There are no shortages of top 25 polls and rankings in the college football preseason. The one that gets the most attention, the AP Top 25 Preseason Poll, was released Monday and it shouldn’t be a surprise to see where Ole Miss landed.
The Rebels came in at No. 9 in the AP poll, which is around where they’ve be ranked in other preseason polls and rankings.
Here are four takeaways from the AP’s preseason poll.
Meaningless or Important?
This debate is brought up every year and just like preseason polls, it won’t ever go away.
Preseason polls and rankings are mostly pointless. They give fans and media something to talk about. But they also do set the stage for the rest of the season’s rankings. The College Football Playoff selection committee’s rankings don’t come out until later in the season and, if the committee does its job properly, any polls that come out before the first playoff ranking shouldn’t be considered.
Of course, that isn’t always the case.
Rebels’ ranking
No. 9 overall is around where most preseason polls and rankings have put Ole Miss. It feels about right, too.
There’s an argument to be made that Ole Miss should be ahead of Texas A&M, but they’re pretty similar on paper. Talented defenses, a mix of returning receivers and transfers that could be as good as last year’s groups, and questions along the offensive line.
The only major difference is at running back and, to a lesser extent, quarterback. The Aggies don’t have a preseason All-American at running back. Ole Miss does.
Texas A&M does have Marcel Reed, who didn’t play as well as Trinidad Chambliss last season but is at least a recognizable name.
All in all, the Rebels should feel good about where they’ll start the season.
Who will free fall?
There’s always a highly-ranked team that stumbles early in the season and finds itself outside the top 25. And probably looking for a new head coach, too.
So, could it be this year?
Because it only started being good at football three years ago, Indiana will always be a possible answer. But a few more years of competing for national titles will change that.
Outside of the defending national champions, there isn’t an obvious candidate to free fall. Ole Miss fans wouldn’t mind seeing LSU be that team and that could be the case. The Tigers are ranked No. 11 with a new coach (in case you haven’t heard), new quarterback and a lot of transfers. Maybe it doesn’t come together in the bayou.
Who knows what version of Texas A&M we’ll see, so the Aggies are another possible choice.
But what about Ohio State? The preseason No. 1 team has an absurd amount of talent, but also has a road trip to Austin to face No. 5 Texas in the second week of the season. If the Buckeyes lose that game, it could be the start of a downward spiral.
Top 25 Matchup in Week 1
We always knew Ole Miss would be ranked. It was a question of where. There was a lot less certainty around Louisville.
The Cardinals have been ranked in some preseason polls and not in others. But they’re in the AP Poll and September 3 at Nissan Stadium in Nashville just got a lot bigger.
