Preseasons polls should not start till after Oct. 1.......

can't see it. with more polls coming earlier and earlier (post-bowl, post-recruiting, post-spring ball, pre-fall, etc.) from all manner of sites and magazines, why would the AP or coaches miss out on the fun?

That might not happen since the rankings are such a big part of the networks advertising a game. #3 LSU playing #6 Virginia Tech in September sounds more appealing than just LSU playing VT to the average fan not tied to either school. College football is driven by the poll system. I don't expect it to go away. Thats why they do rankings in all of college sports even ones with playoffs. TV marketing.

There is no tangible evidence that preseason human polls are a problem. I'll even concede that delaying polls might lead to somewhat different results because of the natural resistance to changing a public stance. But that poll would not be wildly different. It's not like a team unranked in the 4th week after the preseason polls would suddenly be ranked #1 if you delayed polls. No, there would only be a change of only 1 or 2 positions, if any, for any specific team. Think about it. Voters are going to have to go through the exact same process regardless of whether it is public or not. I can't imagine significant differences resulting. And the idea that this slight difference could be identified as the determining factor after another 8-10 weeks of play is absurd. Enjoy preseason polls with a guiltless conscience.

What is the big deal,

The top 5 in this years preseason included: Florida, Texas, and Alabama?

Hard to argue that it was that far off.

Hell USC and Oklahoma eliminated themselves early on, so I guess I dont see why it matters one way or the other.

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That might not happen since the rankings are such a big part of the networks advertising a game. #3 LSU playing #6 Virginia Tech in September sounds more appealing than just LSU playing VT to the average fan not tied to either school. College football is driven by the poll system. I don't expect it to go away. Thats why they do rankings in all of college sports even ones with playoffs. TV marketing.

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I've been saying this for years. The "no preseason polls" crybabies don't understand this apparently. How is television supposed to market these September games without polls? But the main argument is that it just won't make any significant difference whatsoever. The voters will still have their own biases on Oct. 1 that they do on Sept. 1. And the voters have proven to be pretty fluid the last few years--ESPECIALLY early in the season. All this crying over preaseason polls is much ado about nothing.

Totally agree. I think they should not be taken until Oct 15th. Preseason polls, early season polls are worthless.

You could eliminate the AP and Coaches poll if you want to, but another would just take it's place.

Fox Sports would release their poll or ESPN would and then they'd use those rankings to hype the early season match-ups. Alright so "those won't count toward the final rankings", but they're still shaping public opinion and that's what the official polls are..opinion.

If you're looking to level the playing field go to a playoff, it's the only way.

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Completely meaningless.

You are kidding yourself if you think waiting until Oct would mean Cincinnati, TCU or Boise would have passed Bama or Texas. The Harris poll doesn't come out until Oct, it does not differ much from the other polls.

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100% agree, and I even have hard evidence that you're correct.

First Harris Poll top 10, released in Week 4
1 Florida
2 Texas
3 Bama
4 LSU
5 Boise State
6 Virginia Tech
7 USC
8 Ohio State
9 Oklahoma
10 Cincinnati
11 TCU

Coaches' Top 10 from the same week:
1 Florida
2 Texas
3 Alabama
4 LSU
5 Boise State
6 Va Tech
7 USC
8 Oklahoma
9 Ohio State
10 TCU
11 Cincinnati

The Harris voters just fall in line with what the other polls say. Even if the AP and Coaches waited you'd still have Athlon, Phil Steele, etc releasing polls all summer long