Preseason AP Poll is out

Donate To GopherHole

The AP preseason poll is out — but does it really matter? - Chicago Tribune

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...o-they-matter-greenstein-20170821-column.html

Let’s start with this disclaimer: Polls don’t matter. Preseason polls especially don’t matter.

And the AP poll hasn’t been a factor in deciding a national champion since the end of 2003, when AP voters split with those from USA Today. So players from both LSU and USC could wear fancy rings.

That said …

Some fans, media and athletic directors use the initial numbers to gauge whether a team has overachieved – or whether the underachieving coaches should log in to Monster.com.

LSU opened last season at No. 5. Les Miles didn’t even last that many games.

Notre Dame was 10th. And if Brian Kelly has another brutal season, he will walk the plank. Same could be true for Mark Dantonio, whose Michigan State Spartans opened last season at 12.

Let’s move ahead to the 2017 preseason poll, which was as predictable as the eclipse.

Alabama is No. 1 – again. Ohio State, still steaming from the Clemson playoff shutout with an unusually high number of vets on the roster, is 2. Florida State is 3. The team (USC) with the best quarterback, Sam Darnold, is 4.

The other Big Ten teams to make the cut are defending league champ Penn State (6), Big Ten West defending champ Wisconsin (9), and Michigan (11).

Receiving votes: Northwestern (25), Nebraska (4), Michigan State (1).

NU fans will chuckle and say: Yup, expected that. Pat Fitzgerald’s 2012 team was unranked in the preseason, went 10-3 and finished 17th. The 2015 squad that won with defense, smoke and mirrors was unranked but also finished 10-3, landing 23rd in the last AP poll.

This NU team is strong on paper, having lost only two standouts – receiver Austin Carr and linebacker Anthony Walker. And the effects of a knee injury prevented Walker from having much of an impact until the middle of the season.

Notre Dame received 65 votes for a mythical preseason ranking of 28th.

After exporting/importing about half his staff, Brian Kelly’s team is a wildcard.

Considering that over the last 10 years, only half the teams ranked ninth or 10th to start the season even finished in the top 25, basically every team is.
 


Gophers in Top 50 in coaches poll!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 



You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom