While the release of the AP Top-25 should be a reason to celebrate – since it signals the arrival of college football – it's had the opposite effect lately.Most of the consternation comes from fans who believe their favorite team or conference is being under-ranked or under-represented, so if that's your particular gripe, fear not.THE 5 MOST DISAPPOINTING PRESEASON TOP-10 COLLEGE FOOTBALL TEAMS OF THE 21ST CENTURYMany championship-winning teams over the past quarter century have found themselves ranked outside the top-10 of the inaugural AP Poll of any given season, and today I wanted to look at five notable examples from the turn of the 21st century.These are teams who defied the odds and turned what many thought would be a respectable season into an unforgettable one.Let's take a stroll down memory lane.Head coach Curt Cignetti of the Indiana Hoosiers hoists the George P.Crumbley Trophy after defeating the Oregon Ducks in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Jan.
9, 2026, in Atlanta, Ga.(Getty Images)We start this list off with a familiar face, as the most recent national champion is a prime example of shattering preseason expectations.Coming into last season, the idea was that the Indiana Hoosiers were able to catch a ton of teams by surprise while navigating an extremely friendly schedule in 2024 en route to a shocking Playoff appearance.Not many fans or media pundits were predicting a repeat of 2024 for Curt Cignetti and the Hoosiers, and they were right, in a way.Not only did the Hoosiers make it back to the College Football Playoff, they won the whole damn thing, doing so while playing an infinitely harder schedule.The Hoosiers' preseason ranking took many things into account: undermanned roster (at least as far as recruiting rankings are concerned), tougher schedule, and more, but they didn't know how much of a wizard Coach Cig would be.CURT CIGNETTI REVEALS HOW WORKING FOR NICK SABAN CHANGED ...