College football is back, and so is the College Football Researchers Association top 25 poll! We are now entering the fifth season of the new CFRA poll, and as you might expect, this year’s preseason rankings are full of intrigue. First of all, unlike the AP and Coaches Polls, the CFRA features a team from the “Group of Five” (previously known as non-BCS conferences). That’s right the Marshall Thundering Herd, who don’t really have a losable game on the schedule, crack our preseason top 25 coming in at 24. Also, with the dawn of the new College Football Playoff upon us, there will be more analysis geared towards comparing how the top 4 teams in the country are ranked across the various major polls. Right now, the CFRA, AP, and Coaches all feature the same top 4 teams (FSU, Alabama, Oregon, and Oklahoma), but # 5 is different in all three publications (Coaches- Auburn, AP- Ohio State, CFRA- Michigan State). Without further ado, here is this year’s CFRA preseason poll.
1. Florida State (7)– 222 points
2. Alabama (2)– 210 points
3. Oregon– 202 points
4. Oklahoma– 197 points
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5. Michigan State– 172 points
6. Auburn– 169 points
7. UCLA– 168 points
8. South Carolina– 161 points
9. LSU– 141 points
10. Georgia– 139 points
11. Ohio State– 135 points
12. Stanford– 127 points
13. Baylor– 117 points
14. Wisconsin– 101 points
15. Clemson– 89 points
16. Ole Miss– 83 points
17. Southern California– 61 points
18. Arizona State– 47 points
19. Notre Dame– 43 points
20. Texas– 34 points
21. Texas A & M– 33 points
22. Nebraska– 30 points
22. Kansas State– 30 points
24. Marshall– 26 points
25. Florida– 23 points
Others Receiving Votes: Michigan 18, Missouri 17, Iowa 16, Mississippi State 15, Duke 15, Oklahoma State 13, Utah State 12, UCF 12, Louisville 11, North Carolina 7, Washington 6, Virginia Tech 5, Texas Tech 4, Northwestern 4, Tennessee 2, Miami-FL 2, TCU 2, Bowling Green 2, Boise State 1, Minnesota 1
Dropped Out: N/A
Teams Ranked Higher in CFRA than AP and Coaches Polls: Michigan State (5), South Carolina (8), LSU (9), Georgia (10), Clemson (15), Ole Miss (16), Texas (20), Marshall (24), Florida (25).
Teams Ranked Lower in CFRA than AP and Coaches Polls: Ohio State (11), Stanford (12), Baylor (13), Southern California (17), Notre Dame (19), Kansas State (22), Washington (NR), North Carolina (NR), Missouri (NR).
Teams Ranked Exactly the Same in All 3 Major Human Polls (AP, CFRA, and Coaches): Florida State (1), Alabama (2), UCLA (7), Wisconsin (14), Nebraska (22).
The College Football Researchers Association 