Oklahoma Sooners most overrated, Clemson Tigers most underrated team in AP Top 25 Poll
The preseason AP Top 25 Poll came out on Monday, and like always, there was some controversy involved. Here are three teams that the voters overrated, and three teams they weren't quite as high on as they should've been.
Overrated
Oklahoma (18th)
Let's start with, what I believe, is the most obvious. The Oklahoma Sooners. Oklahoma won six games last year, including two in the SEC. But since Brent Venables has taken over, things haven't gone how the Sooners had hoped. In the past three seasons, Oklahoma has won six games in two of those years.
Gaining John Mateer should help things at QB. Oklahoma had the 119th-ranked passing offense, but the Sooners have to prove they are a threat before getting a top-20 ranking. The SEC is arguably the best conference in college football -- how will the Sooners fare in Year 2 of SEC play?
Alabama (8th)
Alabama won just nine games in Kalen DeBoer's first season as the head coach. The Crimson Tide have been one of college football's finest for years now, but that was under Nick Saban. Can we trust DeBoer will get the same result? We will find out this season.
But not only does Alabama have to break in a new QB -- Ty Simpson -- but the Crimson Tide lost a ton of starters to the 2025 Draft. Let's see how Alabama responds to so much attrition before handing it a top-10 ranking.
Tennessee (24th)
Here we are with an other SEC program. Tennessee made the College Football Playoff last season, but the Vols lost some star power. QB Nico Iamaleava is now at UCLA and Dylan Sampson is off to the league. Will App. State's Joey Aguilar led all passers with 14 interceptions thrown last season.
Underrated
Clemson (4th)
After winning 10 games last season, Clemson is back and the Tigers have some big-time talent returning. In fact, according to ESPN, Clemson has the most returning production back of anyone with 80% of its roster back. QB Cade Klubnik will be in the running for the Heisman -- and most importantly -- the ACC doesn't appear too great on paper. Clemson has a real chance to finish as a top-two team in the country.
Illinois (12th)
Not many people will consider Illinois to be underanked; in fact, a casual fan wouldn't even imagine the Illini being ranked at all. But Illinois is another team that brought back a ton of veterans. QB Luke Altmyer is back, and while teams looked his way in the transfer portal, he is back with Illinois for his final year. The Illini have the fourth-most returning production of anyone, and they won 10 games last year. Watch out for Illinois.
Baylor (Unranked)
Baylor arguably has the best offense in the Big 12 with Sawyer Robertson and Bryson Washington back in Waco. The only thing the Bears might be questionable at is on the defensive side of the ball, but head coach Dave Aranda looked to solve some issues. Bringing in Travion Barnes, Matthew Fobbs-White, Calvin Simpson-Hunt will help shore some of the issues Baylor had last season. In a conference that is full of parity, watch out for Baylor.
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Trent is the Publisher of Baylor Bears on SI and also serves as the Managing Editor for Michigan Wolverines on SI. His work has additionally been featured on Maryland on SI, Wisconsin on SI, and across the USA TODAY Sports network. Trent’s love of sports and being able to tell stories to fans is what made him get into writing.