There’s a reason the College Football Playoff’s first rankings don’t appear until Oct. 31.
Because by then college football game results will be in the bank.
Preseason polls are fun. But Oct. 31, when we hear from the CFP folks, is when myopic guessing, political posturing, blue-blood worshipping and reputations built on last season will be put in perspective.
Preseason polls?
They’re for entertainment purposes.
Well, except for positioning Georgia as No. 1 right now. That is practice science at this point in college football.
But the march of blue bloods before us nearly every fall is getting a tad tiresome.
This past week, preseason polls received blistering criticism from veteran sportscaster Tim Brando of Fox Sports. He didn’t hold back.
“(The AP poll) is nothing more than a starting grid for the elite brand names of college football so they can make sure they get the same four damn teams in the same damn bogus college playoffs that we’ve had to deal with since 2014,” Brando told 365 Sports Radio in Waco, Texas.
“It’s a joke. It’s a crock,” continued Brando. He questioned how legitimate journalists could buy into all of it right out of the chute.
This fall’s preseason AP poll has defending champion Georgia ranked No. 1, followed by No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Alabama, No. 5 LSU and No. 6 USC.
Remember, in 2023, Michigan lost a first-round CFP game to TCU, and USC lost twice to Utah.
This preseason ranking of Alabama as No. 4 is the lowest for Nick Saban’s squad in a decade.
There’s a reason for that. It’s Georgia.
This time last year the AP preseason poll had Alabama ranked No. 1 and they finished No. 5. Ohio State was ranked No. 2 and finished No. 4. Georgia began the season ranked No. 3 and won it all at 15-0. Clemson, ranked No. 4 in the preseason, finished No. 13.
The year before, 2021, preseason polls ranked Alabama No. 1 and the Crimson Tide finished No. 2. Georgia was ranked No. 5 and finished No. 1. Oklahoma’s preseason ranking was No. 2 and they ended up No. 7. Michigan was unranked in the preseason that year and finished No. 3. Cincinnati was ranked No. 8 in the preseason and ended up No. 4.
Well, Brando has a point.
The preseason polls are indeed an act of posturing, but they’re also a result of a lot of public perception.
No question Georgia has earned respect and everyone is chasing Kirby Smart. He’s got it rolling.
It is not nonsense that you could place the defending champion as the team to beat. This SEC power is spending more on recruiting than anyone in the country.
USA Today reports Georgia doubled its recruiting budget from $2.7 million in 2017 to $4.51 million in 2022.
That recruiting budget ranking has Clemson No. 2 ($3.61 million), followed by No. 3 Tennessee ($2.98 million), followed by Texas A&M ($2.9 million) and Oklahoma ($2.61 million.
Interesting to note, the country’s generally considered top powerhouse, Alabama, ranked No. 7 in 2022 with $2.32 million for recruiting.
But that will likely change in 2023 when ’Bama fans and Saban grease the gears.
The Pac-12 might be reduced to just four teams this summer, but this month’s AP preseason rankings has an impressive five current Pac-12 teams ranked in the top 18.
That is impressive and it will be interesting to see how those projections hold up.
USC ranks No. 6 followed by Washington at No. 10.
Those are gaudy starting spots for those two West Coast teams.
If you take Brando’s argument seriously, why couldn’t USC and Washington be in the top five right now?
Utah, despite the uncertain status of star quarterback Cam Rising following ACL surgery, is judged to be No. 14 heading into next week’s opener against Florida.
Oregon is No. 15 and Oregon State is 18th.
You have to admit, for a league that’s being disassembled with six defections in a matter of weeks, this is being viewed nationally, by sportswriters, sportscasters and other media types, as an extremely strong league.
Is it wishful and hopeful posturing by the voters? Or is this centered in actual football respectability heading into this season?
If the Pac-12 produces this kind of football in 2023, it will be one of the more intriguing if not the best story of the upcoming season.
