The AP Poll has gotten out of hand. Even though it has no direct impact on the season, it certainly has an influence on public opinion (both media and fans).
It’s clear that voters don’t watch every game. Hell, they do not even bother to look at a box score or consider who teams have played in weeks past.
I won’t get into every little detail that the AP Poll gets outrageously wrong on a weekly basis (although that could make for an electric weekly series). But the fact that teams like FSU, UNC, Minnesota, Appalachian State, Kansas and Washington State are still unranked while teams like A&M, Miami, and Florida are should be proof enough.
The AP voters put out a pre-season poll every year to gain attention and stay relevant. But instead of looking at each week as a fresh slate and fully reevaluating every team, they stick to their pre-season picks like it’s gospel.
I get A&M just beat the “13th ranked” team in the country in Miami. But did any voter who watched that nauseating attempt at the game we call football consider that – maybe, just maybe – neither of these teams are good?
There are plenty of undefeated teams who have done their jobs through 3 weeks and looked solid doing it. Those teams deserve a spot in a national top 25 ranking. Not *insert SEC team that just beat East Dakota A&M here*.
- Georgia (3-0)
- Ohio State (3-0)
- Alabama (3-0)
- Michigan (3-0)
- USC (3-0)
- Oklahoma (3-0)
- Clemson (3-0)
- Penn State (3-0)
- Kentucky (3-0)
- Washington (3-0)
- Tennessee (3-0)
- Minnesota (3-0)
- Oklahoma State (3-0)
- Ole Miss (3-0)
- Texas (2-1)
- NC State (3-0)
- Oregon (2-1)
- Florida State (3-0)
- Washington State (3-0)
- Kansas (3-0)
- Wake Forest (3-0)
- Maryland (3-0)
- BYU (2-1)
- Arkansas (3-0)
- Wisconsin (2-1)
| Conference | # of Teams |
| Big Ten | 6 |
| SEC | 6 |
| ACC | 4 |
| Big 12 | 4 |
| Pac 12 | 4 |
| Independent | 1 |
Quick Notes
- Penn State and Washington belong in the top 10 because they are one of the few teams in the country who have a resume through 3 weeks. Even though Penn State’s road win it West Lafayette to start the year doesn’t look wildly impressive now, their 41-12 at Auburn this week gave them two good tests in three weeks. And Washington’s dominance over a widely-respected Spartan team deserves a lot of credit.
- Minnesota still being unranked in the AP Poll should be a sin. They haven’t played anyone very impressive yet, but neither have most of the ranked teams (like Michigan). Minnesota actually got the chance to play a power-5 opponent in Colorado this week and ended that game before the 1st quarter was over. The Golden Gophers have done nothing but do their job and have looked nearly flawless doing it.
- Texas is the top-ranked 1-loss team. A loss is a loss, but pushing Alabama in a neutral location with a backup QB was as good of a loss as you could possibly have. I hate the phrase “they should have won it”, but damn. Just imagine if they pulled that off. Either way, you can’t punish them much for that.
- To round out the top 25, I clearly favored the teams that have won all of their games. We simply don’t know enough about the majority of teams across the country to decide losses can be scratched off as “quality losses”. A loss is a loss, and teams that have taken care of business a quarter of the way through the season deserve credit.