According to 65 college football coaches blessed with varying degrees of skill as a soothsayer, the University of Alabama – which just also happens to be the sport’s defending national champion – deserves to be ranked No. 1 in the preseason Coaches Poll.
Proving these same coaches see little reward in risk, they’ve tabbed Clemson No. 2, Oklahoma third and Ohio State fourth in this same poll with Georgia fifth.
In other news, they boldly predicted the sun would set in the west on Tuesday evening.
The problem is there is no problem with such an analysis. Alabama, even with a new quarterback and new offensive coordinator, should be No. 1. Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide should probably be no worse than a wildcard entry in the NFL playoffs.
For proof, merely consider this single stat: The four-team College Football Playoff has been in existence for seven years. Alabama’s taken part in six of them and won three of those. Last year, the Tide not only won it all, it rolled, winning its two playoff games by a combined 45 points, including a 52-24 rout of Ohio State in the title game.