Why the AP Poll Is Wrong: Updated College Football Rankings

The AP Poll sucks. Between the voters not watching games and the lack of consistency week to week, it’s quickly becoming an antiquated way to rank teams. Here’s how I would have voted if given a poll this weekend.

The only thing to note before getting into the rankings is that I am still basing these on the preseason rankings, so they aren’t entirely out of the blue.

#1 Ohio State

The defending national champions took down the preseason No. 1 team to start the season, and have cruised behind the best defense in the country since.

It hasn’t been the prettiest 3-0 start, but with the Buckeyes gaining confidence in the run game behind Bo Jackson, this team is starting to look like one that could go back-to-back.

#2 Miami

Who has a better resume than the Miami Hurricanes?

They beat a Notre Dame team that I still believe will work its way into the playoffs, and then followed that up by beating the brakes off a solid USF team.

This is the best Miami team we’ve seen in years, and they are a legit national title contender.

#3 Georgia

I’ll admit I wasn’t too high on Georgia this year. Even now, I’m still not sure they won’t stumble their way out of the playoffs.

However, the grittiness to hang tough at Tennessee and pull away in overtime was wildly impressive. Gunnar Stockton is also way better than I expected, he put the team on his back in this one.

#4 Penn State

Penn State needs to show me something, and fast.

They haven’t done enough to really fall in the rankings any more than 4th, but this team feels pretty average.

They were the trendy pick from people to win the national championship, but what has Drew Allar shown over the course of his career to be considered a QB that can get that done for Penn State?

We’ll have to reassess with them once they play Oregon.

#5 Oregon

Speaking of the Ducks, I’m not very concerned about their slow start in Evansville this past weekend. Northwestern is a weird place to travel to, and that showed.

Dan Lanning has shown me over the past few years that he can get the most out of his quarterbacks, and Dante Moore is next in line for that.

I’m really impressed with his improvement and think this Oregon team has a national championship ceiling.

#6 LSU

The Tigers have wins on the road at Clemson and then a home win against Florida. On paper, those are nice wins, but they both might quickly age like spoiled milk.

This defense is still very legit, but the offense needs to figure things out before the schedule picks up. Those two wins are over pretenders.

I need to see way more out of this Brian Kelly offense.

#7 Florida State

October 4th is shaping up to be a potential SEC regular-season championship showdown between Florida State and Miami.

Florida State has exceeded every expectation laid in front of them so far, and they have the pieces to be a playoff team.

Miami’s the only ranked game left on their schedule, so they’ll be an interesting team to rate with zero ranked road games on the season.

#8 Oklahoma

John Mateer is fun, and this defense is excellent, but I’m still not entirely sold on this offense.

Michigan isn’t the same team with an elite defense they had the last 5 years or so. They’re an average team that will be floating around .500 by the end of the year.

The Sooners have taken care of business, but I don’t think the resume is anything impressive.

#9 Texas A&M

Notre Dame might be 0-2, but that is still an insanely impressive win in South Bend.

This is the best Texas A&M offense in years, and it will likely result in a few extra wins for the team.

I am very concerned by the defense, because if the offense puts up a classic Texas A&M disappearing act, they won’t be getting bailed out.

#10 Illinois

Bret Bielema making Illinois fun, and really good, is deserving of the 10th spot in the polls.

Despite being a top 10 team in most polls, they’re still going to sneak up on some teams.

They’re a punch-you-in-the-mouth football team, and I’d love to see them in a playoff game.

HM: Iowa St, Alabama, Texas, Utah, Tennessee

The honorable mentions could all be justified for the #10 spot.

Iowa State and Utah are the two best teams in the Big 12, and could be in the playoffs at the end of the year.

Alabama played a terrible season opener, but the offense is finding its footing, and I think they’ll still be excellent.

Texas has an elite defense, but Arch Manning is playing some terrible football, so they’re not in the top 10 for now.

Lastly, Tennessee would easily be in my top 10 if they didn’t shoot themselves in the foot against Georgia, so I won’t be selling any of my Volunteers stock.