It's a tradition unlike any other.Voters from across the country — some of whom have no clue about teams in other regions, no matter how much research they do — release their rankings for the college football world to argue about for the next few weeks leading up to Labor Day weekend.This is also the time of year when local sports talk radio shows flourish, inciting near-riots over how their team was shafted compared to others within their own conference.It’s a gold mine of radio segments that will pass the time until an actual ball is kicked off.2025 AP Top 25 Poll Shake-Up: Ohio State Takes No.
1, Alabama Tumbles After Florida State LossBut I want you to remember something while you’re digesting the initial 2026 rankings: Twelve teams ranked in the preseason AP Top 25 last season finished outside the poll when the 2025 season concluded.Those teams included:COLLEGE FOOTBALL IS FINALLY BACK AFTER MONTHS OF NCAA LAWSUITS, NIL DRAMA AND CONGRESSIONAL FIGHTSMeaning: Don't freak out over where your team lands over the next month.How do you think Penn State, LSU and Clemson fans felt heading into the 2025 season compared to how it ended?Exactly.L-R: LSU president Wade Rousse, LSU new head coach Lane Kiffin and LSU athletic director Verge Ausberry stand together at South Stadium Club at Tiger Stadium.
(Matthew Hinton/Imagn Images)Ok, everyone hold your breath as you go through the list of teams who some voters across the country are expecting big things from over the next five months.Also, please don't forget that AP voters are spread out across the country, and obviously don't follow your favorite team closely on a daily basis.I would imagine a percentage of voters had to perform a good amount of research on who the starting quarterbacks were at some schools.Better yet, we have no idea who some of these teams will be rolling out as the week-one starter, and we still have at least one more scrimmage in Fall camp for a nice chunk of these programsWell, Clemson w...