College football rankings: Comparing the AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll for 2022 preseason
The first major step towards the college football season is officially here as the AP and Coaches have both announced their preseason Top 25 rankings.
Spoiler alert — Alabama is your consensus No. 1 team in the country heading into the fall, but that could actually open the door for another school to win the natty. More on that later...
Next up is the kickoff for the 2022 season. Where do things stand ahead of the football season to come?
Let's compare where AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll voters ranked the best teams in the country heading into the 2022 season.
College football rankings: Comparing the preseason AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll
| Top 25 rankings | AP Top 25 Poll | Coaches Poll |
|---|---|---|
1 | Alabama | Alabama |
2 | Ohio State | |
3 | Georgia | |
4 | Clemson | |
5 | Notre Dame | |
6 | ||
7 | Texas A&M | |
8 | Michigan | Utah |
9 | Oklahoma | |
10 | Baylor | Baylor |
11 | ||
12 | Oklahoma State | Oregon |
13 | NC State | |
14 | ||
15 | Michigan State | USC |
16 | Pittsburgh | |
17 | Pittsburgh | Miami |
18 | ||
19 | Wake Forest | |
20 | Wisconsin | |
21 | Kentucky | |
22 | Wake Forest | |
23 | Cincinnati | Arkansas |
24 | Houston | Ole Miss |
25 | Houston |
How important are these preseason rankings, really?
Well, when it comes to getting your team in the College Football Playoff, being the No. 1 team in the preseason isn't the most important thing in the world.
In the 21st century, only two teams that debuted at No. 1 finished as national champions — USC in 2004 under the old BCS system, and Alabama in 2017, the only team in the College Football Playoff era to do it.
So where is a good place to be ranked if you want to win the national championship?
History suggests anywhere in the top five is in your best interest. All but one team in the CFP era that won the national title started No. 5 or better in the preseason poll.
LSU's historic 2019 team was the outlier — coming in at No. 6 in the initial rankings before going on to run the table as only the third 15-0 team in college football history and the second since the 1890s.