It is never too early for Alabama football fans to pay attention to pre-season rankings. More than a few have already been published. A deep dive into three of the best-known sources reveals continued respect for the Alabama Crimson Tide and the SEC.
The SI.com, Sporting News and ESPN ‘way-too-earlies’ agree on the top three spots. In each ranking, Alabama Football is at No. 1, followed by Ohio State and the Georgia Bulldogs.
These and other pre-season rankings will change many times over the next seven-plus months. All three of the linked rankings are worth a read for the profiles provided on each team. The Transfer Portal will cause rising and falling expectations for many teams, but the three rankings provide a good starting point.
As a guide for analysis, the ranking below combines the three sources. In the process, teams were given 1-25 values based on each ranking. Alabama Football, picked at No. 1 by each source gave the Crimson Tide the maximum of 75 points. At the bottom end, South Carolina, picked at No. 25 by just one ranking, gained a total of one point.
Based on these early rankings, much of the college football world’s hate for the SEC will grow. Ten SEC teams were ranked in the Top 25, by at least one rankings source.
Alabama Football is the ‘Way-Too-Early’ Leader
- Alabama Crimson Tide; Highest Ranking No. 1 – 75 points
- Ohio State Buckeyes; Highest Ranking No. 2 – 72 points
- Georgia Bulldogs; Highest Ranking No. 3 – 69 points
- Texas A&M Aggies; Highest Ranking No. 4 – 62 points
- Clemson Tigers; Highest Ranking No. 5 – 59 points
- Michigan Wolverines; Highest Ranking No. 5 – 59 points
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish; Highest Ranking No. 5 – 58 points
- Utah Utes; Highest Ranking No. 5 – 56 points
- Wake Forest Demon Deacons; Highest Ranking No. 8 – 45 points
- Baylor Bears; Highest Ranking No. 8 – 42 points
- Oklahoma State Cowboys; Highest Ranking No. No. 9 – 41 points
- Michigan State Spartans; Highest Ranking No. 10 – 40 points
- Oregon Ducks; Highest Ranking No. 9 – 37 points
- Arkansas Razorbacks; Highest Ranking No. 13 – 31 points
- Oklahoma Sooners; Highest Ranking No. 15 – 30 points
- North Carolina State Wolfpack; Highest Ranking No. 8 – 25 points
- Iowa Hawkeyes; Highest Ranking No. 15 – 24 points
- Kentucky Wildcats; Highest Ranking No. 12 – 24 points
- USC Trojans; Highest Ranking No. 13 – 22 points
- Cincinnati Bearcats; Highest Ranking No. 15 – 22 points
- Houston Cougars; Highest Ranking No. 13 – 21 points
- Wisconsin Badgers; Highest Ranking No. 18 – 11 points
- Tennessee Vols; Highest Ranking No. 16 – 10 points
- Ole Miss Rebels; Highest Ranking No. 19 – 10 points
- BYU Cougars; Highest Ranking No. 18 – 8 points
Other teams picked inside the Top 25 in at least one of the three rankings were Texas, Florida, LSU, Purdue, Pitt, Coastal Carolina and South Carolina.
As rated by the three rankings sources, the only SEC teams not included in a Top 25 were Missouri, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt and Auburn.