The 2021 Preseason Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports was released. Here are the topics that matter with the overrated and underrated teams, and which conference got the most respect.
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5. Who is, technically, overrated in the 2021 Coaches Poll?
Who’s overrated? FWIW, according to the CFN 2021 Preseason Rankings 1-130 – based on how good the teams are to start the season – the five most overrated teams are …
No. 7 Notre Dame
It’s hardly an egregious call considering the Irish reload now under Brian Kelly, but it’s a tad too high – at least to start the season. The offensive line is being rebuilt, Jack Coan is a college quarterback downgrade from Ian Book, and overall – to nitpick a bit too much – this is a top 15ish team more than top seven.
– Notre Dame Preview
No. 10 Cincinnati
Power Five Snob Alert, Part 1. You beat as many Power Five teams in 2020 as Cincinnati did – but this is about 2021, of course. It’s a great team that really could beat Indiana and Notre Dame, but top ten overall is getting a tad carried away – for now. It’s a top 25 team to be sure, but … UCF might be every bit as strong in the AAC.
– Cincinnati Preview
No. 16 Miami
Miami is just renting this space. In a perfect world, the Coaches Poll – and all polls – don’t punish teams for losing to the star of stars. Alabama is the overwhelming No. 1 in the Coaches Poll, it’s going to win the opener by a gajillion, and that means the Canes will end up where it probably should be preseason rankings-wise – around 25 – going into Week 2
– Miami Preview
– 2021 Preseason USA TODAY Coaches Poll
No. 23 Louisiana
Power Five Snob Alert, Part 2. No one championed the Ragin’ Cajuns more than I did after they were disrespected in poll after poll despite beating Iowa State in the opener, but … 1) I defy 94% of the pollsters to name one of the two NFL-caliber running backs the team lost. 2) Coastal Carolina is probably better. 3) Appalachian State is probably better – and it only got four votes.
– Louisiana Preview
No. 24 Coastal Carolina
Power Five Snob Alert, Part 3. More on this later on, but if you’re really basing this on last year – which isn’t right, pollsters – Liberty beat the Chanticleers in the Cure Bowl, gets almost everyone back, and is technically ranked 30th. 2021 Liberty should be better than 2021 Coastal Carolina.
– Coastal Carolina Preview
And then there are the …
NEXT: 2021 Coaches Poll – 5 most underrated teams
4. Who is, technically, underrated in the 2021 Coaches Poll?
Stanford
Don’t get so freaked out by the all-Power Five schedule, people. Stanford has the talent to be a danger in the Pac-12 North. It’s not a top ten team going into the season, but it’s better than just one lousy vote.
– Stanford Preview
Arizona State
This has to be all because of the scandal after allegedly recruiting when it wasn’t supposed to during the global pandemic. Talent-wise this is easily a top 20 team – it’s technically 28th – and should certainly be higher than the two ranked Sun Belt teams.
– Arizona State Preview
Michigan
Come on – this just isn’t that bad a team. Yes, Michigan is coming off a very, very down season, but it’s technically ranked 33rd, It’s a top 25 team – at least it had better be for Jim Harbaugh’s sake.
– Michigan Preview
No. 20 Penn State
There’s not too much of a beef being behind No. 17 Indiana, buuuuuut – Penn State should be the second-best team in the East. It deserves more Big Ten benefit of the doubt than No. 15 Wisconsin – that’s about where the Nittany Lions should be.
– Penn State Preview
No. 21 Washington
This is a top 15 team that no one seems to have a handle on yet. Just wait. This defense is going to crush and kill as the season goes on, even if it loses to an under-ranked Michigan team on September 11th.
– Washington Preview
NEXT: Alabama’s All-Time Reload
3. Coaches Poll 2021: Alabama’s All-Time Reload
Take just a moment and realize what a total monster Alabama really is.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it’s really good, Nick Saban owns the college football world, Alabama is a preseason national title contender given, and on and on and on.
However, it was just ranked No. 1 in the 2021 preseason Coaches Poll after losing an ungodly amount of talent from the 2020 national champion team.
More than that, Alabama received 63 first place votes, and Oklahoma – with two – is the only other team to even get a look at the top spot.
Did 2020 LSU get the benefit of the doubt after 14 players were drafted? Not really. It started last year ranked fifth.
Again, Alabama annihilated everyone in first place votes, and that’s after losing a Heisman-winning wide receiver (DeVonta Smith), a wide receiver drafted ahead of the Heisman winner (Jaylen Waddle), the soon-to-be New England Patriot starting quarterback (Mac Jones), and the Pittsburgh Steeler starting running back (Najee Harris).
