Preseason College Football Rankings 2012: Bogus Teams That'll Get Too Much Love

The 2012 college football season isn’t even close to kicking off, but it is never too early to start thinking about the preseason polls and more factors that will shape the upcoming year.

Teams that start inside the top 25 of the major polls have a distinct advantage over others, as it is much harder for them to be overtaken until they start losing.

Here’s a look at three teams that will be overrated in the preseason and prove that they aren’t worthy of their lofty ranking sooner than later.

South Carolina

The Gamecocks were in disarray late in 2011, but still scraped together a respectable 11-2 record and win over Nebraska in the Capital One Bowl.

It won't be that easy again.

They have some extremely tough tests this season, including a matchup against a hungry and ticked off LSU team in Death Valley.

SC will also be staring down Georgia, Florida, Clemson and Arkansas during this brutal campaign.

Unless Connor Shaw shows he has the ability to be an elite QB, it’s going to be tough for this team to win most of those games, and they cannot rely solely on Marcus Lattimore to get them by.

Wisconsin

The Badgers are favorites to capture the Leaders Division in their conference, but “upstart” Ohio State—under Urban Meyer—could give them a run for their money.

This program lost successful QB Russell Wilson after his stellar 2011 campaign, and it will be hard pressed to replace that production.

Expect the Badgers to stumble, especially if they cannot establish their running game with Montee Ball.

Texas

The Longhorns are always overrated, somehow getting poll votes last year when they were losing to inferior teams on the way to a 7-5 season and using two QBs at times.

Their schedule gets much easier this season, with the departure of major players from Baylor and Oklahoma State, which makes it even more ridiculous if this team stumbles and doesn’t tumble out of the polls.