Preseason College Football Rankings 2015: Twitter Reacts to AP NCAA Top 25 Poll
The second major college football preseason poll has been released, and the Associated Press has declared the Ohio State Buckeyes are the nation's best team before the 2015 season begins.
Ohio State has been a near-unanimous No. 1 coming into the year, with the Buckeyes receiving 62 out of 64 first-place votes in the Amway coaches poll released in July.
The Associated Press took things one step further, giving the defending national champions all 61 first-place votes.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Here's how the entire AP Top 25 preseason poll looks:
| 1 | Ohio State | 1,525 | 61 |
| 2 | TCU | 1,428 | - |
| 3 | Alabama | 1,322 | - |
| 4 | Baylor | 1,263 | - |
| 5 | Michigan State | 1,256 | - |
| 6 | Auburn | 1,192 | - |
| 7 | Oregon | 1,156 | - |
| 8 | USC | 1,085 | - |
| 9 | Georgia | 991 | - |
| 10 | Florida State | 959 | - |
| 11 | Notre Dame | 873 | - |
| 12 | Clemson | 862 | - |
| 13 | UCLA | 698 | - |
| 14 | LSU | 675 | - |
| 15 | Arizona State | 605 | - |
| 16 | Georgia Tech | 588 | - |
| 17 | Mississippi | 563 | - |
| 18 | Arkansas | 410 | - |
| 19 | Oklahoma | 394 | - |
| 20 | Wisconsin | 393 | - |
| 21 | Stanford | 347 | - |
| 22 | Arizona | 311 | - |
| 23 | Boise State | 240 | - |
| 24 | Missouri | 219 | - |
| 25 | Tennessee | 114 | - |
Ohio State's spot atop the rankings gives the program a rare and historic distinction, per Matt Barnes of NBC 4 in Columbus:
The Buckeyes have been sneaking up on teams since Urban Meyer took over as head coach. Their undefeated regular season in 2012 was met with skepticism because of a mediocre schedule that didn't include one win over a team ranked inside the Top 20.
Ohio State was undone in 2013 by back-to-back losses at the end of the year against Michigan State and Clemson. Last year, everything came together in surprising fashion because Braxton Miller was injured before the season and J.T. Barrett went down in the regular-season finale against Michigan.
Now, the Buckeyes are going to be the hunted team, which isn't something that has historically worked well for the program, per ESPN College Football:
Adding to that, Chris Dufresne of the Los Angeles Times pointed out how long it's been since a preseason No. 1 won the AP national title:
The Buckeyes will be challenged this season, particularly in the final two games against Michigan State and at Michigan.
Even starting out the season at Virginia Tech looks more dangerous for Ohio State, with Joey Bosa, Jalin Marshall, Dontre Wilson and Corey Smith suspended for violating an athletic department policy.
Moving down the ranks, the Top Four with TCU, Alabama and Baylor lines up with what the coaches had. The Big 12 teams will try to make sure no one overlooks them when it comes time for the College Football Playoff this year.
The Horned Frogs also made program history by starting the year ranked No. 2, per TCU assistant athletic director Mark Cohen:
It's a positive step in the right direction for college football and the voters, giving credence to schools that haven't been traditional powers for decades like Ohio State, Alabama, etc.
The first split between the coaches and AP comes at No. 5. The AP gave that spot to Michigan State; the coaches went with Oregon.
Per Joe Rexrode of the Detroit Free-Press, this is the Spartans' highest starting position in the AP poll in a long time:
The Big Ten fared well overall, with two Top Five teams and Wisconsin lurking in the shadows at No. 20. Penn State, Nebraska and Michigan were in the "also receiving votes" category.
When it comes to conference depth, the SEC still reigns supreme, with Fox Sports' Clay Travis citing one huge difference between No. 1 Ohio State and No. 3 Alabama:
Even though Alabama is the highest-ranked SEC team, Auburn is getting a lot of love, starting the year at No. 6 despite losing starting quarterback Nick Marshall, leading-rusher Cameron Artis-Payne and leading receiver Sammie Coates. It speaks to the depth of talent and recruiting efforts of head coach Gus Malzahn that the Tigers, who finished 8-5 in 2014, would still be thought of as one of the nation's elite teams.
One team whose ranking wasn't affected by a preseason injury concern was Notre Dame, which comes in at 11.
Per Nick Ironside, this is Notre Dame's best preseason showing in the AP poll in nearly a decade:
The big problem for the Fighting Irish is the loss of star defensive tackle Jarron Jones, who is out for the year after tearing the MCL in his knee.
It doesn't help that Notre Dame's schedule is loaded, starting with Texas on September 5, with ranked opponents like Georgia Tech, Clemson, USC and Stanford also in the mix.
The one conference that isn't going to be happy with its spot in the rankings is the ACC, as noted by Matt Porter of the Palm Beach Post:
Despite the presence of Florida State the previous two years, it's no secret that depth in the ACC hasn't been there. The Seminoles are facing plenty of questions with Jameis Winston taking his talents to the NFL, but head coach Jimbo Fisher has been able to restock the talent year after year.
Georgia Tech did have a breakout season in 2014, winning 11 games for the first time since 2009, and Clemson has a strong claim as the conference's best team coming off four straight 10-win seasons.
Once you get past that, though, the ACC is a string of decent teams, like Louisville and Duke, but not one worthy of being in the national conversation.
Meanwhile, the Pac-12 continues to get stronger, featuring six teams in the Top 25. Oregon is facing its own quarterback questions with Marcus Mariota in the NFL, but the offensive system head coach Mark Helfrich has in place is designed to make things easy for the position.
There's a lot of support for USC in the polls, which is understandable with the Trojans coming off a nine-win campaign and quarterback Cody Kessler having the tools to be a Heisman finalist.
Some fans are certain to be upset or confused by their team's spot in the preseason ranking, so B/R's Barrett Sallee is here to offer a logical explanation:
Preseason polls are designed to build expectations, but it's always important to remember there will a lot of turnover after the games start. There are always examples of teams that started the year ranked in the Top 10 only to stumble—South Carolina last year, just to name one.
The polls are a conversation starter, reminding everyone where things left off at the end of 2014 and how roster turnover has helped or hurt a team.
Ohio State may be No. 1 right now, but don't be surprised if someone outside the Top 10 ends up in that spot by season's end.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
