# Is there anything to be gained by talking about 2012's College Football this early?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047>\
**Category:** The Game Room\
**Created:** [March 17, 2012, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047 "2012-03-17T13:51:19Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\
**Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047/1 "2012-03-17T13:51:19Z")

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I need a CFB fix! What makes sense to talk about here in March? The NFL Draft? Recruiting? The new conferences? The 2012 schedules? Surely there’s something we can get into for all us die-hard CFB fans…

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**Author:** ![SleepyDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@SleepyDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SleepyDuck)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047/2 "2012-03-25T06:33:18Z")

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Well, here’s Phil Steele’s [projected AP top 24](http://blog.philsteele.com/2012/03/02/2012-projected-ap-top-24/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+phil-steele-football-blog+%28Phil+Steele%27s+Football+Blog%29&utm_content=My+Yahoo)

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**Author:** ![Mince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Mince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mince)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047/3 "2012-03-25T07:34:10Z")

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Could also talk about spring scrimmages and depth charts.

[QUOTE=SleepyDuck]  
Well, here’s Phil Steele’s projected AP top 24  
[/QUOTE]

Big surprise. Phil has Texas at only 22. I’d figure they’d be much higher after their fantastic recruiting year.

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**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047/4 "2012-03-25T08:01:15Z")

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Mike Leach is the new coach at my Alma. Throw the shit out of it. We can’t make lineman but we sure can make quarterbacks.

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**Author:** ![LonghornDave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a87d85/32.png) [@LonghornDave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonghornDave)\
**Post date:** [March 26, 2012, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047/5 "2012-03-26T21:54:55Z")

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> [@Mince](#):
>
> Big surprise. Phil has Texas at only 22. I’d figure they’d be much higher after their fantastic recruiting year.

I don’t see this as a surprise at all. Until Texas figures out the quarterback situation, they won’t be a good team. Also, very few of the incoming class will be difference makers in year one. I’d say that J. Gray is really the only player who will play a huge role this year, and even he won’t likely start.

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**Author:** ![LonghornDave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a87d85/32.png) [@LonghornDave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonghornDave)\
**Post date:** [March 26, 2012, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047/6 "2012-03-26T21:57:03Z")

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> [@sitchensis](#):
>
> Mike Leach is the new coach at my Alma. Throw the shit out of it. We can’t make lineman but we sure can make quarterbacks.

The O-Line is one of the more interesting aspects of Leach’s offense. They are spread out considerably further than your typical line. Also, a Leach quarterback is usually someone who has been in his system a few years and is smart. The emphasis is on timing and accuracy.

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**Author:** ![RetroVertigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@RetroVertigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RetroVertigo)\
**Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047/7 "2012-03-29T00:08:27Z")

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I guess in a little surprised that Mizzou didn’t make his top 24. After a rough start the returning Qb (junior James Franklin) really turned it on. They also added the #1 recruit in the country WR Dorial Green-beckman. SEC here we come.

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**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\
**Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047/8 "2012-03-30T06:24:40Z")

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Wisconsin grabs another ACC quarterback graduate transfer, [Danny O’Brien](http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7747397/danny-obrien-transfers-wisconsin-badgers) of Maryland. Whew, because the Wisconsin QB cupboard was damn near close to empty thanks to injuries. O’Brien’s actually got two years of eligibility left, so no need to rush the guy most UW fans are crossing their fingers for, Bart Houston of out De La Salle in the California Bay Area.

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**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\
**Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047/9 "2012-03-31T04:16:52Z")

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No. 😃

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**Author:** ![The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8797f3/32.png) [@The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Universe_Lashes_Out)\
**Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047/10 "2012-03-31T04:32:30Z")

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> [@RetroVertigo](#):
>
> I guess in a little surprised that Mizzou didn’t make his top 24. After a rough start the returning Qb (junior James Franklin) really turned it on. They also added the #1 recruit in the country WR Dorial Green-beckman. SEC here we come.

Even with DGB, Missouri only had the #31 recruiting class according to [rivals.com](http://rivals.com). Ten of your new conference rivals were ranked higher. Welcome to the SEC.

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**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\
**Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047/11 "2012-03-31T13:22:22Z")

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There’s a breakdown of the new conferences for the 124 teams now in the Bowl Subdivision at [2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_NCAA_Division_I_FBS_football_season) but I have yet to find any early rankings estimates of all 124. Anybody else know of such?

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**Author:** ![RetroVertigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@RetroVertigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RetroVertigo)\
**Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047/12 "2012-03-31T16:10:26Z")

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> [@The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](#):
>
> Even with DGB, Missouri only had the #31 recruiting class according to [rivals.com](http://rivals.com). Ten of your new conference rivals were ranked higher. Welcome to the SEC.

I don’t put a lot of stock into recruiting class rankings (Texas consistently has a top class according to the rankings, and it hasn’t worked out for them the last few seasons), as a 18 year old is still developing. It seems that kids will be 3-star until a top school gives an offer, and all of a sudden they’re 5-star players.

