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Published Sep 14, 2020
Takeaways from the updated college football polls
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Justin Rowland  •  CatsIllustrated
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Finally, college football's two major polls — the Associated Press and the Coaches Poll — have been updated to reflect that some teams are not currently playing.

Here's a look at the updated college football polls and, below that, some takeaways and thoughts.

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Table Name
RankAssociated PressCoaches

1

Clemson

Clemson

2

Alabama

Alabama

3

Oklahoma

Oklahoma

4

Georgia

Georgia

5

Florida

LSU

6

LSU

Florida

7

Notre Dame

Notre Dame

8

Auburn

Texas

9

Texas

Auburn

10

Texas A&M

Texas A&M

11

Oklahoma State

North Carolina

12

North Carolina

Oklahoma State

13

Cincinnati

UCF

14

UCF

Cincinnati

15

Tennessee

Memphis

16

Memphis

Louisville

17

Miami

Tennessee

18

Louisville

Miami

19

Louisiana

Virginia Tech

20

Virginia Tech

Kentucky

21

Brigham Young

Louisiana

22

Army

Brigham Young

23

Kentucky

Appalachian State

24

Appalachian State

Baylor

25

Pittsburgh

Army

— Clemson looked every bit the part of the nation's best team in Week 1. Not many teams looked good in their first game of the year but the Tigers already appear to be in midseason form. They're going to be very big favorites in every game but perhaps Notre Dame, and probably a solid favorite there, too.

— I'm a bit surprised to see Auburn at No. 8/9 even though that would probably be about No. 14 or 15 with all the schools participating. The Tigers have some talent and skill position weapons but they definitely have questions and I'd probably have them behind Texas, Texas A&M, and North Carolina outside the top ten.

— We'll see what the polls look like after next week but Kentucky-Auburn should be a game between two top-20 teams. In fact it may be the biggest game in all of college football to that point (Sept. 26).

— It looks more than a little silly for Louisville to be ranked ahead of Kentucky given that the Wildcats return as much as the Cardinals and in 2019, for the second straight year, it was total domination by Mark Stoops' team in the Governor's Cup. Unfortunately we won't get to see what the matchup looks like this year unless it happens in a bowl game (a real possibility, I'd say), but based on the UofL-WKU game the Cardinals appear to be similar to the team we saw last year.

— Seven top-25 teams from outside Power Five conferences seems a bit excessive. While the polls and playoff committee will only let a Group of Five school climb so high, I've long felt like there's a bias towards those teams in the Nos. 15-25 range of the polls because that's a "safe" place to overrank them. I just don't think those teams typically have the depth to hold up for what would be a full season in a power conference.

Memphis' defense had real questions and they're without their 1,600 yard back from last season. Louisiana as high as they are now seems reactionary. If they beat Iowa State in Ames it's more likely, to me, that ISU was either overrated or just didn't play well than the suggestion that Louisiana would be as equipped as Kentucky to play in the SEC. That's just not realistic. It's one thing for those teams to do it for one or two games against Power Five teams. Doing it for a whole season would be a completely different story.

— Tennessee's over/under win total according to Vegas is set at four. That plays out to a 4-6 season in the less daunting half of the Southeastern Conference. Considering the Vols are ranked No. 15 in the AP poll, that's just another reminder that this is a weird season.

— When I saw that Texas Tech had received five votes in the AP poll I did a double take. Florida State is included toward the bottom of the "others receiving votes" category as well. What that really speaks to is how few teams are playing right now compared to usual. But those voters have some explaining to do.

— Even though Boise State and its conference are not playing in the fall the coaches included the Broncos in the "others receiving votes" category.

— My opinion is that LSU, Auburn, UCF, Memphis, Louisville and Louisiana are each a couple of spots too high. I would have Texas, Texas A&M, North Carolina, Kentucky, BYU, and Army a little higher.

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