http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/usatpoll.htm
| Rank | Team (first-place votes) | Record | Points | Final 2011 rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | LSU (18) | 13-1 | 1,403 | 2 |
| 2. | Alabama (20) | 12-1 | 1,399 | 1 |
| 3. | Southern California (19) | 10-2 | 1,388 | NR |
| 4. | Oklahoma | 10-3 | 1,276 | 15 |
| 5. | Oregon | 12-2 | 1,258 | 4 |
| 6. | Georgia | 10-4 | 1,061 | 20 |
| 7. | Florida State | 9-4 | 1,055 | 23 |
| 8. | Michigan | 11-2 | 1,023 | 9 |
| 9. | South Carolina | 11-2 | 981 | 8 |
| 10. | Arkansas | 11-2 | 948 | 5 |
| 11. | West Virginia | 10-3 | 833 | 18 |
| 12. | Wisconsin | 11-3 | 743 | 11 |
| 13. | Michigan State | 11-3 | 717 | 10 |
| 14. | Clemson | 10-4 | 598 | 22 |
| 15. | Texas | 8-5 | 549 | NR |
| 16. | Nebraska | 9-4 | 501 | 24 |
| 17. | TCU | 11-2 | 499 | 13 |
| 18. | Stanford | 11-2 | 497 | 7 |
| 19. | Oklahoma State | 12-1 | 476 | 3 |
| 20. | Virginia Tech | 11-3 | 461 | 17 |
| 21. | Kansas State | 10-3 | 398 | 16 |
| 22. | Boise State | 12-1 | 271 | 6 |
| 23. | Florida | 7-6 | 250 | NR |
| 24. | Notre Dame | 8-5 | 166 | NR |
| 25. | Auburn | 8-5 | 66 | NR |
Others receiving votes (with 2011 records)
Washington (7-6) 64; Louisville (7-6) 46; Georgia Tech (8-5) 35; Cincinnati (10-3) 32; Texas A&M (7-6) 28; Baylor (10-3) 23; Utah (8-5) 22; Mississippi State (7-6) 21; South Florida (5-7) 12; N.C. State (8-5) 11; BYU (10-3) 10; Louisiana Tech (8-5) 10; Virginia (8-5) 9; Houston (13-1) 7; Southern Mississippi (12-2) 6; Central Florida (5-7) 5; Rutgers (9-4) 5; Florida International (8-5) 3; Missouri (8-5) 3; Tennessee (5-7) 3; Northern Illinois (11-3) 2; Texas Tech (5-7) 1.
Too high, too low, just right? Leave your thoughts.
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Here's my thought...
This was released at what, 12:01 PM today? And now it's 12:08 PM, and you've already got a post on TKP? Well played, sir. Well played indeed.
38 - 0
How does UVA get 9 votes? Is it because we allowed them to get 0 instead of negative points last November?
SURPRISE
How many coaches really know that much about all of these teams? Most are making choices based on last season and if any certain player(s) stick out form these teams in their heads. I have no problem with where we are in this. It is better for people to not talk about us so that some of the young players we will be playing will not have to deal with the "expectation" factor. My honest opinion is that we are going to surprise a lot of people this year with an uptempo offense and one of the nastiest D's Bud Foster has coached. The amount of speed we have on both sides of the ball is ridiculous. I caught the tweet LT3 posted about how the offense would make a name for itself this year. Love to hear the confidence he has knowing he has a full year under his belt. I think that the ACC is much better this year then people give credit and by the 4th/5th week of the year the polls will reflect that. Coaches polls are biased to who they play usually anyway.
I like it
I rather VT start off lower with having some high ranked opponents.
I would've loved if GT would've started off being ranked but oh well.
With KSU vs. OU, Boise State vs. MSU, ND vs. MSU, AU vs. Clemson, Washington vs. LSU, and GT vs. VT happening before 9/29... I could see Cincy being ranked for FedEx as the first ranked opponent if they beat Pitt.
polls just piss me off in general
I'm not going to argue #20, but everyone has their own issues and there are always teams that get free passes on them. The one that really pissed me off was Michigan. If we returned the entire team from last year plus our injured and recovered starters VT would not be ranked that high.
Mich stood out to me as well
So, if the refs dont forget what constitutes a catch in OT, would we be ranked top 10?
nope
I also declare shenanigans on Florida, Notre Dame, Texas, and Boise
this
has been the one ranking thats been getting to me as well. what did michigan do to show they were a top 10 team, under 200 yards offense? we made denard look like a child yet he is a heisman contender? colin cowherd actually had us as a top 10 team this season. i like the lower ranking in the polls and no pressure for the team nationally. i hope this season can be similar to 2004 when we weren't ranked but had a great year
Perception is louder than reality
Michigan is ranked higher due to how the teams are perceived. Besides VT and UM fans, no one actually, especially coaches, actually remembers the gameplay. Due to inundation of the media, this is what everyone actually remembers:
1. VT did not deserve to be in the sugarbowl (Herbstreit rant, etc.)
2. VT could not sell out it's allotment and could not fill up the stadium.
3. The final outcome/score.
"I just threw up in here, people. That's the reality."
Just another layer to the legend. I am nothing but a human onion!
Get rid of preseason polls
They have no basis in reality. Their only purpose is to hype early season games for TV ratings, i.e. battles between "ranked" teams. They also set up conflicts with cahnging teams rankings if they win close games to "lesser" opponents. Who is to say they are lesser opponents? I think the polls should wait for at least 5 weeks.
If you ain't first, you're last
Preseason polls don't really matter
5 SEC teams in the top team??? bitch please ... i'm fine with this as well but at the same time, where you start does make a difference towards the end of the season when it comes to perception. either way, as much as i dislike fsu and clemson, i hope they're both undefeated until we whip their asses. We typically deal with lower expectations better.
my $.02 ... there are at least four teams ranked ahead of us that shouldn't be: Nebraska, TCU, Stanford, and Okey State
West Virginia's, Nebraska's, and Oklahoma State's rankings are fucking laughable
Would be nice
if CU and FSU were undefeated, but that's not possible since they play each other before each one play VT.
Georgia, Arkansas, West Virginia, are all too high. I think USC is the best team in the SEC East. If Petrino were still there, I'd have the Hogs in the top 5. Aside from hilarious Tweets (https://twitter.com/JohnL_Smith/status/231043609384861697), who knows what they're getting out of John L. Geno Smith is one of the best QBs in the country, Holgo is a terrific offensive mind, but the 'Eers never dominated the Big East. I think it'll quickly become apparent (10/6 @Texas) they're not as talented/deep as the traditional Big 12 powerhouses.
I wouldn't have Stanford ranked without Luck, the same goes for Boise without Moore.
Notre Dame; obligatory.
I'm really surprised Georgia Tech didn't crack the top 25, not only that, the Bees are behind Washington and Louisville.
U-Dub
Washington returns most of it's offense, and they held their own (offensively) against Baylor in the now legendary Alamo Bowl. You'd have to think that the defense got A LITTLE better, right? But after watching most of U-Dub's games last year, I'm buying the hype for Keith Price. They'll win one game they shouldn't in the PAC12 and should be ranked by the end of the year.
I agree with most of that but I disagree about Georgia..they'll be better than USC ...Texas?? Thought the same thing but don't know enough about their team this upcoming season....Arkansas?? We shall see...Michigan? Wtf ever
The Sporting News
...has us ranked at #5 in the country. There are still a bunch of people out there that believe we will have a very strong team this year.
http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/story/2012-07-30/college-footb...
I am ok with VT's #20 ranking though I honestly thought we would be #15 or #16. Here's a bad joke- FSU and Michigan in the top 10. Clearly the coaches have jumped on board the "FSU Hype Machine" bandwagon, just like the last two years.
Preseason Rankings...
Pretty damn useless.
2011 Stats
In 2011 8 teams that were in the USA Today preseason polls were not in the final rankings...that sounds good enough to take these semi-seriously.