Colllege Football Preseason AP Poll: Alabama Is No.1, Who Cares?

Gee thanks, Associated Press writers. As if the target wasn't already big enough! Being ranked No.1 in any poll is certainly a thrill, but it doesn't take long for the thrill to wear off and realize that being ranked at the top or anywhere else in any pre-season poll is simply meaningless.

The top ranking takes many specific attributes of a program into consideration but in the end, it is only a guess. An educated guess, but a guess, nonetheless. Not one team on the list has played a meaningful game.

Not one team has taken a snap against an opponent dressed in another uniform and gained a single positive yard. There have been no goal line stands, red zone mistakes, or fourth quarter comebacks.

The polls should actually rank schools in groups. Let the first few games of the season provide statistics and results on the field accumulate for at least the first five weeks of the season. Those results could then be used to become the measure of how one team separates from the others.

In other words, let the teams get a few games under their belts and give the coaches and writers an opportunity to see the teams play and compete against legitimate opponents. Then and only then can a poll be meaningful. If this were the case, the pre-season poll could look like this:

Teams with top spot potential after Week Five:

Ohio State Buckeyes

Florida Gators

Alabama Crimson Tide

Boise State Broncos

Texas Longhorns

Teams with potential to be ranked in the Top 10 after Week Five:

OSU, Alabama, Texas, UF, Boise State, Texas Christian University, Oklahoma

Nebraska, Virginia Tech, Iowa, Pittsburgh, Oregon, Wisconsin, Miami of Florida

Programs in 2010 with potential for Top 25 ranking after Week Five:

Southern California, Oregon State, Georgia Tech, Auburn University, Florida State

Arizona, University of Georgia, Louisiana State University, Arkansas, North Carolina

Penn State, West Virginia University, South Carolina, Notre Dame University, Clemson

Navy, Connecticut, Cincinnati, Texas Tech

That's all it needs to be at the beginning of the season. Every team listed in the Top 10 has the potential to be No. 1 after Week five. Being ranked in the Top 25 is not and should not limited to the teams on the list but listing the Top 30 or so candidates would bring more enthusiasm and give fans more to cheer about in the first five games of the season.

Nick Saban has said more than once that the preseason polls are counter productive for athletes and coaches alike. The poll has the potential to mislead players which makes coaching those athletes that much more difficult. Certainly how much of an affect the poll has is dependent on the individual but in the end, there is no need for the poll.

In addition, when the pre-season polls come out as they do now, once a team is given a spot, it is hard to justify moving them from that position unless they have a loss. In some cases, if there is a loss and that loss is to another team highly ranked in the preseason poll, the change in position on the poll is not that drastic. As weeks pass, that early season loss has less significance in the minds of the voters.

Simply put, the writers and coaches need more information. For now, looking at a pre-season poll and making hay, one way or the other is "much ado about nothing".