ESPN Pre-Season Top 25

[Saint3333]

They may have lost a lot of close games, but they also didn't beat any one with a winning record in the regular season. Context matters.

They have a lot coming back and will play in by far the weakest P5 conference, if they aren't ranked at the end of the season with their schedule it will be a disappointing one.

[bigdaddyg]

Glad for the Apps to get the mention. A head scratcher for me is 7-6 Cheat. From nowhere to 22. I don’t know......know it’s based on projections so who knows

Didn't lose a game by more than one score (every other P5 to do that finished in the top 10 or so), return a ton of talent including the stud freshman QB, two 1,000 yard receivers, two (almost) 1,000 yard rushers.

The case for UNC next year is actually really easy to understand, which is why they're included in seemingly all these early rankings. App fans just gripe about it because it's UNC. Iowa State, for example, also went 7-6 this year and is 18 here. Oklahoma State goes from 8-5 to #12. But App fans don't care about them.

Exactly! I for one am not a hater. I grew up a Wake fan (nobody hates Wake) then App all the way but I’ll actually cheer for UNC, State or Duke in the hoops tournament. Preseason and early season polls are a crapshoot which we all know. Anyone getting over excited or bent out of shape in mid February needs to calm down. It’s just an article. Admittedly I commented on a few teams but by the end of next season the usual suspects will all be right there anyway.

[EastHallApp]

They may have lost a lot of close games, but they also didn't beat any one with a winning record in the regular season. Context matters.

They have a lot coming back and will play in by far the weakest P5 conference, if they aren't ranked at the end of the season with their schedule it will be a disappointing one.

True. That's why they're being ranked in the 21-25 range instead of higher.

Not sure the ACC is notably worse than the Big 12 or Pac 12, but that's a debate for another day.

[AppStFan1]

Glad for the Apps to get the mention. A head scratcher for me is 7-6 Cheat. From nowhere to 22. I don’t know......know it’s based on projections so who knows

Didn't lose a game by more than one score (every other P5 to do that finished in the top 10 or so), return a ton of talent including the stud freshman QB, two 1,000 yard receivers, two (almost) 1,000 yard rushers.

The case for UNC next year is actually really easy to understand, which is why they're included in seemingly all these early rankings. App fans just gripe about it because it's UNC. Iowa State, for example, also went 7-6 this year and is 18 here. Oklahoma State goes from 8-5 to #12. But App fans don't care about them.

QB play is key and Sam Howell is a good one. They are also suppose to have some very good young players. Nebraska was in the rankings a year too early last year and that could be UNC this year but it would not shock me if they turn out to win 9 games and finish ranked.

I'm glad we played them when we did. They may have beaten us at the end of the year. I think 18 at this point is a little high but they played Clemson tough and could be the 2nd best team in the ACC. I would think Louisville is very close to the top 25 since they had a big turnaround as well.

[AppStFan1]

They may have lost a lot of close games, but they also didn't beat any one with a winning record in the regular season. Context matters.

They have a lot coming back and will play in by far the weakest P5 conference, if they aren't ranked at the end of the season with their schedule it will be a disappointing one.

True. That's why they're being ranked in the 21-25 range instead of higher.

Not sure the ACC is notably worse than the Big 12 or Pac 12, but that's a debate for another day.

I'm with you that I'm not sure the Pac-12 is better. I have thought over the last couple years that the leagues would rank SEC, Big Ten, and then ACC/Pac-12 and Big 12 behind them.

Pac-12 had 6 teams with a winning record and ACC had 7. Pac-12 went 4-3 in bowls while ACC went 4-7. Big 12 went 1-5. SEC went 8-2 and was only league who won 5 games or more. I think the Big 12 might be the worst P5 league in terms of talent right now while the Pac-12 is clearly the worst when it comes to money.

[fjblair]

It's a beauty contest, but it's good press.

[AtlAppMan]

It's a beauty contest, but it's good press.

So you’re saying we look good?

[1ASU78]

Yes I detest UNC in almost all things but that’s not why I wondered about their ranking. But we can hate on Liberty I get it now. I didn’t submit my post for edit prior to posting.

[fjblair]

It's a beauty contest, but it's good press.

So you’re saying we look good?

Appsolutely!

[AppStFan1]

It's a beauty contest, but it's good press.

