College football rankings: Teams snubbed in preseason AP Top 25 poll
The first preseason AP top 25 college football rankings are out, and, as ever there's plenty of disagreement about who ranked where — and who missed out.
Spoiler alert — Alabama is your No. 1 team heading into the 2022 kickoff, with Ohio State placing right behind, followed by Georgia and ACC fave Clemson.
It wasn't unanimous, but it wasn't close, either: 54 votes went to the Crimson Tide, with six going to the Buckeyes, and three to the defending national champion Bulldogs.
But being ranked right now isn't always important — in 27 of the last 29 seasons, an unranked preseason team finished inside the top 10.
Who missed the cut in the preseason poll? Let's take a look at the AP top 25 snubs.
College football rankings: Teams snubbed in AP top 25 poll
Tennessee (180 votes). Second-year coach Josh Heupel gets Hendon Hooker back at quarterback to lead college football's ninth-best offense, but the Vols need to patch up their secondary before getting to the SEC schedule.
Texas (164). Some love for the Longhorns, but not enough to make the top 25 rankings as this team still needs massive improvement defensively and is turning out an inexperienced — but potentially great — quarterback in Quinn Ewers.
Iowa (163). Solid defense kept the Hawkeyes in College Football Playoff contention early last fall, but this offense got stuck in the mud again. Spencer Petras returns at quarterback, but needs to push the ball downfield a lot more.
Penn State (160). It's always tough in the Big Ten East, but Sean Clifford gives this team experience at quarterback, now working with WKU transfer Mitchell Tinsley at receiver after he scored 14 times a year ago.
LSU (55). One of the biggest questions in college football as Brian Kelly still has to put together a roster that can compete in the SEC West on a weekly basis.
Fresno State (32). Jake Haener returns at QB to recharge an already productive offense, now with Jeff Tedford back as head coach and an early game at USC.
Minnesota (31). Tanner Morgan is back at QB and Mo Ibrahim in the backfield, both reunited with Kirk Ciarroca at coordinator to move the Gophers offense, even if rival Wisconsin is the favorite in the B1G West.
UCF (27). Seven AP voters included the Knights in their top 25 polls, with one ranking them as high as No. 18, but still not enough to crack the official poll. Some early wins could find this team in the poll in September.
Purdue (17). David Bell is gone, as is Milton Wright apparently over an academic issue, so we'll see is losing those receivers hurts quarterback Aidan O'Connell, one of the Big Ten's more efficient passers.
Mississippi State (15). Much of the SEC's fourth-best defense returns, as does quarterback Will Rogers to pilot the Air Raid offense, but the Bulldogs are looking at yet another brutal schedule.
Auburn (15). Yes, one voter put the Tigers in the top 25, though looking at this roster, responsible for 6 wins last fall, already-embattled second-year coach Bryan Harsin, and this schedule, this team is anything but poll material right now.
Florida missed out on the first top 25 college football rankings
Florida (14). We don't know much about Billy Napier's team, but a Week 1 opener against Utah at home will tell us more about the Gators' defensive situation and what they really have at quarterback with Anthony Richardson back.
Kansas State (14). Deuce Vaughn is always good for some highlight plays on the ground, and now he has transfer Adrian Martinez at quarterback as a dual threat option moving downfield.
North Carolina (9). Sam Howell is out, as are four O-line starters, but the Heels have recruited well defensively, have Gene Chizik back coordinating, and a stellar receiver room to work with.
Boise State (5). Andy Avalos and his staff enter Year 2 looking at three road games in the first month that could throw the Broncos' season off course early.
Air Force (4). This was a solid 10-win team that placed second in the Mountain Division a year ago and beat Louisville in a bowl game to cap it all off.
App State (4). One of the most solid Group of 5 programs in the last several years — including a win over North Carolina in 2019 — but this time the Mountaineers are debuting new faces at quarterback, running back, and offensive line.
South Carolina (2). Shane Beamer already outpaced expectations in Year 1, and now he has Spencer Rattler driving the Gamecocks' offense to throw some punches in the SEC East but with a very tough early schedule: Arkansas in Week 2 and Georgia in Week 3.
UCLA (2). Not much love for Chip Kelly's bunch despite winning eight games last fall and returning two of college football's most intriguing playmakers: quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson and tailback Zach Charbonnet.
San Diego State (2). This was a 12-win team a year ago and returns some very solid offensive pieces, especially up front and in the backfield, and brings back a defense that posted top 20 marks in college football in total defense and scoring defense.
Utah State (2). A breakout debut season for coach Blake Anderson, winning 11 games, the Mountain West, beating Oregon State in the bowl, and finishing in the final top 25 college football rankings.
Nebraska (1). A single vote of confidence for the Cornhuskers, who lost all nine games by single digits a year ago, but should have a more aggressive offense, coordinated by Mark Whipple and quarterbacked by Casey Thompson, who led the Big 12 in passing TDs at Texas last year.
AP Top 25 College Football Rankings
- Alabama
- Ohio State
- Georgia
- Clemson
- Notre Dame
- Texas A&M
- Utah
- Michigan
- Oklahoma
- Baylor
- Oregon
- Oklahoma State
- NC State
- USC
- Michigan State
- Miami
- Pittsburgh
- Wisconsin
- Arkansas
- Kentucky
- Ole Miss
- Wake Forest
- Cincinnati
- Houston
- BYU