BAMANEWSBOT
Staff
Every Friday, the Friday Five will rank something in the world of college football -- anything and everything from the logical to the illogical. This week we rank the five most overrated teams in the preseason coaches poll.
The preseason coaches poll was released on Thursday, which was big news simply because the release of preseason coaches and AP polls simply means the season is almost here. Now, there are a lot of things in the world of college football that I find to be stupid, and preseason polls are at the top of that list.
We're ranking teams that we haven't seen play yet based on the history of what those teams have done with different players and coaches. It's a silly exercise.
Of course, just because they're stupid, that doesn't mean preseason polls don't matter. They do. Where a team is ranked before it's played a game has a direct impact on how fans, the media and coaches all perceive those teams during the regular season.
For instance, if Team A starts the season ranked No. 5, but goes 0-2 in its first two games, it will still receive more respect from a certain portion of voters than unranked Team B that starts 2-0. Only because, before ever seeing a game played, said voter thought Team A was good, and that voter isn't ready to admit they were wrong just yet.
It's human nature.
And while the polls no longer play a role in deciding a national champion, you're incredibly deep in denial if you don't think the polls have an effect on the way the College Football Playoff Selection Committee thinks about teams. It does, no matter what anybody on the committee tells you.
So that's why even if the preseason polls are dumb, we have to pay attention to them. And it's also why this week I've decided to rank the five teams I believe are the most overrated teams in the preseason coaches poll.
It's just my attempt to throw some logic out there in hope that I can talk some sense to the world.
5. Oregon: The Ducks are going to be good in 2015 because Oregon is just one of those teams that's good every season now. It has become one of those things we can truly count on. I just don't know that it's top five good in 2015, but it will begin the season ranked No. 5. There are a few reasons for this, and it's not just Marcus Mariota being gone. Though that obviously plays a role.
Still, as important as Mariota was to the Ducks the last few years, he's hardly the only person the Ducks need to replace in 2015. There are only 12 returning starters from the 2014 team, with a lot of the losses coming on the defensive side of the ball. Also, the offensive line only has two returning starters, and it lost one of the best centers in the nation in Hroniss Grasu.
Now, these are all players that can be replaced. That's the nature of college football. It's just I'm a bit hesitant to think the Ducks are one of the five best teams in the country with so many questions heading into the season.
4. Tennessee: There are eight SEC teams ranked in the poll, and 13 of the 14 teams in the conference received votes in the process (sorry, Vanderbilt). I don't have a problem with eight SEC teams being ranked, and considering Tennessee sneaks in at the No. 25 spot, this isn't that big of a deal.
But I would rather see Mississippi State ranked than the Volunteers. At least the Bulldogs are coming off a season in which they accomplished something. Sure, Tennessee went 7-6 last year and played in its first bowl game since 2010. There's also a lot of young talent on the team, including a quarterback I love in Josh Dobbs.
I get the reasoning!
It's just I also remember where a lot of those wins came from last year. In 2014, Tennessee played five games against teams that finished the season ranked in the AP poll, or were at least receiving votes. It went 0-5 in those games, losing by an average score of 33.2-17.2. The seven wins came against Utah State, Arkansas State, Chattanooga, South Carolina, Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Iowa. Not exactly a murderer's row.
So while I think Tennessee is going to be a better team in 2015, I'd like to see them prove it first before ranking them.
3. Alabama: Now, now, Alabama fans, calm down and read this before you start figuring out ways to make me pay for disrespecting the Tide. Alabama is going to be good in 2015. It's just I feel like there are more questions about Alabama heading into the season than there have been at any time in recent seasons.
The biggest one is at quarterback. It was assumed that Jacob Coker would start last season, but he lost out to Blake Sims. So if he wasn't good enough last year, I have a hard time just assuming he's perfectly capable now.
And like Oregon, he's hardly the only question mark. We know Alabama is going to have plenty of talent, but it's replacing most of its offense, and has to replace three starters on the offensive line.
So, for me, Alabama has every right to be ranked in the top 10, and probably the top five, I just don't know that I'm ready to consider the Tide the third-best team in the country just yet. I mean, this is a team that could wind up finishing third in the SEC West.
2. LSU: I just don't get it. What did people see from LSU last year to justify ranking them No. 13 to start 2015? This is definitely a team that should be ranked, just not this highly. I love Leonard Fournette just as much as anybody else, and I understand that nearly the entire offense is back, but do you remember last year's offense? It wasn't exactly good.
In eight conference games, LSU managed to score 19.1 points per game. The only SEC team to do worse was Vanderbilt. And it's not like the quarterback situation has been solved. Hell, with the legal drama still surrounding Anthony Jennings, it's cloudier than ever before.
The Tigers are a team that is certainly capable of being a top 15 team by the time the season is over, but there's no way they should be considered one now.
1. Southern California: USC being over-ranked to start the season is becoming an annual tradition. Remember 2012 when the Trojans began the year ranked No. 1 and finished the season not ranked at all? That was fun, wasn't it?
Now, starting the year at No. 10 isn't nearly as egregious, but it's way too damn high.
This is a team that only managed to win nine games last season, when it still had players like Leonard Williams, Nelson Agholor, Hayes Pullard and Buck Allen. They're all gone. Sure, Cody Kessler's back, and Adoree Jackson might be one of the most exciting players in the game this year, but that's just not enough to justify starting the season in the top 10.
