Category: AP Poll

What will the 2022 preseason AP Poll potentially be? It’s our predicted best guess on the early college football rankings, changed up after the preseason Coaches Poll was released.

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The AP preseason college football poll has been an annual part of the preseason hype since 1950. It sets the tone for the season, cranks up the expectations for the top teams, and it gives fan bases something to chirp about – or get mad at.

So what will the AP rankings potentially look like? We did this exercise a few weeks ago, and then the 2022 Coaches Poll came out. Most of the AP types got their rankings in before last week, but it should still come in relatively close to the Coaches Poll pin.

Last year, both the AP and Coaches had Alabama No. 1 in their respective preseason polls. They both had Ohio State 4, Georgia 5, Texas A&M 6, and they both had the same teams in the top ten, but in different orders.

They both whiffed on Michigan – unranked in both polls – and they both overloved, Miami, LSU, Indiana, Penn State, Washington, and Texas.

The AP ranked Utah (24) and Arizona State (25), and the Coaches ranked Oklahoma State (22), and Ole Miss (25). Other than those, they had the same 23 ranked in some configuration.

With all of that in mind, we’re not going to change this too much, but there’s some tweaking to do. One quick prediction note – don’t be shocked if Ohio State is closer to No. 1. Alabama got 1634 points, the Buckeyes 1564.

Below is NOT the actual 2022 Preseason AP Poll – it’s our prediction and projection of what it might be before its release on Monday.

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AP Preseason Poll All-Time Rankings
1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s
All-Time Preseason AP Rankings

2022 Preseason AP Poll Prediction: Post Coaches Poll

Click each team for the CFN 2022 preview. 
Number in parentheses is where each team finished in final 2021 AP rankings, and number in bold is where each team is ranked in the 2022 Preseason Coaches Poll.

Predicted Preseason AP Poll Also Receiving Votes: Arkansas, Tennessee, Penn State, LSU, BYU, North Carolina, Auburn, UCLA, Boise State, Minnesota, San Diego State, Army, Mississippi State, Fresno State, Florida, UCF, Appalachian State, Utah State, South Carolina, Kansas State, Air Force, Purdue

– CFN Preseason Rankings 1-131

25 Houston Cougars (21, 25)

24 Iowa Hawkeyes (23, NR)

23 Cincinnati Bearcats (NR, 23)

22 Wake Forest Demon Deacons (15, 19)

21 Ole Miss Rebels (11, 24)

20 Miami Hurricanes (NR, 17)

19 Pitt Panthers (13, 16)

18 Kentucky Wildcats (18, 21)

17 Texas Longhorns (NR, 18)

16 Wisconsin Badgers (NR, 20)

15 NC State Wolfpack (20, 13)

14 Oregon Ducks (22, 12)

13 Oklahoma State Cowboys (7, 11)

12 Michigan State Spartans (9, 14)

11 Baylor Bears (5, 10)

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10 USC Trojans (NR, 15)

9 Utah Utes (12, 8)

8 Oklahoma Sooners (10, 9)

7 Texas A&M Aggies (NR, 7)

6 Michigan Wolverines (3, 6)

5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (8, 5)

4 Clemson Tigers (14, 4)

3 Georgia Bulldogs (1, 3)

2 Ohio State Buckeyes (6, 2)

1 Alabama Crimson Tide (2, 1)

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All-Time Coaches Poll Rankings
AP All-Time Rankings

What will the 2022 preseason AP Poll potentially look like? It’s our predicted best guess on the early college football rankings.

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The AP poll is the longest running college football measuring stick going, and it’s still – along with the USA TODAY Coaches Poll – a great indication of how the top teams are viewed and where the expectations are set.

Lately the preseason poll pretty much mirrors the Coaches version, but there are always a few tweaks and differences with a few more non-traditional teams getting a little more love – last year’s had Cincinnati and Coastal Carolina higher than the Coaches Poll did.

This year isn’t going to be quite as crazy as last year coming off the strange 2020, but this season there should be a whole lot of differences from the Coaches Poll with so many questions outside of the top five.

The 2021 Preseason AP Poll had Alabama No. 1, Oklahoma No. 2, Clemson No. 3, Ohio State No. 4. Eventual national champion Georgia came in at 5, Cincinnati was 8, and Michigan was stuck in the Also Receiving Votes abyss.

Below is NOT the actual 2022 Preseason AP Poll – it’s our prediction and projection of what it might be before its release in mid-August.

AP Preseason Poll All-Time Rankings
1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s
All-Time Preseason AP Rankings

2022 Preseason AP Poll Prediction

Click each team for the CFN 2022 preview. Number in parentheses is where each team finished in final 2021 rankings.

Predicted Preseason AP Poll Also Receiving Votes: Wake Forest, Wisconsin, Cincinnati, Pitt, North Carolina, UCLA, Purdue, Boise State, Minnesota, San Diego State, Army, LSU, Miami, UCF, South Carolina

25 Penn State Nittany Lions (NR)

24 Florida Gators (NR)

23 Kentucky Wildcats (18)

22 BYU Cougars (19)

21 Texas Longhorns (NR)

– 2022 CFN College Football Preview of Every Team

20 Tennessee Volunteers (NR)

19 Baylor Bears (5)

18 Iowa Hawkeyes (23)

17 Houston Cougars (21)

16 Arkansas Razorbacks (20)

– USA TODAY Coaches Poll Preseason Prediction

15 Utah Utes (12)

14 Oregon Ducks (22)

13 NC State Wolfpack (20)

12 Ole Miss Rebels (11)

11 Oklahoma Sooners (10)

10 Oklahoma State Cowboys (7)

9 Michigan State Spartans (9)

8 USC Trojans (NR)

7 Texas A&M Aggies (NR)

6 Michigan Wolverines (3)

5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (8)

4 Clemson Tigers (14)

3 Georgia Bulldogs (1)

2 Ohio State Buckeyes (6)

1 Alabama Crimson Tide (2)

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All-Time Coaches Poll Rankings
AP All-Time Rankings