The AP Poll top 25 rankings have been taking quite a beating in the arena of public opinion this college football season. And much of that isn't entirely unwarranted.
haiThe integrity and knowledge of the national game has been called into question when a specific voter promoted the Florida Gators after an upset loss to South Florida. Notre Dame remained a top 25 team, even after starting the season at 0-2.
Texas and Penn State remained in the top 10 of the week 6 poll despite neither team boasting a power four victory to that point in the year. Even after both teams received their second losses of the year, they're both receiving a heavy influx of votes in spite of the relative weakness of these teams' resumes.
It's becoming very clear that rankings have been -- and still are -- overly reliant on a program's reputation above their resume. And with a growing heap of historical powerhouses failing to meet expectations, the cracks in the foundation are becoming too severe to ignore from the outside.
As of week 7, a whopping eight teams (32 percent) of the preseason top 25 have completely fallen out of the list, including three teams (60 percent) from the original top 5.
Preseason ranked teams that are unranked in week 7:
1. Texas Longhorns
2. Penn State Nittany Lions
4. Clemson Tigers
13. South Carolina Gamecocks
15. Florida Gators
16. SMU Mustangs
17. Kansas State Wildcats
25. Boise State Broncos
In truth, all the blame shouldn't fall on the voters. After an exceptional season and the anticipation of Arch Manning's debut, Texas was expected to be a juggernaut before they matched up with Ohio State. Manning has been underwhelming, and the Longhorns' road loss to previously one-win Florida finally drove the top team from the rankings.
Penn State lost to zero-win UCLA and an interim head coach. Clemson has only won two games this season, neither of which against a high-caliber foe.
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