Indiana, Notre Dame got hosed, SEC got too much love in coaches poll | Hot takes
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The preseason US LBM Coaches Poll shows the Big Ten getting tons of love at the top of the rankings, but the SEC earned plenty of down-ballot respect.
Who got snubbed, who got too much love, and which unranked team should be in the Top 25?
Let's get to it in our coaches poll hot takes:
Indiana still can’t get its due
Indiana got hosed. Imagine the Hoosiers as defending national champions, with this stacked defense they return, and now stitch Ohio State or Alabama or Oklahoma or some other blue-blooded name across the front of the jerseys. Where would they be ranked? Higher than sixth, I’ll tell you that.
This marks just the second time in the past 15 years the defending national champion got ranked outside of the top five in the ensuing preseason coaches poll.
The other time it happened was two years ago, when defending national champion Michigan got ranked No. 8 the following preseason. That was more understandable. The Wolverines had lost coach Jim Harbaugh to the NFL, their sign-stealing scheme had gotten exposed, and 13 players off the championship team were selected in the NFL Draft. Just a handful of starters returned.
The Hoosiers return several starters on defense, alongside a seasoned offensive line. They used some quality transfer acquisitions to address skill-position departures.
True, the transition from Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza to TCU transfer Josh Hoover cannot be ignored. The five teams ranked ahead of Indiana returned their starting quarterbacks, and yet the past two national champions (and past two runners-up) started transfer quarterbacks.
Curt Cignetti is 27-2 the past two seasons. Has he not earned some trust?
Not enough for a top-five ranking, apparently.
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Notre Dame is a national championship contender in hiding at No. 5
When Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua learned the Irish didn’t earn playoff selection last season, he called the rankings process a farce, and Notre Dame quit the season. Well, wait ‘til he sees these preseason rankings.
I won’t call Notre Dame at No. 5 a farce, but I will say the Irish are underrated. The Irish will enjoy the easiest schedule of any top-10 team, and the roster is built for national championship contention. Quarterback CJ Carr could vie for the Heisman.
Notre Dame returned gobs of production, including the majority of its defense and most of its offensive line.
The Irish won't want to quit this year. Instead, they could be celebrating the program’s first national championship since the 1988 season.
SEC got a lot of love. Too much love?
The SEC’s claims of depth superiority over the Big Ten will gain a fresh chorus after the conference where “It Just Means More” supplied six teams in the top 11, seven within the top 15, and nine overall in the Top 25.
This SEC’s rankings takeover indicates the conference’s reputation mostly remains in good shape, despite the league not supplying a team for the national championship game in any of the past three seasons.
Certainly, the Big Ten and SEC are on a different level than the ACC and Big 12. But, six SEC teams within the top 11 reeks of the conference getting respect for its past dominance, instead of reflecting recent playoff results, which show the SEC slipping off the top perch.
The poll love for Oklahoma is particularly notable. The Sooners were picked to finish seven in the SEC, but they grabbed the No. 9 spot in these rankings.
Somebody’s wrong. If a team finishes seventh in the SEC, it’s not going to be No. 9 in the rankings.
When in doubt, go with Ohio State’s consistency?
The top six teams in the poll each received multiple first-place votes. You could make a case for each to be No. 1. Ohio State earned the nod.
Why? I suspect trust in the Buckeye brand had something to do with it.
Putting aside the pandemic season, Ohio State has won at least 10 games in every season except one starting with the 2005 season. That’s remarkable consistency.
Is Ohio State really better assembled than Oregon or Indiana or Texas? That’s debatable. Certainly, its offense is loaded, but Oregon and Indiana could have better defenses, and Texas oozes as much talent as anyone.
When in doubt, though, there are dumber options than penciling in the Buckeyes atop the poll. They’re almost a sure thing for 10-plus wins, at least.
Overrated teams
∎ No. 9 Oklahoma: OU’s schedule is tough, its defense endured key departures, and quarterback John Mateer still needs to prove he's recovered from a broken thumb that affected him last season.
∎ No. 10 Mississippi: You won’t find many better quarterback-tailback duos than Trinidad Chambliss and Kewan Lacy, but, throughout the course of a full season, Ole Miss could feel the departure of Lane Kiffin and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr.
∎ No. 16 Michigan: Six ranked opponents on the schedule, plus a new coaching staff and a still-developing quarterback … what could go wrong, right?
∎ No. 23 Clemson: The Tigers nabbing a spot in the rankings amounts to lifetime achievement recognition for Dabo Swinney.
Underrated teams
∎ No. 12 Texas Tech: Texas Tech’s defense remains fierce. Never mind the Brendan Sorsby saga, the Red Raiders might not allow more than 14 points in any game until the playoffs.
∎ No. 13 LSU: The Tigers will rely heavily on transfers, but Kiffin knows how to blend them, and his portal haul was tremendous.
∎ No. 14 Southern Cal: The Trojans returned more starters than any other team. That includes their entire offensive line and quarterback Jayden Maiava. Ingredients for a Year 5 breakthrough for Lincoln Riley?
∎ Unranked Louisville: Drop Clemson from the rankings. Insert Louisville in place of the Tigers. It’s that simple.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Indiana, Notre Dame got hosed, SEC got too much love in coaches poll | Hot takes
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