Picked-6: TCU football high in Fox Sports’ preseason Top 25

Another early set of Top 25 rankings is out, and it’s the best yet for the TCU Horned Frogs.

Stewart Mandel, writing for Fox Sports, puts Gary Patterson’s bunch at No. 6 in the rankings he released this week with the benefit of spring training complete for every team.

“TCU won 11 games last year with a half-strength defense. The Frogs bring back eight starters, setting the stage for Gary Patterson to field one of his vintage units,” Mandel writes.

No. 6 is bound to sit a lot better in Fort Worth than No. 25, which is where the Frogs found themselves in The Sporting News’ version of its early Top 25 two weeks ago.

So No. 6 to No. 25 is a pretty wide range. Three other Top 25 rankings, from January and February, put the Frogs in the middle.

CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodds had the Frogs at No. 20 in January, and Sports Illustrated put them at No. 15 last week, the same as ESPN, which updated its rankings after National Signing Day.

The USA Today coaches and AP polls come out in summer. It’s a good bet the Horned Frogs, 11-2 last season and No. 7 in the final AP rankings, won’t be absent. But it’s just for show right now.

It’s a long wait until the one that really matters, the College Football Playoff committee rankings in November.

This story was originally published May 10, 2016 at 9:25 AM with the headline "Picked-6: TCU football high in Fox Sports’ preseason Top 25."