3 fascinating observations from the Coaches Poll

The 2024 college football season is approaching rapidly, with many sparks of excitement throughout the country. Just ahead of the official AP preseason poll, we were brought upon the inner minds of the coaches.

Each year the annual “Coaches Poll” is released to give fans an early glimpse into what the rankings should look like.

As always, this poll ignited fans across the country into a variety of emotions – outrage, excitement, and every other mixed emotion you could think of. It is the beauty behind college sports that stirs the pot, and now we finally have something controversial to talk about. 

Here is to a new college football season on the horizon; along with some observations about this year’s Coaches Poll. 

Georgia leads the way Over Ohio State/Others

We are starting off hot with this one. Frankly, this ranking is more intriguing than shocking. As expected, the four highest-ranked teams were Georgia, Ohio State, Oregon, and Texas.

As the consensus four best teams, there was no doubt they would top the rankings. However, the way teams would shape up was unknown.

Of these four teams, one was featured in last year’s College Football Playoff. That was the Texas Longhorns.

Their placement as the fourth seed is not quite surprising considering the damage Oregon did during the offseason. From the talent retained and acquired, the sky is the limit for the Ducks in 2024. So I would give Oregon the edge there strictly because of their potential. 

Ultimately, where Georgia and Ohio State fell was a coin toss. Georgia topped the Buckeyes with 46 total first-place bids, in addition to 1,364 total voting points.

Ohio State received 7 first-place bids with 1,302 points. It will certainly be fascinating to see where these two teams fall in the AP Poll, but for now, the Dawgs are seen as the best team. 

Washington unranked 

The Washington Huskies, the same team that was playing for a National Championship last season, is the same team that is now unranked? Wow. Before we start the outrage among Huskie fans, let’s just set the record straight. 

Washington essentially went through a major rebrand. Everything is different. Kalen DeBeor is now the head coach of Alabama, Michael Penix and all past key weapons are in the NFL, and their once PAC-12 Conference has crumbled. So yes, it is a total unfamiliarity in Seattle. 

However, it is still slightly unforeseen to have the Huskies completely unranked. Set aside all the players lost and gained through the offseason. Many will remember the incredible year TCU had in 2022.

It was a Cinderella story that no one saw coming. In the end, it led to a major beat down by the Georgia Bulldogs, where the Hornfrogs lost 65-7 in the National Championship. Everyone knew TCU lost much following this season, and probably would not be ranked within a few weeks.

Out of respect, the Hornfrogs deserved to be ranked and have some recognition for possibly going back to the Playoffs, even though it was improbable. 

I feel as if the Huskies deserve that sign of respect, especially from the coaches. It is not easy to rebuild a Championship-level roster from the season before.

Ultimately, Washington has done a pretty good job rejuvenating their roster. Washington acquired Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch, and he brought his luggage. Along with that, the Huskies brought in Will Rogers from Mississippi State who is set to fill the void of Michael Penix. 

Washington just barely missed the poll as they received 123 votes which is good for 26th. Iowa finished ahead with 148 votes to finish 25th. I have a hard time seeing Washington unranked in the AP Poll, but if anything, this is just more motivation for Coach Fisch and his squad.

Big 12 representation

Just to reiterate, these rankings do not mean much but serve as a good standpoint for future expectations. As usual, the BIG-10 and SEC were certainly well represented. 15 out of the 25 teams were from these two conferences, which left me wondering, what about the Big 12? 

After a quick glance, it was apparent that the Big 12 was well-represented. And before you ask, Colorado was not one of the featured teams in the rankings.

Instead, five other teams from the conference were included: Utah, K-State, Oklahoma State, Arizona, and Kansas. The Utah Utes topped the rest landing the 13th rank, followed by K-State at 17, Oklahoma State at 18, Arizona at 21, and Kansas at 24. 

There were a few things that stuck out to me. Firstly, the consistency of this re-formed conference was present.

Following the collapse of the PAC-12, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and Arizona State all joined the Big 12. Seemingly this move only benefited the conference as two of their five ranked teams were from a different conference last season.

Across the board, this is a pretty ideal start for the Big 12. None of these teams have extraordinary expectations ahead of the 2024 season, and realistically I could see any of these five teams marching their way into the newly expanded CFP.

If the AP Poll were to look anything like this, I would expect to see some of these teams climb the ranks a few weeks into the season. 

I also could not help but notice how low the Arizona Wildcats were. Now, I am not going to argue that Arizona should be much higher, or debate teams, but I do think 21 is low for a team as talented as the Wildcats.

This team was a bit reshaped from last year but with two of the best offensive weapons along with a solid team all-around squad; I find potential to be immense.

It’s hard to make an argument to put Arizona much higher given that we have seen no games thus far, but I do believe Arizona should be above their fellow conference-mates including K-State and Oklahoma State, considering the way last season went.

Regardless, it is beneficial for college football to have the conferences diversely showcased. Ultimately, one of these teams should be a contender come late December and likewise, it is important to shine a light on the Big 12 team’s potential.

Additionally, the ACC charted four teams in this poll including the likes of Florida State (10), Clemson (14), Miami (19), and NC State (22). 

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