I don't even know that USC is the best team in its own division, let alone one of the 10 best in the nation.
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The preseason coaches poll was released on Thursday, which was big news simply because the release of preseason coaches and AP polls simply means the season is almost here. Now, there are a lot of things in the world of college football that I find to be stupid, and preseason polls are at the top of that list.
We're ranking teams that we haven't seen play yet based on the history of what those teams have done with different players and coaches. It's a silly exercise.
Of course, just because they're stupid, that doesn't mean preseason polls don't matter. They do. Where a team is ranked before it's played a game has a direct impact on how fans, the media and coaches all perceive those teams during the regular season.
For instance, if Team A starts the season ranked No. 5, but goes 0-2 in its first two games, it will still receive more respect from a certain portion of voters than unranked Team B that starts 2-0. Only because, before ever seeing a game played, said voter thought Team A was good, and that voter isn't ready to admit they were wrong just yet.
It's human nature.
And while the polls no longer play a role in deciding a national champion, you're incredibly deep in denial if you don't think the polls have an effect on the way the College Football Playoff Selection Committee thinks about teams. It does, no matter what anybody on the committee tells you.
So that's why even if the preseason polls are dumb, we have to pay attention to them. And it's also why this week I've decided to rank the five teams I believe are the most overrated teams in the preseason coaches poll.
It's just my attempt to throw some logic out there in hope that I can talk some sense to the world.
5. Oregon: The Ducks are going to be good in 2015 because Oregon is just one of those teams that's good every season now. It has become one of those things we can truly count on. I just don't know that it's top five good in 2015, but it will begin the season ranked No. 5. There are a few reasons for this, and it's not just Marcus Mariota being gone. Though that obviously plays a role.
Still, as important as Mariota was to the Ducks the last few years, he's hardly the only person the Ducks need to replace in 2015. There are only 12 returning starters from the 2014 team, with a lot of the losses coming on the defensive side of the ball. Also, the offensive line only has two returning starters, and it lost one of the best centers in the nation in Hroniss Grasu.
Now, these are all players that can be replaced. That's the nature of college football. It's just I'm a bit hesitant to think the Ducks are one of the five best teams in the country with so many questions heading into the season.
4. Tennessee: There are eight SEC teams ranked in the poll, and 13 of the 14 teams in the conference received votes in the process (sorry, Vanderbilt). I don't have a problem with eight SEC teams being ranked, and considering Tennessee sneaks in at the No. 25 spot, this isn't that big of a deal.
But I would rather see Mississippi State ranked than the Volunteers. At least the Bulldogs are coming off a season in which they accomplished something. Sure, Tennessee went 7-6 last year and played in its first bowl game since 2010. There's also a lot of young talent on the team, including a quarterback I love in Josh Dobbs.
I get the reasoning!
It's just I also remember where a lot of those wins came from last year. In 2014, Tennessee played five games against teams that finished the season ranked in the AP poll, or were at least receiving votes. It went 0-5 in those games, losing by an average score of 33.2-17.2. The seven wins came against Utah State, Arkansas State, Chattanooga, South Carolina, Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Iowa. Not exactly a murderer's row.
So while I think Tennessee is going to be a better team in 2015, I'd like to see them prove it first before ranking them.
3. Alabama: Now, now, Alabama fans, calm down and read this before you start figuring out ways to make me pay for disrespecting the Tide. Alabama is going to be good in 2015. It's just I feel like there are more questions about Alabama heading into the season than there have been at any time in recent seasons.
The biggest one is at quarterback. It was assumed that Jacob Coker would start last season, but he lost out to Blake Sims. So if he wasn't good enough last year, I have a hard time just assuming he's perfectly capable now.
And like Oregon, he's hardly the only question mark. We know Alabama is going to have plenty of talent, but it's replacing most of its offense, and has to replace three starters on the offensive line.
So, for me, Alabama has every right to be ranked in the top 10, and probably the top five, I just don't know that I'm ready to consider the Tide the third-best team in the country just yet. I mean, this is a team that could wind up finishing third in the SEC West.
2. LSU: I just don't get it. What did people see from LSU last year to justify ranking them No. 13 to start 2015? This is definitely a team that should be ranked, just not this highly. I love Leonard Fournette just as much as anybody else, and I understand that nearly the entire offense is back, but do you remember last year's offense? It wasn't exactly good.
In eight conference games, LSU managed to score 19.1 points per game. The only SEC team to do worse was Vanderbilt. And it's not like the quarterback situation has been solved. Hell, with the legal drama still surrounding Anthony Jennings, it's cloudier than ever before.
The Tigers are a team that is certainly capable of being a top 15 team by the time the season is over, but there's no way they should be considered one now.
1. Southern California: USC being over-ranked to start the season is becoming an annual tradition. Remember 2012 when the Trojans began the year ranked No. 1 and finished the season not ranked at all? That was fun, wasn't it?
Now, starting the year at No. 10 isn't nearly as egregious, but it's way too damn high.
This is a team that only managed to win nine games last season, when it still had players like Leonard Williams, Nelson Agholor, Hayes Pullard and Buck Allen. They're all gone. Sure, Cody Kessler's back, and Adoree Jackson might be one of the most exciting players in the game this year, but that's just not enough to justify starting the season in the top 10.
I don't even know that USC is the best team in its own division, let alone one of the 10 best in the nation.
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