Month: August 2016

Now that our organization’s preseason poll has been released, let me go ahead and publicize the major revamping that the College Football Researchers Association is undergoing in 2016.   Instead of the weekly top 25 polls we’ve published in the past, this year we are only going to tabulate and publish four polls through the season: a preseason top 25, a mid-season top 25 (tabulated after week 7), a final regular season top 25 (tabulated after week 14), and a final end of season top 25 (tabulated after the national championship game).  The major rationale behind this shift is to produce more drama as the longer gaps between polls should make the results of each less predictable.

College football is back, and so is the College Football Researchers Association top 25 poll!  One interesting aspect of this year’s preseason poll is that the Associated Press, Coaches, and CFRA Polls have the same twenty-five teams featured in each of their preseason rankings.  All three polls also feature the same top two teams (Alabama, Clemson) and are bookended with same # 25 team (Florida).  Without further ado, here is this year’s CFRA Preseason Poll.

1.  Alabama (6)– 286 points

2.  Clemson (4)– 279 points

3.  Florida State– 272 points

4.  LSU (1)– 253 points

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5.  Oklahoma– 252 points

6.  Ohio State- 224 points

7.  Michigan– 219 points

8.  Stanford– 208 points

9.  TCU– 165 points

10. Tennessee– 154 points

11. Notre Dame– 150 points

12. Houston (1)– 146 points

13. Michigan State– 143 points

14. Ole Miss– 123 points

15. Georgia– 122 points

16. Washington– 95 points

17. UCLA– 92 points

18. Southern California– 81 points

19. Louisville– 78 points

20. Iowa– 77 points

21. North Carolina– 69 points

22. Baylor– 65 points

23. Oklahoma State– 60 points

24. Oregon– 59 points

25. Florida– 47 points

Others Receiving Votes: Miami-FL 30, Nebraska 25, Texas A & M 18, Washington State 14, Arkansas 14, Air Force 13, Wisconsin 11, Utah 11, Arizona 9, Texas 9, West Virginia 7, Auburn 6, Boise State 4, Texas Tech 3, Navy 3, Minnesota 2, Kansas State 2

Dropped Out: N/A

Teams Ranked Higher in CFRA than AP and Coaches Polls: Florida State (3), LSU (4), TCU (9), Houston (12), Georgia (15).

Teams Ranked Lower in CFRA than AP and Coaches Polls: Oklahoma (5), Notre Dame (11), Michigan State (13), Ole Miss (14), Iowa (20), Oklahoma State (23).

Teams Ranked Exactly the Same in All 3 Major Human Polls (AP, CFRA, and Coaches): Alabama (1), Clemson (2), Florida (25).