College Football Preseason Rankings: Teams the AP Always Overrates

With the AP poll recently being released, it got me thinking about what teams these preseason polls constantly get wrong and a few teams came to mind.

I know a lot of people aren’t fans of having a preseason poll, but I don’t mind it considering that the eventual poll that will decide everyone’s fate, the BCS, doesn’t come out until the middle of the season.

The AP preseason poll gives fans an idea of what the media and coaches think about how good a team is and can really motivate teams like Texas and Penn State, who didn’t even make the AP Top 25 poll.

It’s almost a guarantee that these preseason polls overrate certain teams and these are the teams they overrated once again.

#9 Oklahoma State

I’m a fan of high-powered offenses and this team certainly has one, but the old adage “defense wins championships” is going to keep this team from winning one.

It’s no secret that the Cowboys' weakness is their defense as they possess one of the most explosive offenses in all of college football.

I’m a big fan of quarterback Brandon Weeden and wide receiver Justin Blackmon, but I’m afraid they won’t be able to get this team over the hump.

Constantly, we’ve seen Oklahoma State get ranked high and have high hopes of winning the Big 12 Championship, but always fail to take claim as the conference champions.

I don’t expect things to change this year with Oklahoma being as stacked as they are and the Cowboys will finish the year outside the Top 10 once again.

#13 Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech is in a lot of ways like Oklahoma State. Head coach Frank Beamer has always had the Hokies on the verge of winning national championships, but they always fail to deliver a championship the Hokie faithful so deserve.

Beamer and his staff have had some great teams at Virginia Tech over the past decade, with multiple ACC championships since joining back in 2004. The only problem is the preseason polls always have the Hokies ranked so high that the Hokies failed attempts at winning a national championship make it seem like they’ve underachieved.

Take last year, for instance. Virginia Tech was ranked as the 10th best team in the nation but lost their first two games to Boise State and James Madison.

The Hokies went on to get hot and win the rest of their games until they faced Stanford in the Orange Bowl and quarterback Andrew Luck dissected that Hokies defense like the field was his operating table.

This year’s Hokies team will be without Tyrod Taylor and I’m afraid their high preseason ranking is due to their name value alone.

#16 Notre Dame

Oh boy, where do we begin here?

Notre Dame is the epitome of overrated when it comes to modern day college football. Sure, they used to be a powerhouse and I love tradition as much as the next man does, but Notre Dame is not what it used to be.

Every year, I turn on ESPN to find Lou Holtz preaching about how this is the year Notre Dame returns to glory and wins the national championship while Mark May rolls his eyes.

I feel your pain Mark, and you’re a saint for having to sit there and listen to it each year. The Irish have a good coach in Brian Kelly, but I still don’t believe they will be a Top 20 team once the season ends.

I mean Athlon ranked Notre Dame No. 6 in the poll for preseason. I can do nothing but shake my head at this one.

#19 Georgia

The Bulldogs have had great team after great team but have done very little with these teams in the past five years.

In 2008, the Bulldogs were ranked No.1 in the preseason polls and had a who’s who of playmakers. From Matthew Stafford to Knowshon Moreno to A.J. Green, this team had firepower, but finished 10-3 that season and went on to have disappointing years in 2009 and 2010.

A big reason for the Bulldogs struggles could be due to how tough and deep the SEC is, but that’s not a good enough reason for the Bulldog faithful.

The Bulldogs fans have gotten so frustrated that word around the barber shop was head coach Mark Richt’s seat was getting warmer by the minute.

Richt’s a great coach and I believe he’ll get things turned around for the Bulldogs this season. However, I had to put Georgia on this list simply because of past teams underachieving and capturing the essence that is overrated.