2018 AP & Coaches Polls

[BGIF]

AP Top 25 Preseason

RK	TEAM	REC	PTS	TREND	LAST WEEK	NEXT WEEK
1	Alabama(42)	0-0	1505	—	—	9/1 vs Louisville
2	Clemson(18)	0-0	1476	—	—	9/1 vs Furman
3	Georgia	        0-0	1350	—	—	9/1 vs Austin Peay
4	Wisconsin(1)	0-0	1271	—	—	8/31 vs Western Kentucky
5	Ohio State	0-0	1256	—	—	9/1 vs Oregon State
6	Washington	0-0	1215	—	—	9/1 vs #9 Auburn
7	Oklahoma	0-0	1173	—	—	9/1 vs Florida Atlantic
8	Miami	        0-0	1027	—	—	9/2 vs #25 LSU
9	Auburn	        0-0	1013	—	—	9/1 vs #6 Washington
10	Penn St	        0-0	1012	—	—	9/1 vs Appalachian State
11	Michigan St	0-0	877	—	—	8/31 vs Utah State
12	Notre Dame	0-0	804	—	—	9/1 vs #14 Michigan
13	Stanford	0-0	778	—	—	8/31 vs San Diego State
14	Michigan	0-0	773	—	—	9/1 @ #12 Notre Dame
15	USC	        0-0	543	—	—	9/1 vs UNLV
16	TCU	        0-0	533	—	—	9/1 vs Southern
17	West Virg	0-0	511	—	—	9/1 vs Tennessee
18	Mississ St	0-0	450	—	—	9/1 vs Stephen F. Austin
19	Florida St	0-0	384	—	—	9/3 vs #20 Virginia Tech
20	Virgi Tech	0-0	351	—	—	9/3 @ #19 Florida State
21	UCF	        0-0	312	—	—	8/30 @ UConn
22	Boise St	0-0	292	—	—	9/1 @ Troy
23	Texas	        0-0	216	—	—	9/1 vs Maryland
24	Oregon	        0-0	148	—	—	9/1 vs Bowling Green
25	LSU	        0-0	106	—	—	9/2 vs #8 Miami

Others receiving votes: South Carolina 96, UF 68, Utah 60, Oklahoma St 51, FAU 38, Arizona 28, NC State 22, A&M 21, BC 18, Northwestern 13, KSU 10, ISU 8, Houston 6, Memphis 3, Iowa 2, Troy 2, Fresno St 1, Arkansas St 1, UK1

 

[BGIF]

Coaches Poll 8/2/18

Coaches Poll 8/2/18

TOP 25 TEAMS, WEEK 1

RANK	TEAM	RECORD	POINTS	1ST PLACE VOTES	PREV	CHANGE	HI/LOW
1	Alabama	13-1	1621	61	NR	–	1/1
2	Clemson	12-2	1547	3	NR	–	2/2
3	Ohio St	12-2	1458	1	NR	–	3/3
4	Georgia	13-2	1452	0	NR	–	4/4
5	Oklahom	12-2	1288	0	NR	–	5/5
6	Wash    10-3	1245	0	NR	–	6/6
7	Wiscons	13-1	1243	0	NR	–	7/7
8	Miami	10-3	1091	0	NR	–	8/8
9	Penn St	11-2	1050	0	NR	–	9/9
10	Auburn	10-4	1004	0	NR	–	10/10
11	Notre D	10-3	892	0	NR	–	11/11
12	Mich St	10-3	870	0	NR	–	12/12
13	Stanfd	9-5	768	0	NR	–	13/13
14	Michig	8-5	752	0	NR	–	14/14
15	So Cal	11-3	691	0	NR	–	15/15
16	TxChris	11-3	530	0	NR	–	16/16
17	VirTech	9-4	524	0	NR	–	17/17
18	Miss St	9-4	407	0	NR	–	18/18
19	Flor St	7-6	328	0	NR	–	19/19
20	W Virg	7-6	310	0	NR	–	20/20
21	Texas	7-6	265	0	NR	–	21/21
22	BoiseS	11-3	261	0	NR	–	22/22
23	Cent Fl	13-0	259	0	NR	–	23/23
24	Loui St	9-4	254	0	NR	–	24/24
25	Okla St	10-3	168	0	NR	–	25/25

*Hi/Low Rankings
Hi/Low = The highest and lowest ranking each team has held during the designated season. Any team that starts the season unranked and/or falls out of the top 25 during the season will reflect a "NR" (not ranked) designation as its lowest rank.

Others Receiving Votes
South Carolina 138; UF 135; Oregon 105; Utah 81; A&M 67; Northwestern 67; KSU 35; FAU 27; BC 23; Memphis 23; NC State 22; Troy 19; Arkansas St 19; Appalachian St 16; SDS 15; Kentucky 8; Iowa 8; ISU 8; WSU 7; USF 6; Duke 5; Fresno St 4; Louisville 3; Houston 2; Arizona 2; Northern Illinois 1; Army 1.

List of Voters (Coaches in BOLD are '18 ND Opponents)
The Amway Board of Coaches is made up of 65 head coaches at Bowl Subdivision schools. All are members of the American Football Coaches Association. The board for the 2018 season: Blake Anderson, Arkansas State; Major Applewhite, Houston; Dino Babers, Syracuse; Mike Bloomgren, Rice; John Bonamego, Central Michigan; Terry Bowden, Akron; Jeff Brohm, Purdue; Neal Brown, Troy; Troy Calhoun, Air Force; Rod Carey, Northern Illinois; Bill Clark, Alabama-Birmingham; Dave Clawson, Wake Forest; Geoff Collins, Temple; David Cutcliffe, Duke; Mark Dantonio, Michigan State; Bob Davie, New Mexico; Butch Davis, Florida International; Dana Dimel, Texas-El Paso; DJ Durkin, Maryland; Herm Edwards, Arizona State; Luke Fickell, Cincinnati; Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M; P.J. Fleck, Minnesota; James Franklin, Penn State; Willie Fritz, Tulane; Scott Frost, Nebraska; Justin Fuente, Virginia Tech; Turner Gill, Liberty; Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State; Bryan Harsin, Boise State; Clay Helton, Southern California; Tom Herman, Texas; Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia; Mike Jinks, Bowling Green; Kliff Kingsbury, Texas Tech; Brad Lambert, Charlotte; Mike Leach, Washington State; Lance Leipold, Buffalo; Tim Lester, Western Michigan; Seth Littrell, North Texas; Rocky Long, San Diego State; Chad Lunsford, Georgia Southern; Mike MacIntyre, Colorado; Gus Malzahn, Auburn; Doug Martin, New Mexico State; Urban Meyer, Ohio State; Jeff Monken, Army; Dan Mullen, Florida; Pat Narduzzi, Pittsburgh; Ken Niumatalolo, Navy; Jay Norvell, Nevada; Barry Odom, Missouri; Ed Orgeron, LSU; Gary Patterson, TCU; Chris Petersen, Washington; Bobby Petrino, Louisville; Nick Saban, Alabama; Scott Satterfield, Appalachian State; Kirby Smart, Georgia; Rick Stockstill, Middle Tennessee; Charlie Strong, South Florida; Dabo Swinney, Clemson; Jeff Tedford, Fresno State; Kyle Whittingham, Utah; Everett Withers, Texas State.

 

[BGIF]

Sporting News Preseason

Sporting News Preseason

Bill Bender @BillBender92
Updated at 12:20 p.m. ET 8/20/18

Sporting News has its college football preseason top 25 rankings ready to go for the 2018 season.

Keep in mind last year's preseaon top 25 had all four College Football Playoff teams — and four New Year's Day Six teams — in the top 10. That said, here's a look at Sporting News' updated preseason top-25 rankings for 2018.

Preseason college football rankings Top 25 for 2018

1. Alabama Crimson Tide
2. Clemson Tigers
3. Georgia Bulldogs
4. Ohio State Buckeyes
5. Oklahoma Sooners
6. Wisconsin Badgers
7. Washington Huskies
8. Auburn Tigers
9. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
10. Penn State Nittany Lions
11. Miami Hurricanes
12. Michigan Wolverines
13. Michigan State Spartans
14. Stanford Cardinal
15. USC Trojans
16. West Virginia Mountaineers
17. UCF Knights
18. LSU Tigers
19. TCU Horned Frogs
20. Florida State Seminoles
21. Texas Longhorns
22. South Carolina Gamecocks
23. Mississippi State Bulldogs
24. Virginia Tech Hokies
25. Boise State Broncos

Others receiving votes: Oklahoma St, A&M, Memphis, Louisville, FAU, Arizona

 

[Irish YJ]

ESPN has ND as #3 in their newest power ratings behind Bama and OSU.

Don't look now, but the Fighting Irish look like a serious contender for one of the four CFP spots. The Irish's 21-point victory over the Cardinal is their biggest margin of victory against a top-10 opponent since beating No. 5 USC 38-10 in 1995. Former backup quarterback Ian Book has thrown six touchdown passes in the last two games, and senior Dexter Williams -- who didn't play in the first four games -- ran for 161 yards with one score against Stanford. Notre Dame will probably be heavily favored in its final seven games; none of its remaining opponents are currently ranked in the AP Top 25.

 

[Rack Em]

Not sure where to put this thought, but I'll drop it here. If ND wins out and is guaranteed a playoff spot at 12-0, would you guys rather:

1) Have pandemonium in the B1G which prevents OSU from making the playoff. But Michigan beats 2 of WIS, MSU, and PSU and then knocks OSU out of the B1G title game by beating them in the last game? Michigan finishes 10-2 (plus B1G Championship Game), OSU finishes 11-2, no B1G in the Playoff.

or

2) Michigan beats WIS, but loses all rivalry games again to PSU, MSU, and OSU. They finish 8-4, but OSU is 13-0 and the likely #2 behind Bama in the Playoff. ND plays OSU in the CFP Semis.

I like 1) because that means ND is probably the #3 seed in the CFP and matched up against an unbeaten Oklahoma, Clemson, or a 1-loss Georgia team. I really don't want to face Bama in the Semis.

 

[ab2cmiller]

Any playoff scenario that has ND in and pOSU out, gets my vote.

 

[zelezo vlk]

Not sure where to put this thought, but I'll drop it here. If ND wins out and is guaranteed a playoff spot at 12-0, would you guys rather:

1) Have pandemonium in the B1G which prevents OSU from making the playoff. But Michigan beats 2 of WIS, MSU, and PSU and then knocks OSU out of the B1G title game by beating them in the last game? Michigan finishes 10-2 (plus B1G Championship Game), OSU finishes 11-2, no B1G in the Playoff.

or

2) Michigan beats WIS, but loses all rivalry games again to PSU, MSU, and OSU. They finish 8-4, but OSU is 13-0 and the likely #2 behind Bama in the Playoff. ND plays OSU in the CFP Semis.

I like 1) because that means ND is probably the #3 seed in the CFP and matched up against an unbeaten Oklahoma, Clemson, or a 1-loss Georgia team. I really don't want to face Bama in the Semis.

I'm inclined to agree with you because I think ND matches up better against OK, or Clemson. Who wants to face Saban or Urban Meyer with a month of prep? No thank you

 

[arrowryan]

Is there a scenario where Notre Dame would play North Texas in the semis and Cincinnati in the finals?

 

[Rack Em]

Is there a scenario where Notre Dame would play North Texas in the semis and Cincinnati in the finals?

Undefeated Cincinnati?!?!?!

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

Not sure where to put this thought, but I'll drop it here. If ND wins out and is guaranteed a playoff spot at 12-0, would you guys rather:

1) Have pandemonium in the B1G which prevents OSU from making the playoff. But Michigan beats 2 of WIS, MSU, and PSU and then knocks OSU out of the B1G title game by beating them in the last game? Michigan finishes 10-2 (plus B1G Championship Game), OSU finishes 11-2, no B1G in the Playoff.

or

2) Michigan beats WIS, but loses all rivalry games again to PSU, MSU, and OSU. They finish 8-4, but OSU is 13-0 and the likely #2 behind Bama in the Playoff. ND plays OSU in the CFP Semis.

I like 1) because that means ND is probably the #3 seed in the CFP and matched up against an unbeaten Oklahoma, Clemson, or a 1-loss Georgia team. I really don't want to face Bama in the Semis.

I'm truly torn. My pure, unending hatred for Michigan makes me lean towards scenario #2. But, 1 would be more ideal for ND to have a shot at making the championship.

Why can't Rutgers and Illinois just win out and play for the B1G championship? One can dream....

 

[Veritate Duce Progredi]

Any scenario where ND is a 2 or 3 seed and Bama is #1 is fine by me. I just want them to have another opportunity to fail/stutter and I don't want Saban to have a full month to scheme on us.

One week is enough.

 

[Irish YJ]

I'll take anyone not Bama... Just like VDP said, Saban having a month is bad news. Give me Clemson, UGA, OK, or OSU in that order.

 

[Blazers46]

Any scenario where ND is a 2 or 3 seed and Bama is #1 is fine by me. I just want them to have another opportunity to fail/stutter and I don't want Saban to have a full month to scheme on us.

One week is enough.

I think Alabama and Saban would overlook us and it would be a true trap game for them.

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

I think Alabama and Saban would overlook us and it would be a true trap game for them.

I was listening to "Off Campus" on the way home on ESPNU Radio, hosted by Mark Packer (he's terrific, btw. One of my favorite college football hosts), and he was literally laughing on air at some college football pundits calling Bama's upcoming game against Arkansas a "trap game".

They are 1-4 with losses to Co. State and N. Texas (Blown OUT). Bama could literally roll out their second stringers and probably win this game.

Huge rebuild in Little Rock for Chad Morris.

 

[irishog77]

I was listening to "Off Campus" on the way home on ESPNU Radio, hosted by Mark Packer (he's terrific, btw. One of my favorite college football hosts), and he was literally laughing on air at some college football pundits calling Bama's upcoming game against Arkansas a "trap game".

They are 1-4 with losses to Co. State and N. Texas (Blown OUT). Bama could literally roll out their second stringers and probably win this game.

Huge rebuild in Little Rock for Chad Morris.

An even tougher job in Little Rock for Morris since his team is about 2 1/2 hours away in Fayetteville.

:smilewink

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

An even tougher job in Little Rock for Morris since his team is about 2 1/2 hours away in Fayetteville.

:smilewink

haha duhhhhhh. I can't believe I screwed that up.

I just finished season two of Ozark on Netflix and they brought up Little Rock a couple times, must have been on my mind. (Selling excuses over here, who's buying?!)

 

[BGIF]

I was listening to "Off Campus" on the way home on ESPNU Radio, hosted by Mark Packer (he's terrific, btw. One of my favorite college football hosts), and he was literally laughing on air at some college football pundits calling Bama's upcoming game against Arkansas a "trap game".

They are 1-4 with losses to Co. State and N. Texas (Blown OUT). Bama could literally roll out their second stringers and probably win this game.

Huge rebuild in Little Rock for Chad Morris.

An even tougher job in Little Rock for Morris since his team is about 2 1/2 hours away in Fayetteville.

:smilewink

haha duhhhhhh. I can't believe I screwed that up.

I just finished season two of Ozark on Netflix and they brought up Little Rock a couple times, must have been on my mind. (Selling excuses over here, who's buying?!)

Possibly because ARK plays occasional games in Little Rock. They play Mississippi there on Oct 13th.

Could be a Stealth Rebuilding Program (Little Rock's where the Legislator's and the funds are.) They are in the SEC now, where you're not cheatin' unless you get caught.

 

[BGIF]

Tomorrow's Top 25 Today: Florida beating LSU makes it tough to sort college football rankings
Projecting the many changes in the new AP Top 25 poll college football rankings after Week 5
Chip Patterson 1h ago

...

Here's how we think the new AP Top 25 will look on Sunday:

1. Alabama (Last week: 1): Nick Saban collected plenty of tape he can use to chew into his defense this week, but the rest of us recognize that there's no in the country playing on Alabama's level right now.

2. Georgia (2): Saturday night was showing off Georgia's many weapons. Jake Fromm connected with three different receivers for scores and the Bulldogs rolled up more than 550 yards of offense while running away from Vanderbilt in a 41-13 win.

3. Ohio State (3): No letdown for Ohio State. Indiana was able to push, but not stop the Buckeyes. It wasn't the best performance for the defense, but as long as Dwayne Haskins keeps putting up big numbers there's no reason to doubt Ohio State as one of the best teams in the country.

4. Clemson (4): Trevor Lawrence is back, looking sharp and leading Clemson's offense in the right direction after a scare last week against Syracuse. The biggest storyline coming out of the game though wasn't Lawrence as much as Travis Etienne continuing to be a game-breaking running back. In his last four games, Etienne has rushed for 162, 122, 203 and 167 yards.

5. Notre Dame (6): If Notre Dame runs the table and goes 12-0, it will be in the College Football Playoff. Saturday night was a huge hurdle in that effort, getting in and out of Blacksburg, Virginia, healthy and victorious.

6. West Virginia (9): We won't spend much time looking back on West Virginia's performance against Kansas, but the coaching staff will, and I expect the Mountaineers to look much tighter when they return to action next week in Ames, Iowa, against Iowa State. If not, they'll be on upset alert quickly.

7. Washington (10): UCLA brought the fight to Washington but had no answer for the Huskies' reliable ground game. One of the two biggest Pac-12 games on Washington's schedule comes up next week with a trip to Eugene to play Oregon.

8. Penn State (11): The Nittany Lions were off in Week 6.

9. UCF (12): The thing that held UCF back in last year's playoff run was starting so low in the rankings. We're still a couple weeks from the first College Football Playoff Rankings, and the Knights are already set to break into the top 10 here.

10. Michigan (15): It seems like Shea Patterson is starting to get comfortable in Michigan's offense, and nothing points that more than the balance and third down efficiency (9 for 13) shown in the 42-21 win against Maryland. Patterson's 288-yard passing total was a season high, and while there was an interceptions he finished the game averaging an impressive 10.5 yards per passing attempt.

11. Texas (19): The steps forward that this Longhorns team has made since the loss to Maryland in Week 1 will allow voters to look past that result in sliding Texas right up the ballot. Tom Herman's team is in the driver's seat to make an appearance in the Big 12 title game, so it's ranking will likely reflect that after beating Oklahoma.

12. Oklahoma (7): Brutal loss for the Sooners, who now could hit November needing to run the table in order to even make the Big 12 championship game.

13. Stanford (14): The Cardinal are currently in action action against Utah, trailing in the first half. (BGIF Note: Stanford whipped 40-21, again without Love. Big drop tomorrow.)

14. Wisconsin (16): We could see Wisconsin make a bigger jump up, depending on how badly the team is still being penalized for that BYU loss. For now, we'll assume that a one-loss Oklahoma gets ranked ahead of a one-loss Badgers team and Texas' jump really might put the Longhorns -- not Wisconsin -- on the edge of the top 10.

15. Florida (22): A top-five win has brought the Gators back into the SEC East title race, and it's going to spark what we assume will be one of the bigger jumps in the polls. Where and how Florida is related to Kentucky will differ from ballot to ballot, but that head-to-head result is probably going to cap the rise at some point.

16. LSU (5): The win at Auburn was huge in the context of the SEC West title race, but it's losing its shine for AP voters considering profiles. Losses for both teams in the same week probably lead to an even bigger drop from LSU, settling between the Gators and the Hurricanes.

17. Miami (17): While Miami fans get to celebrate its first home win against Florida State in more than a decade, the voters won't give the Hurricanes a huge boost in the polls for the win. The best chance Miami has for making moves up the poll will be rolling up some style points in its next couple ACC games.

18. Oregon (18): The Ducks were off in Week 6, back in action in Week 7 with a huge game against Washington.

19. Kentucky (13): It almost broke all the way for Kentucky, and after the scoop-and-score game-tying touchdown, there was a feeling of inevitability. But credit Texas A&M's defense for coming up with some huge plays behind the line of scrimmage in crunch time, getting the game to overtime so Kellen Mond could ice the win.

20. Colorado (21): Laviska Shenault is building a case as the best wide receiver in the country, and now that the Buffs are 5-0 it's time to start taking them seriously as a primary candidate to win the Pac-12 South. Shenault totaled 127 receiving yards and scored four times (two rushing, two receiving) in one of the most competitive games of the day, a 28-21 win against Arizona State.

21. NC State (23): It's time to consider that NC State has an argument as the second-best team in the ACC, and by beating Boston College it has set itself up for a winner-take-all scenario against Clemson later this month with the ACC Atlantic Division on the line. A head-to-head win in Death Valley would give Dave Doeren's team an in-road to the program's first ACC Championship Game appearance.

22. Auburn (8): A season opening win against Washington is going to be the anchor that keeps Auburn in the rankings. The bigger concern is the product on the field, not the standing in the rankings, as the Tigers are just simply not consistent enough at this point of the year to overcome adversity when they get bad breaks -- and there were plenty on Saturday night in Starkville, Mississippi.

23. South Florida (NR): Undefeated, barely, after a shootout win against UMass, USF is set to make its 2018 poll debut after 302 rushing yards and three touchdowns from Jordan Cronkite.

24. Texas A&M (NR): Gritty win against Kentucky probably gives the Aggies a boost into the bottom of the top 25 as one of only two two-loss teams in the rankings.

25. Cincinnati (NR): Will Iowa get this spot instead of the undefeated Bearcats? Cincinnati deserves some consideration as one of 11 unbeaten teams left at the end of Week 6, though only a few points separated them from the Hawkeyes in last week's balloting and Iowa went on the road with a high-scoring win at Minnesota.

Projected to drop out: Michigan State (20), Virginia Tech (24), Oklahoma State (25)

 

[BGIF]

ESPN's Computer predicates ND and Clemson with 3rd best shot at getting into the 4 team Playoffs.

 

[Ultimate Penn St. Hater]

Too bad we don't play Clemson this season. We'd beat them. Go Irish!

 

[wizards8507]

 

[arrowryan]

The first playoff rankings come out this week, right?

 

[SouthSideChiDomer]

The first playoff rankings come out this week, right?

I'm pretty sure they come out the tuesday after our bye week.

Edit: Actually after Navy. From the CFP website:

The dates for the fall of 2018 are as follows:
Tuesday, October 30
Tuesday, November 6
Tuesday, November 13
Tuesday, November 20
Tuesday, November 27
Sunday, December 2 (Selection Day and Playoff Semifinal teams announced)

 

[wizards8507]

#4 from Palmer.

 

[fightingirish26]

Think we have to win out to get in the playoff. Our SOS isn't gonna be strong enough otherwise.

 

[Irish YJ]

#4 from Palmer.

and also on "the board" at #5 from Joey.

Think we have to win out to get in the playoff. Our SOS isn't gonna be strong enough otherwise.

depends how things shake out. Let's assume Bama, OSU, and Clemson are all undefeated, and ND has one close loss @USC.

UGA could easily lose next weekend @LSU, or in Jacksonville vs FL, or even @KY. If not, and a one loss UGA (assuming they lose to Bama in the CC) likely gets in at number 4 over ND.... They are the biggest potential fly in the ointment for ND IMO.

Big 12 - We'd be F'd with one loss if WV wins out, but that's unlikely. A one loss WV, OK, or TX would make it very interesting. Too many scenarios to think of here with their silly conference championship setup.

UCF is really interesting. They are currently 12th. Last year the same time, they were just entering the polls at #25. If they run the table, and beat potentially ranked teams of Cinci, USF, and Houston.... they will be right there. The committee would have a hard time keeping a perfect UCF out given what they did last year.

Washington is IMO the other potential spoiler. If they run the table, beating USC (the team that would have beat us) in the CC, they'd get the nod...

Lots of games to play. Fun to think about all the possibilities, but we just need to keep getting better, and win out.

 

[IrishLax]

Think we have to win out to get in the playoff. Our SOS isn't gonna be strong enough otherwise.

Agreed, only path in is 12-0.

 

[wizards8507]

Agreed, only path in is 12-0.

Disagree. Big 12 and Pac 12 champions might have two losses each. Alabama might be the only team to make it out of the SEC without two losses. If Michigan wins the Big 10, we could be 11-1 and even get the 3 seed.

Obviously 12-0 is the easier path.

 

[Irish Insanity]

Yahoo has us rated as #3 best undefeated team. Behind Alabama and Georgia

 

[Irish YJ]

Disagree. Big 12 and Pac 12 champions might have two losses each. Alabama might beat Georgia twice while handing the rest of the SEC West an additional loss. If Michigan wins the Big 10, we could be 11-1 and even get the 3 seed.

Obviously 12-0 is the easier path.

How does Bama beat UGA twice? Assume you're not talking about the playoffs.