Why the SEC can't take much pleasure from preseason US LBM Coaches Poll rankings
The SEC buried the Big Ten in the US LBM Coaches Poll. Nine SEC teams are ranked, including No. 1 Texas, compared to six ranked teams from the Big Ten. Fire up the preseason chants of superiority, but that will mean squat come College Football Playoff selection time.
In fact, the SEC's poll takeover could be a sign of a playoff path filled with landmines, while Big Ten front-runners Ohio State, Penn State, Oregon and Illinois enjoy cleaner routes to the postseason.
On this edition of "SEC Football Unfiltered," a podcast from the USA TODAY Network, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams react to the SEC's poll blitz and explain why this should be viewed cautiously for the conference's playoff contenders.
They also point to two overrated SEC teams, plus an unranked team that they'd place in the Top 25.
Should the SEC feel good about having nine ranked teams?
Toppmeyer: Well, it means the SEC is at no shortage of playoff hopefuls. In addition to the SEC's nine ranked teams, the top two vote-getters outside the Top 25 also hail from the SEC. That's 11 teams within the top 27. And yet, the SEC also had nine teams ranked in last year's preseason poll, but only three made the playoff, while the Big Ten led all conferences with four qualifiers and produced the national champion for the second consecutive season. The Big Ten's cream is as sweet as the SEC's, and that's what matters most come playoff selection time. Who's got the best teams at the top?
Consider the schedule for No. 17 Florida. I'm sure the Gators enjoy being ranked. It's a credit to how they finished last season playing well, and they return quarterback DJ Lagway. But, the Gators will play seven teams ranked in the preseason poll. A few SEC teams drew favorable schedules, but others like Florida might wish for more weak links within the conference.
Ultimately, I don't think the SEC having more ranked teams in the preseason gives the conference any better chance of producing more playoff qualifiers than the Big Ten.
Adams: It's easier to make the playoff from the Big Ten than the SEC. Just ask Indiana. This preseason poll reflects the difficulty most SEC teams can expect to encounter throughout the conference schedule. And if the committee doesn't change its tune on three-loss teams (none were selected last season), I'm not sure that it's any great advantage to have nine ranked teams from one conference.
The SEC's addition of Texas and Oklahoma and elimination of divisions seems like a great formula for producing an abundance of 9-3 and 8-4 teams. That's not a great formula for the 12-team playoff.
Where to listen to SEC Football Unfiltered
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Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's national college football columnist. John Adams is the senior sports columnist for the Knoxville News Sentinel. Subscribe to the SEC Football Unfiltered podcast, and check out the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.
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