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Posted on 01/17/2026 5:10:09 AM PST by MtnClimber
Preseason polls aged like dead fish in the Miami sunshine.
Every August, the NCAA preseason football poll arrives like a back-to-school catalog: glossy, overconfident, and bearing no resemblance to the reality that will unfold by late September, if not sooner. In this age of the transfer portal and Name Image and Likeness (NIL) how could it not? It remains the perfect spark that ignites greatness or the business end of a rifle aimed squarely at your hopes.
Not convinced … ask any Penn State fan.
The poll is a tradition as old as that annual donation to the Nittany Lion Club and as reliable as a preseason Heisman shortlist scribbled on a cocktail napkin at Champs.
This year’s poll, released with the usual fanfare and self-congratulation of a royal decree, assured us, without any doubt, that the national championship would be a coronation for one of the usual college football aristocracies: Alabama, Georgia. Ohio State, or Michigan. This year that poll also included Penn State.
Back in August, analysts assured us that the preseason Top 10 was destiny as if the rest existed solely to provide a scenic backdrop.
By October, the preseason poll looked less like a prediction and more like a clay tablet dug up in Mesopotamia that was intriguing, irrelevant, and written by people who clearly had no clue what was coming.
By December, it was performance art.
By January, it was a fairy tale.
The preseason poll didn’t just miss; it whiffed so dramatically it reads like satire.
However, that is the beauty of college football.
It promises certainty and delivers chaos. It sells inevitability and hands you a plot twist. It gives you a preseason poll in August and a national championship in January that makes you wonder
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
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I don’t think Miami has much of a chance. UF is not playing so I don’t really care.
If it was ordained why bother watching?
When you have people like Mark Cuban donating millions to Indiana University, and many other wealthy alumni doing the same across the college landscape, the old powerhouse teams have gone by the wayside.
It’s a brave new world!
Indiana’s head coach is a grumpy genius.
If the Hoosiers win, the post-game interview with him will be a hoot. Have you heard some of the stuff he’s said? 😁🤣
The last time IU played in the championship game was 1967. It was the year OJ won the Heisman and he ran all over us. Since then IU football was a joke. I never thought I would ever see IU football play for the title again in my lifetime. But 59 years later here we are.
Cignetti may have a chip on his shoulder, but it’s helped him deal with the media and talking heads.
It’s been great to see college football become a priority on Saturdays in Indiana this year. About time!
Years ago I would have been excited about the Chicago Bears this year. BUT, Kansas City falls off the radar and suddenly Da Bears are performing miracles and becoming the new media darlings. Too good to be true.
I’m wondering how many Hoosiers will be present at the game on Monday. It would be nice if there’s a good showing for IU.
I heard that ticket prices are through the roof. Something like $3,500 for the cheapest ticket.
Indiana has had a few weeks at number one, Alabama has a total pushing three years at number one.
Ridiculous! Three of those four teams were in the playoffs.
I heard the same. IU has a great med school, so I’m hoping there are some rich doctors who graduated from there, who are splurging for the occasion.
I really like the Hoosiers this year, but I never discount any team. You have to play the game to see who wants it more, and who is up for the challenge.
As an IU alum, I’m glad to hear you say that!
Gator fans and Hurricane fans are somewhat like Purdue fans and IU fans. They don’t always get along.
An acquaintance of mine has a family of die hard Purdue fans, but she is still pulling for IU because they are making the Hoosier state proud. Her husband grumbles about that.
I can hardly wait for Monday evening, and I hope it ends with the Hoosiers on top!
I have a lot of friends who went to UM, so you can imagine the amount of insults I’ve had to endure this year.
Oh, I am sure you have!! Keep your chin up, though! One day our Gators will rise to the top again!
Try being a U of Ark alum
Try being a U of Ark alum
Oh man, I still feel for you guys after that College World Series, and you beat us to get to the Championship Series.
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