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Coaches think a lot like sportswriters – at least when ranking teams in the preseason.
The same 25 teams are ranked in the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll and AP Top 25 Poll. The ordering of teams is nearly identical, too. The top seven teams are ordered the same way in each: Georgia, Ohio State, Oregon, Texas, Alabama, Ole Miss and Notre Dame.
The rest of the polls are in near lockstep, too. Nine SEC teams are ranked within the top 20 of each poll:
∎ No. 1 Georgia
∎ No. 4 Texas
∎ No. 5 Alabama
∎ No. 6 Ole Miss
∎No. 11 Missouri
∎ No. 12/13 (coaches/AP) LSU
∎ No. 15 Tennessee
∎ No. 16 Oklahoma
∎ No. 20 Texas A&M
Here are some observations after evaluating these polls:
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SEC establishes early lead on Big Ten
The Big Ten joins the SEC in having multiple national championship contenders, but in terms of conference depth, the B1G is more akin to the Big 12 than it is to the SEC.
Six Big Ten teams are ranked. No. 25 Iowa pulls up the rear in each poll. Comparatively, the Big 12 has five ranked teams. The Big Ten flexes its muscle as a “Super Two” conference at the top, though, with four top-10 teams.
The SEC’s depth makes for a thornier path to the playoff for its teams, but it also increases the conference’s chance of outdueling the Big Ten for the most playoff bids.
Six SEC teams are ranked within the top 13 of each poll. Eight are ranked in the top 16 of each.
The SEC rolls deeper than the B1G.
Key September games materialize involving SEC teams
A handful of games within the season’s first four weeks will shed light on which teams will be playoff contenders and which are pretenders.
Among them (rankings are from coaches’ poll):
∎ No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 14 Clemson (Atlanta), Aug. 31
∎ No. 7 Notre Dame at No. 20 Texas A&M, Aug. 31
∎ No. 12 LSU…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/5-things-think-college-footballs-202124921.html
Author : Knox News | The Knoxville News-Sentinel
Publish date : 2024-08-12 20:21:24
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