It means nothing as far as position to accomplish what we want this year but definitely looks good for recruiting and press. I don't care if we begin the season ranked typically and I don't expect to but it will look good for recruiting and marketing if we start the year ranked and stay ranked the entire year. If I had to pick though I prefer what happened in 2019 when we did not start ranked but finished there. As long as we finish top 25 I'll be happy. I kind of hope we begin this season ranked just because if we go undefeated that could be the difference in us going to a NY6 or not. We had no shot last year without going undefeated but this year if we go undefeated I think we get in with two good P5 opponents, one being ranked in the top 10-15 by everyone.

[AtlAppMan]

It's a beauty contest, but it's good press.

It means nothing as far as position to accomplish what we want this year but definitely looks good for recruiting and press. I don't care if we begin the season ranked typically and I don't expect to but it will look good for recruiting and marketing if we start the year ranked and stay ranked the entire year. If I had to pick though I prefer what happened in 2019 when we did not start ranked but finished there. As long as we finish top 25 I'll be happy. I kind of hope we begin this season ranked just because if we go undefeated that could be the difference in us going to a NY6 or not. We had no shot last year without going undefeated but this year if we go undefeated I think we get in with two good P5 opponents, one being ranked in the top 10-15 by everyone.

“It means nothing”, are you kidding?

It is hard for me to understand how some folks on this board still don’t get the importance of being ranked as early in the season as possible. The earlier you get in the higher your ceiling AND the more insulation you have against a loss during the season. Yes we still have to take care of business every week but it matters at the end of the regular season when these same people don’t understand why AAC and MWC teams get the benefit of the doubt with one or two losses over us. Starting in the top 25 means A LOT.

[citroknight]

It's a beauty contest, but it's good press.

It means nothing as far as position to accomplish what we want this year but definitely looks good for recruiting and press. I don't care if we begin the season ranked typically and I don't expect to but it will look good for recruiting and marketing if we start the year ranked and stay ranked the entire year. If I had to pick though I prefer what happened in 2019 when we did not start ranked but finished there. As long as we finish top 25 I'll be happy. I kind of hope we begin this season ranked just because if we go undefeated that could be the difference in us going to a NY6 or not. We had no shot last year without going undefeated but this year if we go undefeated I think we get in with two good P5 opponents, one being ranked in the top 10-15 by everyone.

“It means nothing”, are you kidding?

It is hard for me to understand how some folks on this board still don’t get the importance of being ranked as early in the season as possible. The earlier you get in the higher your ceiling AND the more insulation you have against a loss during the season. Yes we still have to take care of business every week but it matters at the end of the regular season when these same people don’t understand why AAC and MWC teams get the benefit of the doubt with one or two losses over us. Starting in the top 25 means A LOT.

It's huge for getting the brand out there. Even if you're only getting pre-season ranking buzz from like a third of sports publications, that's still a decent number of pre-season articles and talk with your programs name in it that will go on for months until the season begins.

[WASU 93]

It's a beauty contest, but it's good press.

It means nothing as far as position to accomplish what we want this year but definitely looks good for recruiting and press. I don't care if we begin the season ranked typically and I don't expect to but it will look good for recruiting and marketing if we start the year ranked and stay ranked the entire year. If I had to pick though I prefer what happened in 2019 when we did not start ranked but finished there. As long as we finish top 25 I'll be happy. I kind of hope we begin this season ranked just because if we go undefeated that could be the difference in us going to a NY6 or not. We had no shot last year without going undefeated but this year if we go undefeated I think we get in with two good P5 opponents, one being ranked in the top 10-15 by everyone.

“It means nothing”, are you kidding?

It is hard for me to understand how some folks on this board still don’t get the importance of being ranked as early in the season as possible. The earlier you get in the higher your ceiling AND the more insulation you have against a loss during the season. Yes we still have to take care of business every week but it matters at the end of the regular season when these same people don’t understand why AAC and MWC teams get the benefit of the doubt with one or two losses over us. Starting in the top 25 means A LOT.

It's huge for getting the brand out there. Even if you're only getting pre-season ranking buzz from like a third of sports publications, that's still a decent number of pre-season articles and talk with your programs name in it that will go on for months until the season begins.

