We all know preseason polls are stupid, and if college football fans weren't so voraciously hungry and crazy for something to talk about before actual games are played, we'd be finally ranking teams for the first time right about now. As it is, though, every September we find out Tennessee and some other teams aren't really that great, despite what appeared to be very talented teams on paper. On the flip side, we learn Kansas State and others are better than we gave them credit for, or at least lucky enough to fool people into thinking they are.
But it's a long season and if you're just lucky or catch a few bad breaks in the first few weeks, things will often turn around for you.