Only 11 teams that were in the Preseason AP Top 25 are still in the poll in Week 8.

Parity has hit college football this season like a Malcolm Rodriguez double-leg scoop and drive, something that even a few of the nation’s blue bloods couldn’t avoid. Let’s take a look at the havoc.

*Coastal Carolina played its Week 8 game Wednesday night, a 30-27 loss to Appalachian State. It was the CCU’s first loss of the season.

It’s a warzone.

Even with Trevor Lawrence heading to the NFL, it would have been difficult to predict Clemson starting the season 2-2. But there were some predictable crumbles. One being, how the heck were five Pac-12 schools ranked. Oregon is all that remains in the Week 8 rendition of the poll.

Miami entered the season off a Cheez-It Bowl loss to Oklahoma State yet somehow got some Top 15 love while OSU was the first team out of the poll. The Cheez-It Bowl’s most recent loser has beaten Appalachian State (by 2 points) and Central Connecticut State. I imagine the green and orange U on their helmet played a big part in the Hurricane’s preseason ranking.

The Big 12 can’t escape the helmet sticker love, though. After bringing in a new coach and a new quarterback (two new quarterbacks) the Longhorns still got their token preseason ranking.

Yet still, despite being a national media punching bag, the Big 12 doesn’t look the worst when it comes to this bit of hindsight. Here is the combined record for teams in the Preseason AP Poll by Power Five conference:

Big 12 — 15-5, (.750)
SEC — 26-9, (.742)
Big Ten — 21-10, (.677)
Pac-12 — 19-12, (.613)
ACC — 10-9, (.526)

There are a lot of conclusions you could jump to off those numbers, but the myriad variables that go into it probably make some of those conclusions unfair. But man, the ACC sure seems pointless without a dominant Clemson. Now Wake Forest is carrying the ACC’s banner at 6-0. Shoutout to the Demon Deacons, but I’m not entirely sure a casual fan even knows what conference Wake is in.

Mike Gundy has said all along that polls probably shouldn’t start coming out until October. He said he understands they give people something to talk about, but his viewpoint makes sense.

It puts a further divide between the blue bloods and those aspiring to be nationally relevant. In the Week 8 poll, one-loss Baylor is parked behind two-loss Texas A&M and two-loss Auburn. Baylor’s one loss was on the road against the team ranked eighth in the current poll, and the Bears have beaten two Top 25 teams. How does this happen? A&M was sixth in the preseason poll. Auburn was receiving votes in it.

It’s a systemic ordeal in college football that won’t ever be amended. It also plays a part in making the sport great, being able to get behind a plucky underdog that isn’t getting the respect it warrants. But, man is it sure a good time to poke fun at the process with the benefit of hindsight every once and a while.

The post Revisionist History: Let’s Look at Overhyped Preseason Teams appeared first on Pistols Firing.