Lucky #13?
We are t-minus less than two weeks away from Week 0 of the college football season and just 20 days away from LSU’s season opener against USC in Las Vegas (Sunday September 1, 6:30 P.M., ABC) and one of the last major offseason milestones dropped Monday: the preseason AP Poll.
Brian Kelly’s Tigers find themselves sitting at No. 13 in the preseason poll, while USC is just inside the top 25 at No. 23. LSU of course has not had much luck in season openers the past four years so getting a top-25 win right out of the gate would be a much welcomed change of pace. Personally I think 13 is more than fair for LSU. In two years in Baton Rouge Brian Kelly has shown it’s easier to go from “bad to good” than it is to go from “good to great.” A pair of 9-3 regular seasons is pretty good but it won’t carry as much weight in this new College Football Playoff format.
Georgia, unsurprisingly, is the overwhelming No. 1 team as the Dawgs got 46 of 62 first place votes. Ohio State is second and received 15 first place votes, while their longtime B1G rival the Oregon Ducks (?) are third and received one first place vote. The reigning national champs, Michigan, is all the way down at No. 9, while the runner ups, Washington, aren’t ranked.
Texas, Alabama, and Ole Miss are the three other SEC teams in the top-10, while Mizzou is 11th. LSU is sandwiched between Utah, 12th, and Clemson, 14th. As a whole, the SEC has nine ranked teams. Kentucky and Auburn aren’t ranked but got a little bit of love in the “others receiving votes” category. Kentucky got three votes, while Auburn got two.
The preseason AP Poll is as follows:
- Georgia
- Ohio State
- Oregon
- Texas
- Alabama
- Ole Miss
- Notre Dame
- Penn State
- Michigan
- Florida State
- Missouri
- Utah
- LSU
- Clemson
- Tennessee
- Oklahoma
- Oklahoma State
- Kansas State
- Miami
- Texas A&M
- Arizona
- Kansas
- USC
- NC State
- Iowa
If this was the final CFP ranking then Georgia (SEC), Ohio State (B1G), Florida State (ACC) and Utah (Big 12) would get the top-four seeds as they’re the highest ranked Power 4 conferences. That also means they’d get the ever-important first round bye to the New Year’s Six semifinal games. Also in this example, Boise State would also make the CFP as they’re the highest ranked Group of 5 team. The Broncos aren’t ranked in the Top 25 but they received the most votes among G5 schools in the “others receiving votes” category.
This year the quarterfinal games will be the Fiesta (December 31), Peach, Rose, and Sugar Bowls (all on January 1), while the Orange and Cotton Bowl will serve as the semifinals on January 9 and 10 respectively. The national championship game will be Monday, January 20 in Atlanta.
How are we feeling about the preseason poll? Who’s overrated? Is LSU at 13 too high, too low, or just right? Talk amongst yourself in the comments.