Coaches Poll is released

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/ncaaf/polls/

Washington ranked No. 25.

Preseason coaches poll is the most useless thing in sports.

Alabama is ranked #2 but had 0 first place votes. When was the last time a Saban team had zero first place votes?

Even though I don't think UW is going to be all that good, this ranking is probably fair as UW is very likely to win at least 8 games with the schedule they have.

SeatownJay":11ces7b7 said:

Preseason coaches poll is the most useless thing in sports.

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I think you always want to start as high in the polls as possible. The college football season is a horse-race and a team that goes 11-1 who started 5th in the polls will typically finish the year higher than an 11-1 team who started the year unranked. It also helps to beat teams that are ranked in the top 25 which is another area where initial rankings can factor.

Should be fun to watch Chris Peterson in his debut. Did good things at Boise St with a bunch of unheralded recruits. Should at least be able to give us something better than willingham and sark. Hopefully.

ASU ranked 18th? I guess that's on the strength of the QB play, the RB depth (looking forward to watching DJ Foster get more touches), and the WRs (let's draft Jaelen Strong!), but I have lots of trepidation about the secondary and the LBs. I think we'll be lucky to end up back at this position in the final Coaches' Poll.

Smelly McUgly":390nooje said:

ASU ranked 18th? I guess that's on the strength of the QB play, the RB depth (looking forward to watching DJ Foster get more touches), and the WRs (let's draft Jaelen Strong!), but I have lots of trepidation about the secondary and the LBs. I think we'll be lucky to end up back at this position in the final Coaches' Poll.

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I don't like Graham's carpet bagger ways, but he is one of the best coaches IMHO....

I wish they wouldn't put any polls out until several games into the season when they see how teams are actually playing.

I laughed at Oklahoma.

sc85sis":3uh5dy1c said:

I wish they wouldn't put any polls out until several games into the season when they see how teams are actually playing.

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This. Polls are meaningless popularity contests until at least 3-4 weeks into the season. And by then the popular teams with weak non-conference schedules have cemented their place in the top.

As Kearly stated, preseason polls are not totally meaningless as they affect a team's ranking throughout the year. That Washington started the year ranked means they will likely stay ranked through the first four games when they face their paltry competition. They may even stay ranked after a loss to Stanford because many ranked teams will have at least one loss by that time.

The_Z_Man":1l5ytnv1 said:

kearly":1l5ytnv1 said:

Even though I don't think UW is going to be all that good, this ranking is probably fair as UW is very likely to win at least 8 games with the schedule they have.

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I have a hella good vibe about the Huskies this year. That D line is ferocious -- and Peterson always gets his guys to play a bit above their ability as much as Sark had them always playing below their ability as far actually winning games.

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Husky fans say this same thing year in and year out.