top 10 teams, give an ordinary explanation and walk away. No, Schlabach went more in depth.
Here were the 1o teams he claims are the most watchable, with three coming out of the B1G:
- No. 1 Oklahoma State
- No. 2 USC
- No. 3 Clemson
- No. 4 Penn State
- No. 5 Florida State
- No. 6 Ohio State
- No. 7 Oklahoma
- No. 8 Alabama
- No. 9 LSU
- No. 10 Michigan
The B1G was the only conference to have more than two teams mentioned in Schlabach’s top 10. And while there are plenty of reasons to watch all three teams this fall, the ESPN writer’s reason behind Penn State might be the most interesting:
If you needed a reminder as to why the Nittany Lions are so fun to watch, dial up a replay of last season’s Rose Bowl. Even though Penn State fell 52-49 to USC, quarterback Trace McSorley and tailback Saquon Barkley showed they might be the best one-two punch in the country, especially with future head coach Joe Moorhead calling plays. Plus, Penn State’s defense is porous enough to turn just about every game into a shootout. PSU fans won’t get much sleep in late October, when the Nittany Lions play back-to-back games against Michigan at home and at Ohio State. Who doesn’t love a White Out in Happy Valley?
Regardless where they all rank on this list, Penn State, Ohio State and Michigan are going to get plenty of attention this fall and all three will be involved in several must-watch games in 2017.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB