You know the college football betting season is right around the corner once the annual preseason AP poll is in the books. On Sunday the Associated Press released its first version of the Top 25 poll and as always it was filled with its fair share or surprises. Because these rankings change wildly before the end of the season one can never know just how reliable they truly are, but that shouldn’t deter fans from analyzing them and getting an early picture of where the best schools rank across the nation. Let’s take a look.
1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Oklahoma
4. Florida State
5. LSU
6. Ohio State
7. Michigan
8. Stanford
9. Tennessee
10. Notre Dame
11. Mississippi
12. Michigan State
13. TCU
14. Washington
15. Houston
16. UCLA
17. Iowa
18. Georgia
19. Louisville
20. USC
21. Oklahoma State
22. North Carolina
23. Baylor
24. Oregon
25. Florida
This poll of course is calculated on a points system based on the ranking given to each school by the voter. A first place ranking will earn a school 25 points, a second place 24 points, and so on down the line until the 25th ranking earns one point. Once the polling is complete the schools are then ranked by their totals, appropriately. While some members of the NCAA betting community may argue over how accurate these rankings are, they still provide a meaningful analysis from the sport’s most vigilant fans. At the very least, you can see how your favorite schools measure up against the rest of the nation.
The reigning champions have earned the #1 ranking and rightfully so. Alabama’s defense was terrific last year, as it always is, but the Crimson Tide will be heading into next season without Kirby Smart, their defensive coordinator, for the first time in nearly a decade. Nick Saban has proven to be more than capable of leading his team to glory even after a prodigy leaves his squad. Nonetheless the pressure will be on this year’s college football betting favorites to live up to the hype.
Alabama isn’t the only school representing the SEC in the Top 25. In fact they are joined by 5 other schools making the SEC the most represented conference within the rankings. LSU broke the top 5 coming in at No. 5, Tennessee ranked No. 9 overall, Ole Miss No. 11, Georgia No. 18 and Florida scraped by at No. 25. It should be noted that in the past 10 years, 8 times has an SEC school come out as National Champions at the end of the college football betting season.
Coming in close behind Alabama are last year’s runner-ups, Clemson. Clemson may arguably have expectations that are just as high as the Crimson Tide’s, which is expected when your quarterback is the frontrunner for the Heisman. This year’s No. 2 ranking is the highest Clemson has achieved in the preseason proving that this is one of the best rosters the school has seen. Clemson is joined by 4 other ACC schools proving that the ACC and SEC are the two best conferences in the nation. That alone gives credibility to the theory that this season will pit the two powerhouses from each conference against each other, giving those who love college football betting a rematch of last year’s national championship.
