The first college football preseason poll was released, which ranks the Top 25 teams in the country as it is seen now. Alabama was first, Clemson second, Oklahoma third, Florida State fourth, Ohio State fifth, LSU sixth, Stanford seventh, Michigan eighth, Notre Dame ninth, and Tennessee rounding out the top 10. While that’s most not surprising, there were a number of things we learned from the Top 25. Let’s take a closer look at the rankings and see what stands out.
Alabama Is The Team In Best Position To Make The Playoff With One Loss
There is no doubt that any team which goes 13-0 from a Power Five conference will make the playoff. No one questions that. It’s taken for granted, and it should be. It’s more of a question when a 13-0 team comes from a smaller conference outside the Power Five, such as Houston this season.
The real hard part about College Football Playoff odds comes into play when a team loses once. Of all the teams in the country, which one can best absorb one loss? The answer has to be Alabama. The Crimson Tide, being at No. 1, could lose early in the season – perhaps to Ole Miss again – and then win the rest of their games, including LSU, to win the SEC West, then the SEC championship, and then make the College Football Playoff. Alabama’s one loss, if it comes against LSU and enables the Tigers to win the SEC West, would put Alabama on life support, but if any team could fail to win its own division and still be in the hunt in late November, it’s the Crimson Tide. They will get the benefit of the doubt from voters and the people in that committee room who decide on the four playoff teams. That’s what being No. 1 in the preseason poll achieves for Alabama.
Teams Ranked 8 Through 16 Have A Realistic Chance Of Making The Playoff
It’s not something you can always say heading into a college football season, but this year, yes, the teams ranked outside the top six at the start of the season do have a very attainable chance of making the national championship game, this time by going through the College Football Playoff and not previous systems such as the Bowl Championship Series.
Look at the top six: Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma, Florida State, Ohio State, and LSU. In that group of six, pairs of teams all play each other: Alabama will play LSU. Clemson will play Florida State. Oklahoma will play Ohio State. Teams are going to beat each other up and knock each other off. Then there’s more: Michigan is No. 8. The Wolverines play Ohio State. Tennessee is No. 10 and will play Alabama. Michigan State is No. 11 and will play both Michigan and Ohio State. Ole Miss is No. 12 and will play both Alabama and LSU. Houston is No. 13 and will play Oklahoma. TCU is No. 14 and will play Oklahoma. Teams are going to get chances to move up in the polls all season long. That’s the beauty of this poll.
The Pac-12 Is Weak
The Stanford Cardinal are No. 7 and that’s the only Pac-12 team in the top 16. That shows that many people believe they’re not the powerhouse that they once were. Teams like Oregon and USC are not what they once were, and Washington is not ready to make the next step in the eyes of pollsters. However, this is a conference with a lot of potential. Remember that this is the season that USC is supposed to make a return to greatness, even though they have an incredibly tough schedule. As for Oregon, they’re supposed to rebound after last year’s disappointment. Washington has potential, as does Washington State and UCLA. The Pac-12 is deemed weak right now but they’ll have to prove people wrong this season opposed to proving them right.
The Clemson-Florida State Winner Will Almost Surely Make The Playoff
If you look at the larger top 25, no ACC teams other than Clemson and Florida State are in the top 19. North Carolina is at 20. It’s Clemson, FSU, and everyone else. The winner of that game will very likely win the ACC championship, and given the lack of contenders in the ACC, that team should finish 12-1 at minimum. Other conference champions with more competition might finish 11-2. The ACC champion will likely get into the playoff. North Carolina is really the only team that has potential to ruin that, but as we saw last year, they’re a step behind the big two.
