The preseason AP Top 25 poll was released on Monday, and every year before it comes out, I tell myself not to be bothered by it. It's just a preseason poll; it isn't that important.
Then the poll is released, and I find myself having thoughts about it!
I see teams the voters got right, teams they've overrated and teams they underrated. Aside from yelling about it to a wall, though, I figured I'd bring my gripes to you, my adoring public.
Now, truth be told, I have thoughts about all 25 teams in the poll, as well as some that remain unranked, but your time is valuable so I'll limit my ire to the most egregious cases. So let's get mad about some numbers placed next to teams.
Overrated
No. 4 USC: If recent history is any indication, when the Trojans are ranked in the top 10, they are overrated. Don't believe me? Let's take a quick trip down memory lane.
In 2008, the Trojans began the year ranked No. 3 in the AP Top 25 and finished in that same spot, going 12-1. In 2009, the Trojans opened at No. 4 and ended the season ranked No. 22. Now, this isn't good, but it's not as awful as things would soon become.
The next time USC found itself ranked in the top 10 of the preseason AP Top 25 was in 2012 when the Trojans entered the year with a bunch of hype, opening the season with a No. 1 ranking. The Trojans went 7-6 that season and finished the year unranked.
In 2015, nobody learned from their mistakes. USC entered the year with a lot of hype surrounding the team, and you were assured that the Trojans were BACK. They appeared at No. 8 in the AP Top 25 to start the season. They would end the season unranked at 8-6.
Will it happen again? I can't see the future, but you have to figure the Trojans should be angrier about their ranking than anybody else has the right to be.
Any SEC team in the top 15 that isn't Alabama: This includes No. 12 Auburn, No. 13 LSU and No. 15 Georgia. Here's what I think happens. The AP voter is filling out their ballot, and they get out of the top 10. They then find themselves at No. 12 or so, and a realization comes to them.
"How do I only have one SEC team ranked so far? I better add a couple. Wouldn't want to look silly."
And that's how Auburn, LSU and Georgia -- three teams that went a combined 24-14 overall, 14-10 in the SEC last season -- end up with cushy spots in the top 15.
Of the three, LSU finished last season ranked the highest at No. 13 with an 8-4 record. Auburn was 8-5 and wound up at No. 24 while Georgia was also 8-5, but was unranked to end the season.
I mean, at least LSU was ranked in the top 15, even if it was still higher than it should have been. What Auburn and Georgia did to jump up at least 10 spots during the offseason, I'm not sure.
No. 23 Texas: This one doesn't require a lot of explanation. Texas was 5-7 last season. It was 5-7 the season before that one. The 2014 season was a bit kinder, as the Horns went 6-7.
So, sure, let's rank Texas at No. 23 to start the season. I think the Longhorns are a playoff sleeper this season, but that's not enough to warrant ranking them right now.
Underrated
No. 5 Clemson: This wasn't a surprise. In just about every poll we've seen this year, the Tigers seem to have a ceiling of No. 5. I understand why, seeing as Deshaun Watson is now fighting for the starting job with the Houston Texans, but as great as Watson was for Clemson, this is a Clemson team built to replace him.
The way Dabo Swinney has recruited at Clemson has put the Tigers in a position where they don't have to rebuild, they just replace. Because of this, I believe the Tigers deserve a bit more credit heading into 2017.
If you want to put them behind Ohio State and Florida State, that's perfectly reasonable and certainly defendable. But they should be ahead of USC.
No. 14 Stanford: I gave you a history lesson on USC earlier, and now it's time for one about its Pac-12 counterpart Stanford.
David Shaw has been in charge since 2011. In his six seasons, his team has won at least 10 games five times. One of those seasons was last year when the Cardinal went 10-3. They finished ranked No. 12, which was their second lowest ranking to finish a season under Shaw (the lowest was not being ranked following an 8-5 2014).
In 2011, Stanford finished at No. 7 in the AP. In 2012, they were No. 7 again. The 2013 season ended with the tree at No. 11, and 2015 saw it finish No. 3.
The point I'm trying to make here is that this is a team that consistently wins at least 10 games and ranked in the top 12, yet it's only starting at 12 this year. I guess those five 10-win seasons in the last six years aren't enough to warrant placing Stanford ahead of LSU and Auburn -- two teams that have four 10-win seasons between them in that same time span, the last for each coming in 2013.
Just right
Alabama: Well, duh. We all knew Alabama was going to be No. 1, and most feel Alabama should be No. 1. If you're honest with yourself, I don't even know how you can convince yourself any other team deserves your No. 1 vote in the preseason poll ahead of Alabama. Nine voters did, though, and I'd love to hear their reasoning.
Of course, this could still be bad news for Alabama. It has failed to win a national title the last three times it started the year at No. 1. In fact, the last team ever to start at No. 1 and finish there was USC in 2004.And with that, we've come full circle.