It also means that your game (and brand) gets repeatedly displayed on the ticker at the bottom of the screen, that you get mentioned on Game Day and every other pre-game show and that your highlights package is going to be on Sports Center and all of its’ clone. Essentially, it is the fine line between being relevant or not regardless of the beauty pageant characteristics.

[BeauFoster]

It's a beauty contest, but it's good press.

It means nothing as far as position to accomplish what we want this year but definitely looks good for recruiting and press. I don't care if we begin the season ranked typically and I don't expect to but it will look good for recruiting and marketing if we start the year ranked and stay ranked the entire year. If I had to pick though I prefer what happened in 2019 when we did not start ranked but finished there. As long as we finish top 25 I'll be happy. I kind of hope we begin this season ranked just because if we go undefeated that could be the difference in us going to a NY6 or not. We had no shot last year without going undefeated but this year if we go undefeated I think we get in with two good P5 opponents, one being ranked in the top 10-15 by everyone.

“It means nothing”, are you kidding?

It is hard for me to understand how some folks on this board still don’t get the importance of being ranked as early in the season as possible. The earlier you get in the higher your ceiling AND the more insulation you have against a loss during the season. Yes we still have to take care of business every week but it matters at the end of the regular season when these same people don’t understand why AAC and MWC teams get the benefit of the doubt with one or two losses over us. Starting in the top 25 means A LOT.

It's huge for getting the brand out there. Even if you're only getting pre-season ranking buzz from like a third of sports publications, that's still a decent number of pre-season articles and talk with your programs name in it that will go on for months until the season begins.

It also means that your game (and brand) gets repeatedly displayed on the ticker at the bottom of the screen, that you get mentioned on Game Day and every other pre-game show and that your highlights package is going to be on Sports Center and all of its’ clone. Essentially, it is the fine line between being relevant or not regardless of the beauty pageant characteristics.

And finally, if your team has aspirations of a big bowl (NY6), being ranked preseason makes it easier to jump into that mix by starting above much of your competition.

We explained this ad nauseum last season, but some people still don’t get it. Hell, some of them don’t care if we’re ranked in any poll but the last.

[AppStFan1]

It's a beauty contest, but it's good press.

It means nothing as far as position to accomplish what we want this year but definitely looks good for recruiting and press. I don't care if we begin the season ranked typically and I don't expect to but it will look good for recruiting and marketing if we start the year ranked and stay ranked the entire year. If I had to pick though I prefer what happened in 2019 when we did not start ranked but finished there. As long as we finish top 25 I'll be happy. I kind of hope we begin this season ranked just because if we go undefeated that could be the difference in us going to a NY6 or not. We had no shot last year without going undefeated but this year if we go undefeated I think we get in with two good P5 opponents, one being ranked in the top 10-15 by everyone.

“It means nothing”, are you kidding?

It is hard for me to understand how some folks on this board still don’t get the importance of being ranked as early in the season as possible. The earlier you get in the higher your ceiling AND the more insulation you have against a loss during the season. Yes we still have to take care of business every week but it matters at the end of the regular season when these same people don’t understand why AAC and MWC teams get the benefit of the doubt with one or two losses over us. Starting in the top 25 means A LOT.

When I say it means nothing I am talking about it does not guarantee any wins or mean that we will get in the NY6. It can help us have a higher ceiling, like you said, but I hope our team ignores this and realizes we actually have to win the games.

As much as this ranking CAN help us the poor performance of the rest of our league can negate that and hurt us. Also, the MWC and AAC get the benefit right now because their teams have gotten big wins over top 25 P5 teams. We still don't have that but we have the opportunity to notch one of those wins.

Say we start out 25 and we are 22-23 when we go to Wisconsin. If we beat them and they are ranked in the top 12 we would likely vault all the way up to #15 or so. We never have had a win move us up that much in one week. We get more help and respect from beating Wisconsin and Wake Forest back to back than we would by winning 10 straight against the SBC and G5 teams, and we should.

[AtlAppMan]

It's a beauty contest, but it's good press.

It means nothing as far as position to accomplish what we want this year but definitely looks good for recruiting and press. I don't care if we begin the season ranked typically and I don't expect to but it will look good for recruiting and marketing if we start the year ranked and stay ranked the entire year. If I had to pick though I prefer what happened in 2019 when we did not start ranked but finished there. As long as we finish top 25 I'll be happy. I kind of hope we begin this season ranked just because if we go undefeated that could be the difference in us going to a NY6 or not. We had no shot last year without going undefeated but this year if we go undefeated I think we get in with two good P5 opponents, one being ranked in the top 10-15 by everyone.

