Preseason College Football Rankings 2021: Experts React to AP NCAA Top 25 Poll
The AP Top 25 poll, released every college football preseason and incorporating the weekly votes of a panel of 62 sports writers and broadcasters from around the country, is now the United States' longest-running college football poll.
Its close cousin, the USA Today coaches poll, was released last week, and while there weren't many surprises in the Top Four (which were, in order, Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma and Ohio State), there were some fresh names further down the list, such as the Cincinnati Bearcats at No. 10 and Indiana Hoosiers, making their first-ever appearance in that poll, at No. 17.
In the first AP poll of the preseason, there were similarly few surprises at the top. The top four of Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma and Ohio State is identical to the coaches poll.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
In the AP poll, Cincinnati moved up to No. 8 overall, and North Carolina landed the No. 10 spot.
The full AP Top 25 is below, followed by a roundup of notable expert reactions to the early rankings.
Full AP Top 25 Poll
1. Alabama
2. Oklahoma
3. Clemson
4. Ohio State
5. Georgia
6. Texas A&M
7. Iowa State
8. Cincinnati
9. Notre Dame
10. North Carolina
11. Oregon
12. Wisconsin
13. Florida
14. Miami
15. USC
16. LSU
17. Indiana
18. Iowa
19. Penn State
20. Washington
21. Texas
22. Coastal Carolina
23. Louisiana-Lafayette
24. Utah
25. Arizona State
Others receiving votes: Oklahoma State 107, Ole Miss 106, TCU 40, Liberty 36, Auburn 32, North Carolina State 14, Michigan 12, Northwestern 8, Boise State 7, Nevada 7, Brigham Young 6, Ball State 6, Houston 5, Boston College 5, UCF 5, West Virginia 3, UAB 2, Army 2, UCLA 2
Expert Reactions
One of the most obvious differences between last week's coaches poll and the AP Top 25 is that Arizona State just made it into the latter but was left off the former.
ESPN's Peter Burns had the bold take that not only should Arizona State have been left off the AP poll, as well...but that Kentucky, a program many regard as strong yet which received no votes among the panel of AP poll voters, should have come in at No. 25.
Iowa State's ranking of No. 8 in the coaches poll was its highest position on the list since 1991. On the AP poll, it sits at No. 7, indisputably a Top 10 program, as Ben Visser of the Cedar Rapids Gazette noted.
As Pete Byrne, a sports director for CBS and Fox in South Bend, Indiana, pointed out, Notre Dame has a difficult schedule this season; four of its opponents are in the Top 15.
With the caveat that the AP poll is "largely meaningless," Bryan Ives nevertheless noted that Clemson is ranked in the AP Top Five for the 57th straight week, which approaches a record:
The sports writers and broadcasters who vote in the AP poll were cooler on UCF than the coaches who vote in the coaches poll; the program received 29 votes in the latter but just five in the former.
In all, the balance of power seemed to be less obvious to the voters of the AP poll than to the coaches. As The Athletic's Chris Vannini pointed out, five teams received first-place votes in the AP: Alabama, Oklahoma, Clemson, Ohio State and Georgia. (Alabama, of course, had far and away the most, with 47. The next highest were Oklahoma and Clemson, tied with six.)
In the coaches poll, only two teams received first-place votes.
Even though power is shifting in NCAA football, and even though some worry that Alabama's high-profile departures could weaken the team, the Crimson Tide is used to being on top. As Chris Fallica noted, this marks the 100th week under Nick Saban that the Tide has been No. 1 in the AP poll.
The top five of the AP poll will be delightful to watch ebb and flow during this college football season.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
