Preseason AP Top 25 ballot breakdown: Alabama, Ohio State or Georgia No. 1? Big Ten lands 5 teams

[Tango Two]

Preseason AP Top 25 ballot breakdown: Alabama, Ohio State or Georgia No. 1? Big Ten lands 5 teams

The first Associated Press Top 25 poll is dropping on Monday. College football is right around the corner.

www.nj.com

NCAA College Football Rankings: AP Top 25 Football Poll

The official page for the AP Top 25 college football poll, a tradition since 1936. Keep up to date and view the latest ranking updates each week.

apnews.com

 

[Scarlet_Scourge]

The ACC, of all conferences, having that many in the top 25 just because they are with ESPN makes the pre-season poll a complete joke.

 

[mdk01]

Is Notre Dame overrated in the preseason poll?

Does the sun rise in the east?

 

[brgRC90]

At this point I don't think you can put Ohio State #2. Almost every year they get to the playoff and almost every year they fall short. That says they're not among the Top 2. I also think you have to be wary of placing USC and especially Miami in the Top 15 or so. Voters keep expecting the glory days to come back for those programs and so far the glory days haven't come back, often not even to Top 15 or Top 25 level, let alone Top 5. Neither program has actually finished in the Top 25 much for 10 or 20 years (in the case of Miami). They need to prove they belong there at this point. They should not get bonus points for reputations built a decade or two decades ago.

 

[brgRC90]

The ACC, of all conferences, having that many in the top 25 just because they are with ESPN makes the pre-season poll a complete joke.

It doesn't seem like too many to me but NC State at #10, in front of Penn State which, much as I dislike them, have been pretty consistently ranked in the Top 10 for years, is hard to believe. Not sure where that's coming from.

 

[robcac26]

Did Texas A&M really have such a massive offseason to go from finishing last season 5th in their division standings to starting this season ranked 6th in the country?

 

[brgRC90]

Did Texas A&M really have such a massive offseason to go from finishing last season 5th in their division standings to starting this season ranked 6th in the country?

I guess they're getting credit for the massive amounts of money they've shelled out to buy this year's class. Otherwise, it might just be votes from Texas haters, of which there seem to be a lot.

 

[Southern Gentleman]

I love the fact that Arkansas is not listed in the top 25. We will remember that on a weekly basis.

 

[The RUT]

They should have polls until week 6.

All of these teams gain a built in advantage from being ranked before they even play in a single game.

 

[rrdd2021]

At this point I don't think you can put Ohio State #2. Almost every year they get to the playoff and almost every year they fall short. That says they're not among the Top 2. I also think you have to be wary of placing USC and especially Miami in the Top 15 or so. Voters keep expecting the glory days to come back for those programs and so far the glory days haven't come back, often not even to Top 15 or Top 25 level, let alone Top 5. Neither program has actually finished in the Top 25 much for 10 or 20 years (in the case of Miami). They need to prove they belong there at this point. They should not get bonus points for reputations built a decade or two decades ago.

Not sure about OSU as they've basically tried to fix their achilles heal the last 2 or 3 years - their horrible defense. They have a whole new defensive staff this year and paid a ton of money to get them. But I think we can all agree that OSU's offense is second to none - they just haven't been able to stop anyone the last few years and that's on Day and their AD for putting up with a defensive staff that just took money without results. I guess we'll find out soon enough - about their new defense - in a couple of weeks against ND. That team could be lethal with a good defense (for a change)

 

[RUScrew85]

They should have polls until week 6.

All of these teams gain a built in advantage from being ranked before they even play in a single game.

I think you mean SHOULDN'T and I mostly agree.

 

[Bagarocks]

The ACC, of all conferences, having that many in the top 25 just because they are with ESPN makes the pre-season poll a complete joke.

aren't all pre season polls a complete joke?

 

[rrdd2021]

aren't all pre season polls a complete joke?

Depends on if your favorite team is in it or not. Fans of Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, OSU probably take the polls seriously

 

[RutgersDom]

Is Notre Dame overrated in the preseason poll?

Does the sun rise in the east?

