Preseason polls shape perception, yet every year they're wildly wrong

It's a waste of time to tout every award watch list and preseason poll that comes along, though it gives college football fans something to talk about. Particularly with the polls, the preseason hype collapses in the first three weeks of the season.

For example, last year's preseason Top 25 proved to be less than half right:

13 teams last season that were ranked in the preseason 2024 ended up unranked.

9. Michigan
10. Florida St
12. Utah
13. LSU
16. Oklahoma
17. Oklahoma State
18. Kansas St
20. Texas A&M
21. Arizona
22. Kansas
23. USC
24. NC State
25. Iowa

Michigan, USC, LSU, Oklahoma and Florida State have a "round up the usual suspects" quality, teams that seem to be ranked every year no matter how convoluted the logic. Reputation supersedes reality.

With that in mind, here's the preseason Top 25 Coaches Poll:

1. Texas
2. Ohio State
3. Penn State
4. Georgia
5. Notre Dame
6. Clemson
7. Oregon
8. Alabama
9. LSU
10. Miami (FL)
11. Arizona State
12. Illinois
13. South Carolina
14. Michigan
15. Ole Miss
16. SMU
17.Florida
18. Tennessee
19. Indiana
20. Kansas State
21. Texas A&M
21. Iowa State
23. BYU
24. Texas Tech
25. Boise State

Most polls place the Ducks somewhere between No. 6 and No. 9, solidly in the playoffs. That includes the Sporting News Composite, which combines the rankings of 11 different polls including Action Network, Athlon, The Athletic, Bleacher Report, CBS Sports, ESPN, 247Sports, Sports Illustrated, USA Today, On3, and their own.

The exception is Phil Steele Magazine, which places the Ducks at No. 13, just outside the playoff bubble.

If the Coaches Poll proves accurate, Oregon would host a 7-10 matchup in the playoffs, meaning they would host Mario Cristobal and Miami. That's a juicy prospect, but unlikely.

Oregon only faces two teams ranked in the preseason Top 25, at No. 3 Penn State on September 27, home against Indiana on October 11 after a bye. That creates a bit more pressure to gain a split in those two games. Otherwise, the Ducks have a weak-looking resume in terms of strength of schedule.

In a world where a committee slots the teams into the playoffs, rankings and resumes matter, far more than they should, particularly because they're shaped by these inaccurate preseason expectations, which typically skew toward the SEC.

Nine SEC teams are ranked in the Top 25 to start the year, and Oklahoma and Missouri come first in the "others receiving votes" list. It reinforces the narrative of "the SEC gauntlet" even with eight home games and a November game against Mercer, Samford or Eastern Illinois.

The Ducks just have to fight all this bias by being the best version of themselves. Dante Moore has to prove to be the real deal at cornerback, and the offensive line has to gel.