The AP Poll has long been derided for a perceived narrow focus on traditional powers of years past and various regional biases, where often these pre-season polls have too extreme an impact on how a season is determined. The implementation of the Playoff Committee has lessened that impact, and now the Poll functions more as a vehicle to determine what number broadcasters put next to team names in their score box. Even if not directly determining National Championships, the AP Poll still carries a lot of weight in driving the narrative of the season: which games matter, which teams matter, which results are deemed “quality,” etc.
Preseason AP Top 25: TCU Excluded