Overall, Alabama is in the top spot after giving away six first round picks to the NFL, eight of the top 38 selections, and with ten players drafted overall.
No big whoop. No. 1. 63 first place votes. Move along.
NEXT: SEC Expansion … 8 “SEC” Schools Ranked
2. Coaches Poll 2021: SEC Expansion – It’s Scarier Than You Think
So the SEC is going to add Texas and Oklahoma to the mix at some point over the next few years – whatever.
As I’ve said from the start, all it means is that the SEC will make more money off the field, and on it, 15 teams won’t win the SEC Championship instead of 13. Big deal. So the league expands and gets more interesting and …
The 2021 Preseason Coaches Poll shows just how much this will matter to college football.
Ohio State and Wisconsin. Those are the two Big Ten teams ranked in the preseason top 15, and Indiana, Penn State and Iowa all made it into the top 20.
Alabama, Georgia and Texas A&M are in the top six. Throw in Oklahoma, and the SEC of the near-future will have four programs in that top six. In a powerhouses-go-powerhouses sort of way, Clemson and Ohio State are those other two.
Combine the Big Ten and the future SEC expanded look, and more than half of the top 25 is taken up by those two conferences.
Expand it out and the SEC has eight teams – Alabama, Oklahoma, Georgia, Texas A&M, Florida, LSU, Texas, Ole Miss – in the top 25 with Auburn, Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas and Mississippi State all getting votes, too.
To take this to another level, let’s just say the preseason Coaches Poll ends up mirroring the final College Football Playoff rankings. The expanded College Football Playoff proposal – 12 teams, top six ranked conference champions – six wild-cards – would mean the SEC would get five teams into the playoff.
Technically, as it stands with this preseason poll, along with the SEC, only the ACC – Clemson and North Carolina – would get more than one team into the CFP.
That’s not a positive for college football.
NEXT: Final Overall Thoughts, Observations
1. Preseason Coaches Poll Winners, Losers, Final Overall Thoughts, Observations
– Winner: Liberty. Think of it this way. Hugh Freeze’s old Ole Miss team is ranked just five spots higher, and Liberty is the highest-ranked school in Virginia.
– Loser: Liberty. Where’s the credit for the amazing 2020 and returning just about everyone? No hate to Louisiana or Coastal Carolina, but Liberty returns stronger, better, and didn’t get the top 25 love the Sun Belters received.
– Winner: The Great State of Oklahoma. Oklahoma is third – it should really be 2, but that’s nitpicking – Oklahoma State got some attention at a respectable 22, and Tulsa received some residual affection from 2020 with six votes.
– Loser: The Great State of Michigan. Michigan received 30 votes. The University of Michigan – you know, the leaders and best – received 30 flipping votes and is technically ranked 33rd. It’s the only team in Michigan that received a vote, and to make matters worse, the Detroit Lions aren’t predicted to do much this year, either.
– Winner: San Jose State. The Spartans return just about everyone from its shocking 2020 Mountain West championship run. With 18 votes, they’re ahead of …
– Loser: Stanford and Cal. Stanford and Cal are better than San Jose State – and they’re a whole lot better than several teams ranked higher – as they each received a grand total of 1 vote.
– Winner: Ole Miss. Lane Kiffin’s team is ranked 25th in the preseason rankings.
– Loser: Mississippi State. Mike Leach’s team received two more votes than you did.
– I love the Sun Belt. It plays a fun brand of football, the teams deserved even more respect than they received last season, and … Louisiana at 23 and Coastal Carolina at 24 is cheeky. They’d both get steamrolled by Utah (26).
– 2021 Preseason USA TODAY Coaches Poll
– Utah is a top 20 team, and it’s not ranked that way according to this. Arizona State is a top 20 team, and it’s ranked 28th. The Pac-12 got a little bit of attention with Oregon 12th, USC 14th and Washington 21st, but the Ducks and Huskies are too low. The respect just isn’t there for the Pac-12.
– As always, the pollsters like teams with quarterbacks they know. North Carolina at 9 is a tad high, but everyone knows and loves Sam Howell. However …
– Nine of the top 13 teams have a different starting quarterback than the ones that kicked off 2020. There might be more of a shakeup than normal in the top bunch.
– For those assuming the Big 12 is dead without Texas and Oklahoma. that might be true business-wise, but Iowa State (8), Oklahoma State (22), TCU (32), West Virginia (50) isn’t totally horrible. However …
– This entire poll shows that football-wise, there aren’t a whole lot of places for the Big Ten and Pac-12 to expand that might make a difference. The only hope is the ACC, and that’s not happening any time soon.
– Just remember, the College Football Playoff rankings are the ones that matter. This sure is fun, though.
