Every year when the AP poll comes out, there really is no point. Rarely does a team end the season where they began the year ranked. In reality, the poll is just put out for people to debate.
Thankfully, college football fans do nothing but debate.
To nobody’s surprise, Alabama will begin the year as the No. 1 team in the country. Five other SEC programs join them, making the joint-most out of the Power Five conferences. The ACC and Big 12 have the fewest with three.
You can see the whole poll here.
Texas debuts at No. 21 and it feels just about right. Many may throw them in the overrated category but for the first time in a while, national expectations seem to be lower for the Longhorns.
Not a lot could be said about a few other programs. There are a few overrated teams, especially in Texas’ future home, the SEC. A couple are underrated as well, despite being within the top 16.
Here are three overrated and three underrated teams from the preseason AP top 25 poll.
Overrated – No. 6 Texas A&M
Gary Cosby Jr/The Tuscaloosa News via USA TODAY Sports
Simply put: Texas A&M has too many questions on the offensive side of the ball to be considered a serious threat for the College Football Playoff. Unless your name is Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, or Oklahoma, losing your quarterback and four offensive line starters is a death sentence. Now, let me say something nice about the Aggies. Their skill position players could be why they are ranked so high. Isiah Spiller and Devon Achane are one of the best one-two combos in the SEC, while Jalen Wydermyer could be the best tight end in the country. It’s more of a ‘let me see it to believe it’ scenario with Texas A&M this season. Until a breakthrough win against Alabama or LSU comes, a No. 6 rating seems high.
Underrated – No. 5 Georgia
Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
We will find out quite quickly about Georgia with a Week 1 matchup against Clemson. It’s quite hard to be underrated when ranked No. 5 in the country, but for the first time in the Kirby Smart era, it feels as if the Bulldogs have an elite-level quarterback. In JT Daniels’ four games, he averaged just over 300 yards passing and had 10 touchdowns, winning all four. Defense has never been an issue in Athens as Smart is one of the best in the country. Yeah, we have all heard it before but this may be Georgia’s best shot at a national championship in a while.
Overrated – No. 23 Lousiana
Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Iowa State this, Iowa State that. Louisiana started their 2020 season out in great fashion, knocking off a Power Five team. However, when looking at the whole resume from last season, it is not as impressive. Six one-possession wins against is an anomaly, especially against Sun Belt schools. Their second-best opponent of the season, Coastal Carolina, came away with a win as well. I will be ready to eat my words on Sept. 4 when the Ragin Cajuns either beat Texas or put on a great performance in Austin. But for now, comparing them to some other Power Five schools seems like a reach.
Underrated – No. 16 LSU
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Now the real SEC bias is kicking in with two teams being marked underrated. Just means more. LSU returns a majority of their starters from last season, even if expectations fell a bit short defending the national championship. A bump in the road occurred with Myles Brennen being ruled out for the year but Max Johnson flashed some promise during 2020. Derek Stingley and Eli Ricks make up the best cornerback pairing in the country. Especially with Bo Pilleni out the door, the Tigers will be exceptionally better on defense. Being ranked No. 13 in the coaches poll, LSU was considered underrated there. No. 16 in the AP poll is far too low for what should be a huge bounce-back year in Baton Rouge.
Overrated – No. 13 Florida
© Brad McClenny via Imagn Content Services, LLC
For a team that lost their last three games last season, Florida is getting a lot of preseason love. Not only is quarterback Kyle Trask gone but so are leading receivers Kyle Pitts and Kadarius Toney. If Dan Mullen truly is the offensive wizard everyone believes, he will show it this season with a bunch of fresh faces. Saying the Gators’ defense was not good last season would be rather nice. Opponents scored 30.8 points per game, including Alabama and Oklahoma dropping 50 burgers to close the season. With Nick Saban rolling into town Week 3, quickly followed by division rivals Tennessee and Kentucky, Florida could be tumbling in the poll by mid-October.
Underrated – Indiana
Joshua A. Bickel/Columbus Dispatch
You have the feeling if you replaced the Indiana name with someone like Texas or Michigan, they would be pushing the top 10. Michael Penix (coming off an ACL tear) returns at quarterback, while leading receiver Ty Fryfogle is back as well. Include a defense with multiple All-Big 10 first team caliber players and the Hoosiers could be Ohio State’s biggest test once again this season.
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