Preseason Coaches Poll released

[Schnauzer]

It is often said rankings don’t matter. They do matter. The ranked teams are the ones that are on the highlights. The ranked teams are the ones that are being talked about on the college football shows.

I am in that annual mode where in August I start getting really pumped for college football and consume everything I can find on Gopher football. Even though I am confident the Gophers will surprise all these people that currently aren’t considering them, that doesn’t do me much good in the preseason when they aren’t being talked about.

And as others have suggested, any loss now matters more for the Gopher’s ranking potential and all those preseason ranked SEC teams won’t fall far when they eventually start losing. And they’ll be losing to other preseason ranked teams so they are guaranteed to not fall far. Self fulfilling prophecy.

 

[Gophers_4life]

Coach's poll should be abolished.

AP poll should be the only historical poll that continues to exist.


CFP rankings are the only ones that matter

 

[IceBoxGopher]

It is often said rankings don’t matter. They do matter. The ranked teams are the ones that are on the highlights. The ranked teams are the ones that are being talked about on the college football shows.

True, although I think everyone takes the preseason rankings with more of a grain of salt. Whenever I start putting to much emphasis on the preseason Top 25, I'm reminded of how the 2012 USC team was ranked No. 1 to start the year and finished 7-6.

Another two examples are Michigan State and Notre Dame in 2016. Both teams were ranked, with the Spartans ranked No. 12 and the Irish at No. 10, and they finished 3-9 and 4-8, respectively.

Once things really get rolling during the season, then the rankings will be more substantial in my view.

 

[FredCoxRocks]

True, although I think everyone takes the preseason rankings with more of a grain of salt. Whenever I start putting to much emphasis on the preseason Top 25, I'm reminded of how the 2012 USC team was ranked No. 1 to start the year and finished 7-6.

Another two examples are Michigan State and Notre Dame in 2016. Both teams were ranked, with the Spartans ranked No. 12 and the Irish at No. 10, and they finished 3-9 and 4-8, respectively.

Once things really get rolling during the season, then the rankings will be more substantial in my view.

That's probably the case when teams start losing game after game; but what I think Schnauzer is alluding to is that a #10 team could lose an early game and drop to #15. They could even lose another game or two during the season and finish up in the top 20 (especially an SEC team). A #43 Minnesota team will have to claw and fight from the get-go just to sniff the top 25, and only after several victories may finally be considered. And any loss or hiccup along the way?...forget about it...Minnesota immediately drops out. That's part of the problem with being ranked #43. As Drake U Gopher said, Minnesota is stuck behind the 8-ball...again. It's better to be ranked higher. Doesn't need to be top 25...but higher.

 

[Pompous Elitist]

True, although I think everyone takes the preseason rankings with more of a grain of salt. Whenever I start putting to much emphasis on the preseason Top 25, I'm reminded of how the 2012 USC team was ranked No. 1 to start the year and finished 7-6.

Another two examples are Michigan State and Notre Dame in 2016. Both teams were ranked, with the Spartans ranked No. 12 and the Irish at No. 10, and they finished 3-9 and 4-8, respectively.

Once things really get rolling during the season, then the rankings will be more substantial in my view.

Good examples but 2021 Iowa gets honorable mention of an egregious in-season voter algorithm foul. Number 2. Number 2 in week 6 (started at 18) after a series of three top 20 victories that in hindsight were against wildly over-ranked teams - Iowa also received a first place vote in the coaches poll that week…This ranking followed the Penn State fourth quarter belly flop game the previous week. Glass jaw QB Clifford goes out, replaced by the singularly worst backup QB performance I’ve ever seen. To be fair, Iowa was a very good defensive team, great special teams, took advantage. Bad offense but not unexpected. Kudos to Ferentz. Finished season about where they started in the polls.

MN was probably under-ranked, in contrast, but the coach-induced choke versus BG in Sept sealed that fate. Can’t have a loss like that and expect any national respect “on the bubble”. The IL loss…well it didn’t help. With all the roster churn it’s IMO much harder to pinpoint who might be over- and under-ranked for 2022. USC has had massive transfers in/out, for one.

 

[Gophers7NatTitlesBadgers0]

I guess all coaches except PJ are dinks...

That offered, 43 seems very low for what's coming back.

Starting under the radar so let's go.

We all know it's the SID or equipment manager or some other lackey in the programs that are casting the votes instead of the actual coaches. These people know less about how good a team is than the casual Joe Blow cfb fan who watches a couple games a week.

 

[1983]

Sham.....we all know Penn State or Nebraska should be 1 and 2.

 

[MNVCGUY]

It is often said rankings don’t matter. They do matter. The ranked teams are the ones that are on the highlights. The ranked teams are the ones that are being talked about on the college football shows.

I am in that annual mode where in August I start getting really pumped for college football and consume everything I can find on Gopher football. Even though I am confident the Gophers will surprise all these people that currently aren’t considering them, that doesn’t do me much good in the preseason when they aren’t being talked about.

And as others have suggested, any loss now matters more for the Gopher’s ranking potential and all those preseason ranked SEC teams won’t fall far when they eventually start losing. And they’ll be losing to other preseason ranked teams so they are guaranteed to not fall far. Self fulfilling prophecy.

Yeah, preseason polls are problematic in a lot of ways. The main one being that they definitely influence a lot of the early season coverage and speculation even though they are almost always way off on a good majority of the teams.

So while putting any stock in those pre and early season polls is pretty pointless it is definitely better to be ranked high early than it is to be ranked lower and have to work your way up.

One of the things the CFP got right was not doing any polls until later on in the season when you at least have a decent sense for who the good teams actual are that year.

 

[Goldmember]

One of the things the CFP got right was not doing any polls until later on in the season when you at least have a decent sense for who the good teams actual are that year.

And then there are the “oh, shit!” voter polls that come out the next week that are a knee-jerk response to the first CFP rankings, and totally overhaul the narrative the voters were pushing up until that point, since they know their rankings will get laughed at if they aren’t samesies.

 

[FredCoxRocks]

Stewart Mandel from The Athletic...

Iowa and Minnesota, not ranked

It shows you just how much the voters default to Wisconsin in the Big Ten West that they left out the reigning champion Hawkeyes entirely as well as a sneaky-good Minnesota team. Iowa’s offense was terrible last season, but its top-20 defense should be even better. And the Gophers, 9-4 last season, welcome back offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca (after one-year stops at Penn State and West Virginia) and star running back Mohamed Ibrahim, who was lost in the first game last season.

Ain't that the truth?

 

[Some guy]

Coach's poll should be abolished.

AP poll should be the only historical poll that continues to exist.


CFP rankings are the only ones that matter

Abolished seems a bit extreme

You are correct we should pay less attention to it. But should we abolish the athlon top 25? The athletic top 25? Sports illustrated top top?