While Nick Saban and Lane Kiffin might cringe at the thought of “rat poison,” we embrace it. After all, it gives us something juicy to talk about as we countdown to the college football season in two weeks. The AP Preseason Poll dropped on Monday, and—surprise, surprise, —Georgia and the SEC have targets on their backs heading into the 2024 season. So, grab your popcorn and that rat poison because while coaches sweat over players reading their headlines, fans are busy bragging about how their conferences are just built differently. It’s what makes college football so entertaining. And if the ACC can boast about all those Olympic medals (RIP Pac-12), we’re here to stir the pot by diving into the AP Preseason Poll, SEC-style.
Georgia and SEC Lead the Pack in AP Preseason Poll
SEC Top 10
- #1 Georgia: The preseason accolades continue to shower Athens and the Dawgs. Georgia received the most first-place votes, 46.
- #4 Texas: The Longhorns might be back, at least according to the polls. Texas suffered a setback last week when running back Christian Clark was lost for the season with a lower-body injury.
- #5 Alabama: Expectations remain high in Tuscaloosa, with Kalen DeBoer starting year one. VernFunquistCFB had a fun stat on Twitter this week. The Tide quarterback is undefeated against the SEC teams in conference games. This, of course, excludes the loss to Texas last year in Austin. The Longhorns were part of the Big 12 last year.
- #6 Ole Miss: At SEC Media Days, Kiffin warned against preseason polls, saying, “I would remind them that it’s rat poison.” He added, “But I’d also remind them that there’s some fat guy in underwear making these rankings up.” However, The AP voters didn’t seem too offended by his comments.
SEC 11-25
- #11 Missouri: A tale of two Tigers with the next two rankings. The Columbia Tigers will be lurking for an at-large playoff spot in 2024. Excited to capitalize on their success in 2023.
- #13 LSU: Are the Bayeux Tigers only the sixth-best team in the SEC? Brian Kelly could be in a playoff-or-bust scenario in Baton Rouge.
- #15 Tennessee: The Volunteers have Alabama at home and head to Oklahoma and Georgia on the road. If they can split those road matchups, they can put themselves in position for a playoff spot.
- #16 Oklahoma: Welcome to your new home. The Sooners are used to being at the top of their conference and competing for championships. They are now the eighth-best team heading into 2024. Let’s hope they are not Nebraska 2.0.
- #20 Texas A&M: What is happening with the running backs in Texas? The Aggies also lost their top running back, Rueben Owens, to a lower-body injury. Kyle Field will be rocking in two weeks when the 12th Man welcomes the Irish to start the season.
Kentucky and Auburn were the only other SEC teams to receive votes.
AP Preseason Poll by the Numbers: the other guys
- 6: number of Big Ten teams in the Top 25. Ohio State (2) and (Oregon (3) are the favorites to spoil the SEC’s party in 2024. Penn State (8) and Michigan (9) are the only other teams in the Top 10. USC (23) and Iowa (25) are raising the rear.
- 5: Maybe Brett Yormark was onto something about the Big 12 being the third-best conference. While the Big 12 didn’t have anyone in the Top 10, they were able to lock out five spots between 11 and 25: Utah (12), Oklahoma State (17), Kansas State (18), Arizona (21), and Kansas (22).
- 4: number of ACC teams in the Top 25. Unlike the Coach’s Poll last week, Florida State (10) snuck into the Top 10. The poll does demonstrate the lack of (perceived) top-end talent in the conference with Clemson (14), Miami (19), and North Carolina State (24).
- 0: still no love for the Group of 5. Boise St., Liberty, Memphis, UTSA, Tulane 5, and Appalachian St. all found themselves in the “receiving votes” category.
College Football Playoff: AP Preseason Poll Edition
Let’s add to the rat poison by looking at what the College Football Playoff would look like based on the AP Preseason Poll.
Conference Champions and first-round byes:
- #1 SEC: Georgia
- #2 Big Ten: Ohio State
- #3 ACC: Florida State
- #4 Big 12: Utah
First-Round Matchups: Remember, these will be played as home games.
#5 Oregon vs. #12 Boise State*
Boise State earns the other automatic bid as the highest-ranked Group of 5 champions. It’s a school West Coast matchup at Autzen. Would the Broncos have a few tricks up their sleeve to ruin Lanning’s cigar celebration?
#6 Texas vs. #11 Michigan
We will see this matchup in Week 2 in Ann Arbor. This one heads to Austin.
#7 Alabama vs. #10 Penn State
It’s an old-school helmet game. Alabama with the numbers. Penn State with the stripe. Even James Franklin finds himself in a playoff!
#8 Ole Miss vs. #9 Notre Dame
Alright, alright, Alright. Why were we worried about expanding the playoffs? These matchups are going to be fantastic!