“It means nothing”, are you kidding?

It is hard for me to understand how some folks on this board still don’t get the importance of being ranked as early in the season as possible. The earlier you get in the higher your ceiling AND the more insulation you have against a loss during the season. Yes we still have to take care of business every week but it matters at the end of the regular season when these same people don’t understand why AAC and MWC teams get the benefit of the doubt with one or two losses over us. Starting in the top 25 means A LOT.

When I say it means nothing I am talking about it does not guarantee any wins or mean that we will get in the NY6. It can help us have a higher ceiling, like you said, but I hope our team ignores this and realizes we actually have to win the games.

As much as this ranking CAN help us the poor performance of the rest of our league can negate that and hurt us. Also, the MWC and AAC get the benefit right now because their teams have gotten big wins over top 25 P5 teams. We still don't have that but we have the opportunity to notch one of those wins.

Say we start out 25 and we are 22-23 when we go to Wisconsin. If we beat them and they are ranked in the top 12 we would likely vault all the way up to #15 or so. We never have had a win move us up that much in one week. We get more help and respect from beating Wisconsin and Wake Forest back to back than we would by winning 10 straight against the SBC and G5 teams, and we should.

Dude, I think you just got our point

[JMappfan5]

AppstateFan1: Now you are finally making sense. Glad you are on the same page with the rest of us...LOL.

[EastHallApp]

tl;dr:

Being in the AP/coaches preseason top 25 helps you wind up higher in those respective polls.

It doesn’t necessarily help with the NY6 because the CFP consistently does not mirror the other polls, specifically in the way it treats G5s and other “non-brand name” programs.

The offseason rankings of a single writer doesn’t affect either of those things and is purely just something to pass the time until fall.

[bigdaddyg]

Getting any top 25 mentions can only be positive. I personally think the words brand and branding are absolutely beaten to death on these threads but maybe it's because I am 56 (LOL). At any rate if we can reach the point of being in real discussions as far as legit top 25 teams for reasons other than "the little school who beat Michigan" it is awesome. We can't be that flash in the pan who touches the rankings then fades with an 8-5 record.

[Yosef10]

It's a beauty contest, but it's good press.

It means nothing as far as position to accomplish what we want this year but definitely looks good for recruiting and press. I don't care if we begin the season ranked typically and I don't expect to but it will look good for recruiting and marketing if we start the year ranked and stay ranked the entire year. If I had to pick though I prefer what happened in 2019 when we did not start ranked but finished there. As long as we finish top 25 I'll be happy. I kind of hope we begin this season ranked just because if we go undefeated that could be the difference in us going to a NY6 or not. We had no shot last year without going undefeated but this year if we go undefeated I think we get in with two good P5 opponents, one being ranked in the top 10-15 by everyone.

“It means nothing”, are you kidding?

It is hard for me to understand how some folks on this board still don’t get the importance of being ranked as early in the season as possible. The earlier you get in the higher your ceiling AND the more insulation you have against a loss during the season. Yes we still have to take care of business every week but it matters at the end of the regular season when these same people don’t understand why AAC and MWC teams get the benefit of the doubt with one or two losses over us. Starting in the top 25 means A LOT.

When I say it means nothing I am talking about it does not guarantee any wins or mean that we will get in the NY6. It can help us have a higher ceiling, like you said, but I hope our team ignores this and realizes we actually have to win the games.

As much as this ranking CAN help us the poor performance of the rest of our league can negate that and hurt us. Also, the MWC and AAC get the benefit right now because their teams have gotten big wins over top 25 P5 teams. We still don't have that but we have the opportunity to notch one of those wins.

Say we start out 25 and we are 22-23 when we go to Wisconsin. If we beat them and they are ranked in the top 12 we would likely vault all the way up to #15 or so. We never have had a win move us up that much in one week. We get more help and respect from beating Wisconsin and Wake Forest back to back than we would by winning 10 straight against the SBC and G5 teams, and we should.

Wait, wait, wait a minute here. You’re telling me being ranked at #24 in a preseason ranking released in February DOESNT guarantee you a NY6 spot? You’ve got to be kidding me. *eye roll*