The college football season is rapidly approaching, and with each small checkpoint in the offseason, it feels like the season is arriving. Monday marks one of the points in the offseason where it truly feels as if the season is here, as the Associated Press will unveil the Preseason AP Poll, giving 25 teams the rankings they'll hold to start the season.
Heading into the season, the Oregon Ducks land on the shortlist of favorites to win the National Championship, making anything short of that goal feel like a failure. Dan Lanning joked in an interview with Next Round Live that he wished the Ducks would always be picked 137th, but when the AP Poll is unveiled he certainly won't get his wish.
Will Oregon earn the Preseason crown in the initial AP Poll?
Coming into the reveal of the Preseason AP Poll, there's only one big question for the Ducks: Will Oregon be named the No. 1 team in the Country? Everyone knows that the Ducks will be ranked highly, but it won't be overly exciting to anyone if Oregon lands anywhere aside from the top spot in the Poll.
When the Coaches Poll was unveiled, the Ducks ranked 2nd, trailing only Ohio State, which earned 38 1st place votes, but the Ducks were only 104 points behind the Buckeyes. If the AP Poll voters swing a few more 1st place votes in the Ducks' direction after they earned just 6 in the coaches' poll, the Ducks could easily surpass Ohio State.
There are seemingly just 7 teams in the race for the top spot, with only 6 teams earning 1st place votes in the coaches poll, while Miami will be a popular contender in the AP Poll. The most likely teams to earn the top ranking are Ohio State, Oregon, Texas, Notre Dame, and Georgia, while the defending National Champions deserve credit in the poll.
In the end, preseason rankings don't mean anything, and last year's No. 1 Texas missed the College Football Playoff entirely. Rankings are fun fodder for the fans, and the No. 1 ranking could end up being more of a burden, but it would also only raise the excitement before what could be a historic season for the program.
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