7 Teams That Got Screwed in 1st ESPN 'College Football Live' Top 25 Poll

ESPN could not wait for the college football polls to be released in a couple of months and decided to release its own preseason poll to stir things up a little bit.

These rankings have done their job, starting debates throughout the college football world.

Many are wondering why certain teams are ranked where they are. Others are wondering why this team is ranked above that team. Then you have the teams that many believe were just straight-up disrespected and deserve a lot more credit than ESPN gave them.

Here are seven teams that should have either made the list or been a little bit higher.

Georgia Tech

Ranking: Unranked

Georgia Tech returns a total of 15 starters from a year ago, including eight on the offensive side of the ball and quarterback Tevin Washington.

This is a team that averaged nearly 35 points per game on offense and held a high-scoring Clemson team to 17 points defensively.

The Yellow Jackets likely didn't make the cut due to their inconsistency throughout the year, but this is a sleeper in the ACC heading into next year.

They'll have their chance to prove themselves in Week 1 against the Virginia Tech Hokies. 

Auburn

Ranking: Unranked 

The Tigers won the national championship in 2010, lost nearly their entire team and ended up still finishing with a solid 8-5 season last year.

That includes victories over Florida and South Carolina (two teams that made the poll), and Auburn only lost to Clemson by a couple of touchdowns.

Now that Gene Chizik's club returns the majority of its starters and likely has an answer at quarterback in Kiehl Frazier, it's going to be interesting to see how far this Auburn team can go.

The Tigers could have replaced several teams that ended up making this list.

Clemson

Ranking: No. 18

Am I the only one who believes the Tigers are better than some of the teams they're behind in the poll?

Am I also the only one who thinks this Clemson team could contend for a national championship if it plays with some consistency?

Maybe—who knows?

This squad returns seven starters on both sides of the ball and has an offense that not too many teams can keep up with, averaging nearly 34 points per contest and full of 2011 All-Conference players.

If the defense can improve just a little bit, this is a national championship contender.

Yes, I said it.

Texas A&M

Ranking: Unranked 

You'd think with the Aggies switching to the SEC, they'd get some love.

Apparently not.

Texas A&M is a team that returns the majority of its roster from a year ago. It has already shown that it can compete with Arkansas last season and competed with Texas and Kansas State.

Much like Clemson, the defense may be what's holding this team back from getting more respect, but don't be surprised if the Aggies make a huge impact in their first year in their new conference.

West Virginia

Ranking: No. 11

West Virginia kind of had its audition for the Big 12 in the BCS Orange Bowl massacre against the Clemson Tigers last season.

This squad can score with anybody in the country, and it has a defense that returns seven starters. This offense averaged nearly 38 points per game last season, and the defense was ranked 33rd in the country.

Geno Smith may truly be the best quarterback in the Big 12, and with him leading the way, I wouldn't be surprised if the Mountaineers are in fact the favorites to win the conference.

There's a lot to like about this team, and you could make a solid argument for West Virginia to be a little higher in the poll.

Tennessee

Ranking: Unranked

OK, this may be more of a joke than anything, but with six teams from the SEC in the poll, I think ESPN missed another.

We all know Tennessee has struggled mightily over the years, but this may be the year it turns things around.

The Volunteers return 19 starters from a year ago and are looking to finally make noise again in the SEC.

They also get wide receiver Justin Hunter and linebacker Herman Lathers back from injury.

Tennessee may still be a year or two away from competing on a national stage, but I guarantee that it will no longer be a pushover like it has been, and it's only a matter of time before it cracks the top 25. 

Alabama

Ranking: No. 3

When most teams open up the season in the top five, they're very happy with where they are.

But when a team is the defending national champion and it doesn't open the season up at No. 1, it's a little disappointing.

When last season ended, the Crimson Tide was crowed as the best college football team of the year.

Now, without any games being played, people are saying that USC and LSU are better teams than the Tide.

Alabama, of course, will still have equal opportunity to defend its title, but this may be just the motivation that Nick Saban and company need to prove the critics wrong once again.