EVERY YEAR !!!

 

[robcac26]

Depends on if your favorite team is in it or not. Fans of Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, OSU probably take the polls seriously

The problem is that whether you take it seriously or not, it gives the ranked teams a starting point ahead of everyone else since each week's rankings are really just revisions of the previous week's rankings instead of being done from scratch. That's why Clemson was still ranked last year after going 2-2 in their first four games with their two wins being against South Carolina State and Georgia Tech, and a loss to NC State, all three of those opponents unranked.

 

[RUScrew85]

aren't all pre season polls a complete joke?

Yes they are but when the 10th ranked team (preseason) goes 0-1 they never seem to fall as far as when the 27th ranked (pre-season) team goes 0-1.

So yeah they are except in the sense that they provide a kind of "lead" on the unranked not based on anything but last year's news and a couple of crystal balls.

 

[NickRU714]

Depends on if your favorite team is in it or not. Fans of Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, OSU probably take the polls seriously

See the 2020 pre-season basketball polls that included Rutgers in the Top 25.
All a sudden the preseason polls were super accurate and something to celebrate.

 

[NickRU714]

Is Notre Dame overrated in the preseason poll?

Does the sun rise in the east?

According to the March Madness thread on the basketball board - "sports are entertainment. Give the people what they want. Quality of team is secondary".

Well the people clearly want ND and other blue bloods ranked high since they draw the most tv views. The actual quality of the team is secondary.

 

[Bagarocks]

Polls are drivin by our perception of how we see it and want it.
Not how it is or should be.

 

[Panthergrowl13]

The ACC, of all conferences, having that many in the top 25 just because they are with ESPN makes the pre-season poll a complete joke.

Well lets also look at a couple of other Top 25 pre season polls and how many ACC teams they have ranked in the Top 25..

Phil Steele Top 25 ranked football teams in ACC Conference 5 teams.
Coaches/USA Top 25 ranked football teams in ACC Conference 5 teams.
AP Top 25 ranked football teams in ACC Conference 5 teams.

Pretty consistent results.

HAIL TO PITT!!!!

 

[GoodOl'Rutgers]

Texas A&M at 5 surprised me.. I figured it was ESPN SEC hype influencing voters. But they were 8 and 4 last year and gave us their bowl game. And a year prior they only lost to Bama.

I thought this rank might have to do with their NIL purchased players as well.. but I figured it might take more than a year to have them make a big impact... but it looks like A&M has been close to an NC contender for awhile.

7 of 16 SEC teams make the list.. plus 2 in the "also considered" category. Come on now. Hype em all.. get em all up there.. thne when there are upsets it is .. oh well.. ranked vs ranked anything can happen.. don't punish them in rankings too much..

 

[GoodOl'Rutgers]

Well lets also look at a couple of other Top 25 pre season polls and how many ACC teams they have ranked in the Top 25..

Phil Steele Top 25 ranked football teams in ACC Conference 5 teams.
Coaches/USA Top 25 ranked football teams in ACC Conference 5 teams.
AP Top 25 ranked football teams in ACC Conference 5 teams.

Pretty consistent results.

HAIL TO PITT!!!!

What does your Top 25 look like?

 

[Panthergrowl13]

What does your Top 25 look like?

Don't really have one.

Just look at the existing polls.

HAIL TO PITT!!!!

 

[brgRC90]

Rankings should mostly only be taken with a grain of salt until you get to the Top 2 or 3. There is likely a best team in the country each year. But is #7 really so much better than #9? If they played 10 games would #7 win almost all of them? Probably not. People get this way with college rankings. US News currently has Princeton #1, Yale #5 and CalTech at #9. Is Princeton really markedly better in any way than those universities? I doubt it.

 

[Ty Webb]

EVERY YEAR !!!

AP 2021 Preseason they were ranked 9th. They finished the year ranked 8th in the AP Poll. In 2020, they were ranked 10th in the AP Preseason, and they finished 5th.

 

[GoodOl'Rutgers]

AP 2021 Preseason they were ranked 9th. They finished the year ranked 8th in the AP Poll. In 2020, they were ranked 10th in the AP Preseason, and they finished 5th.

