The new AP Top 25 poll has dropped, and man, does it signal something interesting about the top of this year’s playoff race. Part of the fun of college football is the subjective nature in which the teams are ranked. Well, I say it’s fun…until you’ve been on the shit end of that subjective process when your team was controversially left out of the College Football Playoff. Sorry to twist the knife, Florida State fans. It’s been a rough year, I know. It gives us plenty to talk about, but I do acknowledge that it’s hardly a standardized metric that objectively indicates prestige.
That said, the fact that six of the top seven teams in the country, according to the AP Top 25 poll, reside in the SEC is quite impressive. Through three weeks, I don’t think it’s unreasonable at all for the Texas Longhorns to have climbed to the top spot. They have looked like the best team in the country. Despite a rough-looking win over Kentucky, the Georgia Bulldogs still have the benefit of their pedigree over the last couple of seasons. Alabama might have struggled against South Florida, and given Alex Golesh’s history in Tennessee’s offensive system, that ought to scare Tide fans to death about the Third Saturday in October. But, they’ve otherwise looked clean and dominant. Ole Miss has looked prolific, but hasn’t really been tested yet. Tennessee has been downright dominant, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re the last team standing once it’s all said and done. That leaves us with Missouri rounding out the top seven after pulling off a gutsy win against a game Boston College squad. Ohio State is the only non-SEC in the top seven of the AP Poll at #3.
After a season that saw a Pac-12 team and a Big Ten team competing for the National Championship while the SEC was on the outside looking in, it sure looks like the conference has rebounded. The streets are beginning to rumble that the big dog in college football is back, and it’s hard for me to disagree…especially considering you can broaden your scope to the entire top 25 and pick up Oklahoma, LSU, and Texas A&M. That’s right – nine of the team’s 15 teams is currently ranked. Now, will these teams begin to cannibalize each other as conference play starts? Sure. But, with the expanded playoff this season, I see no reason to think that at least five of these teams won’t be playoff teams. The SEC is back, baby.
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Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley.
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