The College Football Top 25 preseason rankings are one of the most disputed and debatable topics fans discuss yearly. With NIL, the transfer portal, and yearly roster turnover, is it fair to rank teams before the season starts?
For many, the answer is no. After all, why is it fair to say that Michigan, which just won the National Championship, is now the 8th best team in the country? For the Wolverines to move back up to the No. 1 ranking (which, again, they did nothing to lose), they will probably need the seven teams ranked ahead of them to start losing games.
On the flip side, if Michigan loses a game, it will likely fall to the 15-20 range in the rankings. Had it still been ranked No. 1, it would have fallen to the 10-15 range, which is a much better spot.
Money Drives College Football
Like it or not, college football is driven by money, and preseason rankings can be a major factor in generating that money. The big money comes from the TV networks. For the next month, TV broadcasts can talk and debate the Top 25 teams. Any currently ranked team is now more intent on watching everything going on in the college football world.
Think about it, do you think Georgia fans were as engaged in the preseason a few weeks ago, or now? Considering they have the No. 1 ranking in the Coaches Poll, it’s safe to say they are all watching everything now.
In a way, you could say it is a necessary evil. Is it fair? Absolutely not. Is is going anywhere? Not as long as there is money to be made. Because of that, I’ve decided that instead of running away from it and pretending it doesn’t exist, to create my own poll that seems to be more fair.
Gridiron Heroics College Football Top 25
Unlike the Coaches or AP poll, Gridiron Heroics uses a poll based on last year’s results. If a team finished ranked last year, it will keep that ranking until it proves it no longer deserves it. Is Michigan, which lost virtually every impact player from last year, going to be as good as last year? Probably not, but their play should determine that, not an expert opinion.
If adopted on a larger scale, this poll would also motivate teams to win a bowl game at the end of the season. Imagine going into the offseason as a ranked team, and that could be a great recruiting tool.
As the weeks go on, the rankings will be based on this starting point. At first, it will look drastically different than the AP/Coaches poll, but as the season goes on and teams start to lose or pull off upsets, it will be interesting to see how closely our poll matches up with the major polls.
- Michigan
- Washington
- Texas
- Georgia
- Alabama
- Florida State
- Oregon
- Missouri
- Ole Miss
- Ohio State
- Arizona
- LSU
- Penn State
- Notre Dame
- Oklahoma
- Oklahoma State
- Tennessee
- Kansas State
- Louisville
- Clemson
- NC State
- SMU
- Kansas
- Iowa
- Liberty
NEXT: Not available until after Week 1
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