That's a can of worms you opened and you know it.

Every conference and even Notre Dame has had preseason rankings busted badly. Pointing out a copuple cases that support them means little.

THOUGH.. with the extra CoVid year and NIL and transfers, there is less loss of talent and experience this year and possibly going forward. So guessing this year based on last may not be all that much of a stretch.

The trend had ben that preseason polls are just people.. many of them self-interested parties, or those affected by the actions of self-interested parties, making wild-assed guesses based on preconcieved notions where there is usually little evidence upon which to base such guesses.

They shoudl call it Preseason Guesses and not some "rank" for the team. What the Top 25 really is in the preseason is a ranking of mindshare... not the actual teams we will see because the people doing the ranking have not seen these teams play. That is also why early season sagarins is a complete joke.

 

[Ty Webb]

That's a can of worms you opened and you know it.

Every conference and even Notre Dame has had preseason rankings busted badly. Pointing out a copuple cases that support them means little.

THOUGH.. with the extra CoVid year and NIL and transfers, there is less loss of talent and experience this year and possibly going forward. So guessing this year based on last may not be all that much of a stretch.

The trend had ben that preseason polls are just people.. many of them self-interested parties, or those affected by the actions of self-interested parties, making wild-assed guesses based on preconcieved notions where there is usually little evidence upon which to base such guesses.

They shoudl call it Preseason Guesses and not some "rank" for the team. What the Top 25 really is in the preseason is a ranking of mindshare... not the actual teams we will see because the people doing the ranking have not seen these teams play. That is also why early season sagarins is a complete joke.

I was sarcastically responding to the comment they are overrated “Every Year”.

Of course they have been overrated at times.

 

[RUGuitarMan]

The preseason or regular season AP or Coaches Polls don’t really matter anymore. The Playoff Committee rankings initially come out in early Nov. after 2 months of the season has been played. Those are the rankings that matter, not just for the playoff teams but the New Years 6 bowl games. It is the only ranking that matters. The AP poll is an anachronism from a bygone era.

 

[nick614]

What does your Top 25 look like?

1. Ohio St
2. Alabama
3. Michigan
4. Georgia
5. Oklahoma
6. Notre Dame
7. Clemson
8. Penn St
9. Wisconsin
10. Minnesota
11. Baylor
12. USC
13. Utah
14. Purdue
15. Florida
16. Miami (FL)
17. Maryland
18. Oregon St
19. UCLA
20. Pittsburgh
21. Michigan St
22. BYU
23. Florida St
24. Kentucky
25. Fresno St

 

[colbert17]

1. Ohio St
2. Alabama
3. Michigan
4. Georgia
5. Oklahoma
6. Notre Dame
7. Clemson
8. Penn St
9. Wisconsin
10. Minnesota
11. Baylor
12. USC
13. Utah
14. Purdue
15. Florida
16. Miami (FL)
17. Maryland
18. Oregon St
19. UCLA
20. Pittsburgh
21. Michigan St
22. BYU
23. Florida St
24. Kentucky
25. Fresno St

Not bad but IMHO Penn St. is too high and Minnesota is way too high. Purdue, UCLA and Maryland are not top 20 teams. Usually not much difference in the teams #20 to #40 though.
According to your rankings we play 4 of the top 10 teams in the country. Wow!

 

[scarletrider]

Not sure if OSU looked #3 good this week. Didn't watch bama play but thought Georgia looked very impressive. The last time OSU looked really good was when they won the NC. Of course, ND is overrated, again.

 

[nick614]

Not bad but IMHO Penn St. is too high and Minnesota is way too high. Purdue, UCLA and Maryland are not top 20 teams. Usually not much difference in the teams #20 to #40 though.
According to your rankings we play 4 of the top 10 teams in the country. Wow!

The Big Ten East in the best division in CFB this year. I think my rankings are fairly accurate. I don't overrate 7-5 SEC teams like the Southern media does, especially when they struggle with G5 teams that lost all their players or FCS teams.