The Associated Press released its college football preseason poll Sunday, and the results were as expected.
The Ohio State Buckeyes were the unanimous pick of each sports writer polled by the AP. It's fitting since OSU was picked atop every voting this side of the North Pole.
In the grand scheme of things, preseason polls and $4 will get you a fancy cup of coffee downtown.
"Preseason polls are basically meaningless," Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson said on "Press Row" on Chattanooga's ESPN 105.1 FM on Monday.
He's right, of course.
Johnson's Yellow Jackets were not among the Top 25 a year ago, and they were a defensive stop away from winning the Atlantic Coast Conference. This year, Georgia Tech is No. 16 in the AP preseason poll.
Johnson noted that trying to guess which team will be great and which ones will struggle before watching anyone play is a fool's errand.
It makes perfect sense, really.
That said, to dismiss the polls completely is just as silly as printing playoff tickets on Sunday's AP poll.
There are a couple of interesting trends and noteworthy numbers in the poll.
In this Nov. 24, 2012, file photo, Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson works the sideline against Georgia during an NCAA college football game in Athens, Ga.
Ohio State tailback Maurice Clarett runs past Michigan defensive back Jeremy LeSueur during the Buckeyes' 14-9 win in 2002. Clarett, a freshman at the time, rushed for 119 yards and a touchdown against the Wolverines. That season included All-America honors for Clarett and a national championship for Ohio State, but the downfall he experienced a few years later included serving time in prison.First, there's the difficulty of schedules that can be magnified by these polls.
For example, take those all-powerful Buckeyes, who had four preseason All-Americans, mind you, and have a backup quarterback who would start for 90 percent of the teams in the country.
Yes, for all the talent on the OSU roster, which includes former Ridgeland star Vonn Bell, who was one of those preseason all-star picks, the biggest clincher for the Buckeyes' expected return to the college football playoffs may be the easiest schedule in the country.
Of those teams viewed to be among the best 25 in the country, Ohio State plays exactly one of them - Michigan State - and that game is in Columbus, Ohio.
By comparison, Alabama, which was No. 3 in the AP poll, plays seven teams ranked in the AP Top 25. Seven.
And if that needs to get more difficult, the Tide also play Mississippi State and Texas A&M, and the Bulldogs and Aggies were the top two teams receiving votes just outside the Top 25.
It's the curse of playing in the Southeastern Conference. You get the spoils of playing in the most lucrative league in college sports.
In fact, of the top five, only Alabama plays more than two teams considered among the best in the country.
Ohio State plays the one. No. 2 TCU faces two - Baylor and Oklahoma - as do No. 4 Baylor (TCU and Oklahoma) and No. 5 Michigan State (Ohio State and Oregon).
That in reality sets up the Michigan State-Ohio State game and the Baylor-TCU game as national quarterfinals for all intents and purposes.
The other significant and noticeable trend in the preseason poll is that the only Power Five conference without a team in the top 10 is the ACC. And in the elimination marathon that is the college football season, that may not be a bad thing.
Compare that to the SEC, which has three teams - Alabama, Auburn at No. 6 and Georgia at No. 9 - in the top 10, and being in a devalued league could mean opportunity.
Here's something else to watch: Notre Dame comes in at No. 11 and has its most talented roster in the Brian Kelly era that includes two likely first-round NFL draft picks next spring. The Irish play four ranked teams - three of them at home - and have a chance to crash the party come December.
So we are less than 10 days from the start of the season - the FCS campaign starts this Saturday; the first full Thursday is nine days out - and the preseason poll will be a distant memory sooner rather than later.
But if the trends are to believed, here's one view that Ohio State, TCU, Florida State and Notre Dame look to be in position to make strong pushes toward the playoffs.
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6343. Follow him on Twitter @jgreesontfp.