College Football Preseason Rankings 2011: Winners and Losers from the AP Poll

Now that the first AP Poll of the season has been released for the season, naturally there are several happy and unhappy campers alike.

Considering how some of these teams finished the 2010 season, their rankings may be a bit surprising to some.

So with that being said, let's take a look at some of the winners and losers from the first AP Poll.

Winner: Oklahoma

Starting the season ranked No.1 has to make you a winner. That's exactly where the Sooners find themselves, at the top of the AP Poll.

That's a spot the Sooners could get used to. They could be sitting at the top for a while if they survive a tough opening road test in Tallahassee.

Oklahoma fans shouldn't be too quick to celebrate though. More often than not, the preseason No.1 team doesn't end up playing for the championship.

Loser: Auburn

The poll says Oklahoma is the early on favorite to win the national championship, something Auburn did just a season ago.

The Tigers suffer a huge drop in the polls, opening up at No. 23. Considering the amount of talent Auburn lost, maybe they should be happy with that.

It's not impossible for a team to start the season ranked rather low and reach the title game. As a matter of fact, Auburn did it just a season ago, beginning 2010 ranked No. 19.

Winner: SEC

The best conference in the best sport in the nation maintains its reputation by beginning the season with eight ranked teams, the most of any conference.

It's not any SEC bias either, all eight of these teams could still be ranked at the end of the season.

The number is impressive considering that both the Big Ten and the Big 12 were next among conferences, having half of the teams ranked that the SEC does, with each having four.

Loser: Big East

After one of the worst seasons ever collectively put together by a conference in 2010, the Big East hasn't started 2011 any better, with only one ranked team in No. 24 West Virginia. Quite frankly, that's probably one too many for the Big East in its current state.

The debate of whether the Big East champion is deserving of a BCS game is something that needs to be looked at seriously.

Winner: Florida St.

The Seminoles are an early winner, beginning the season ranked No. 6, after finishing the 2010 season ranked No. 16.

It's been a good calender year for Florida St., who had a very good recruiting class, has a team loaded with returning talent and if they can beat Oklahoma, they have a legitimate shot at playing for the national championship.

Losers: Penn St. and Texas

Both Penn St. and Texas found themselves ranked at the bottom of the USA Today Coaches Poll, but both legendary programs found themselves on the outside looking in when it comes to the AP Poll.

Each team is coming off a subpar 2010 season and while not a lot is expected from either program, both teams should be better in 2011.

Winner: Early Match-Ups Featuring Ranked Teams

One good thing about the preseason polls is that they give us something to look forward to early in the season. This year is no different as the first few weeks of the season feature more than a few match-ups featuring ranked teams.

No.1 Oklahoma vs. No. 6 Florida St., No. 3 Oregon vs. No. 4 LSU and No. 5 Boise St. vs. No. 19 Georgia are just a few of the great match-ups fans get treated to early on.

Winner: Georgia

Georgia cracks the list as a winner for being ranked in the Top 20 a year after having a losing season.

If the Bulldogs can fix both their ground game and their secondary, along with continued improved play from quarterback Aaron Murray, they won't be losers in 2011.

Losers: Ohio St.

Care to take a guess where the No. 18 Buckeyes would have opened the season ranked if Jim Tressel, Terrelle Pryor and company didn't do their best to try and run the program into the ground.

Without all of the off field stuff, dating back to the suspensions handed down for the beginning of this season, this is a likely top five team. Some could argue the Buckeyes case that they could have been the No. 1 ranked team heading into the season.

For that alone, Ohio St. is the biggest loser in the AP Poll.