Couple of Alabama Football thoughts on Josh Pate's Top 25 Power Ratings

The preseason JP Poll is out and Josh Pate has Alabama Football at No. 5 in the Power Ratings. Pate goes into detail to explain the Power Ratings are not rankings. His full explanation and more is provided in a video below.

The Late Kick Podcast has a ratings model that includes every player on every FBS team. It can measure favorites if two teams were to meet on a neutral field. For example, the model shows the Georgia Bulldogs (now, not in September or December) are seven points better than Alabama Football on a neutral field. More on that below. First, take time to look at the JP Poll.

For those who can't see the bottom row and don't want to click on the tweet; No. 21 - Florida Gators; No. 22 -Iowa Hawkeyes; No. 23 - Oklahoma State Cowboys; No. 24 - Wisconsin Badgers; No. 25 - Iowa State Cyclones.

In the video, Pate explains why the model has the Florida Gators at No. 21 when many oddsmakers project the Gators will lose four or five games. If you skip the video, the most interesting comment Pate made about the Gators was, according to the model, Florida would be a team good enough to win the Big 12 and the ACC.

Pate's Power Ratings will spark considerable debate. There will be another ratings update before the season starts, followed by an every Tuesday night update during the season. Like most computer models, each week's added data will improve the accuracy.

Pate's Power Ratings - Alabama Football and Georgia

I'll offer some not-completely random thoughts of what Pate's ratings could mean for the Crimson Tide and the Bulldogs. An obvious one is seven points better on a neutral field is not seven points better at Bryant-Denny. Yes, in September it would be illogical to make Georgia the favorite. But Bryant-Denny is probably worth 3.5 points, making it a game that Alabama could win.

Some college football writers project the Georgia game as one of Alabama's three most important games in the regular season. I disagree; losing to Georgia in September will do nothing to remove Alabama from Playoff contention. More important games are at LSU, at Tennessee, Missouri, at Wisconsin, and at Oklahoma.

In December a possible Georgia rematch in Atlanta could become Alabama's most important, Playoff-qualification game. I have a strong hunch that in the second half of the regular season the Crimson Tide will improve more than the Bulldogs. The rebuilt defense will have learned how to play together. Any learning curve in the wide receiver group will have been surpassed. The full Kalen DeBoer- Alabama offense can operate, at or near its potential. By December, Alabama could not only be better than Georgia, but it could also be the nation's best team.