As for Missouri, they have produced NFL quality players with the top schools in the nation recently. And none of them were top recruits as seniors in high school.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![RetroVertigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@RetroVertigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RetroVertigo)\
**Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047/13 "2012-03-31T18:56:47Z")

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> [@RetroVertigo](#):
>
> I guess in a little surprised that Mizzou didn’t make his top 24. After a rough start the returning Qb (junior James Franklin) really turned it on. They also added the #1 recruit in the country WR Dorial Green-beckman. SEC here we come.

> [@The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](#):
>
> Even with DGB, Missouri only had the #31 recruiting class according to [rivals.com](http://rivals.com). Ten of your new conference rivals were ranked higher. Welcome to the SEC.

I also want to say that the reason I even mentioned DGB, is that he really is heads-n-shoulders above most all incoming freshmen. Analyst around here have said that he could make a NFL roster right now (of course with the WR talent the two NFL teams in Missouri have at the moment this isn’t saying a whole lot).

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**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\
**Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047/14 "2012-03-31T23:16:02Z")

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> [@RetroVertigo](#):
>
> I don’t put a lot of stock into recruiting class rankings (Texas consistently has a top class according to the rankings, and it hasn’t worked out for them the last few seasons), as a 18 year old is still developing. It seems that kids will be 3-star until a top school gives an offer, and all of a sudden they’re 5-star players.

I was thinking the exact same thing about Texas. Not just last few years but for as long as I can remember they have top ranked recruiting classes but rarely does their performance match their recruiting class ranking.

I think your points are valid and also a good coach can get a lot of mileage out of a middle of the road set of players, and how well a player performs depends on a variety of factors. There are clearly top talents, but it’s just one piece of the puzzle.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\
**Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047/15 "2012-04-13T02:53:45Z")

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There may be some other OOC games worth mentioning, but here’s a crack at some that ought to be worth trying to see:  
[Mark your calendars now: Here are the season’s best nonconference games](http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaaf--college-football-worst-non-conference-games.html)

Which games can we add to the list?

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**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\
**Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047/16 "2012-04-19T19:05:37Z")

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> [@sitchensis](#):
>
> Mike Leach is the new coach at my Alma. Throw the shit out of it. We can’t make lineman but we sure can make quarterbacks.

I’m probably the only one here who thought you were talking about Alma (MI) College.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\
**Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047/17 "2012-04-19T20:53:56Z")

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> [@BobLibDem](#):
>
> I’m probably the only one here who thought you were talking about Alma (MI) College.

I had no idea, they even have a football team “The Scots”

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\
**Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047/18 "2012-04-26T20:03:16Z")

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> [@Zeldar](#):
>
> There’s a breakdown of the new conferences for the 124 teams now in the Bowl Subdivision at [2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_NCAA_Division_I_FBS_football_season) but I have yet to find any early rankings estimates of all 124. Anybody else know of such?

I have yet to find anything after January that attempts a ranking of all 124 FBS teams, so I decided to fake such a thing. Using  
[2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_NCAA_Division_I_FBS_football_season) I got:

```auto

Membership changes
Includes schools transitioning to FBS.

School Former Conference New Conference 

Fresno State Bulldogs WAC Mountain West 
Hawaii Warriors WAC Mountain West (Big West in other sports) 
Massachusetts Minutemen CAA (football only) MAC (football only) <====
Missouri Tigers Big 12 SEC 
Nevada Wolf Pack WAC Mountain West 
South Alabama Jaguars FCS Independent (football only) Sun Belt (full member) <====
TCU Horned Frogs Mountain West Big 12 
Temple Owls MAC (football only) Big East (football only in 2012; all sports in 2013) 
Texas A&M Aggies Big 12 SEC 
Texas State Bobcats Southland WAC <====
UTSA Roadrunners Southland WAC <====
West Virginia Mountaineers Big East Big 12 [2] 

```

with the “\<====” marking the four new teams.

Then using  
[http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/fbt11.htm](http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/fbt11.htm)  
and changing the new teams from AA to A (marked with \<====) and then stripping off the other AA teams we have:

```auto

FINAL College Football 2011 through games of 2012 January 9 Monday the BCS uses the ELO_CHESS from here
                                RATING W L SCHEDL(RANK) VS top 10 | VS top 30 | ELO_CHESS | PREDICTOR  
                HOME ADVANTAGE=[2.87] [2.31] [2.79]
   1 Alabama A = 104.17 12 1 76.53( 15) 2 1 | 4 1 | 106.06 1 | 102.72 1
   2 LSU A = 100.30 13 1 78.93( 7) 3 1 | 6 1 | 103.42 2 | 98.31 2
   3 Oklahoma State A = 97.01 12 1 80.06( 3) 2 0 | 7 0 | 98.19 4 | 95.86 3
   4 Oklahoma A = 92.48 10 3 79.08( 6) 0 1 | 5 2 | 91.21 6 | 93.02 4
   5 Oregon A = 91.82 12 2 73.53( 35) 2 1 | 2 2 | 90.43 9 | 92.48 7
   6 Arkansas A = 91.06 11 2 75.29( 20) 1 2 | 3 2 | 99.53 3 | 87.43 9
   7 Stanford A = 90.48 11 2 73.08( 36) 0 2 | 2 2 | 87.33 10 | 93.01 5
   8 Wisconsin A = 88.67 11 3 71.81( 44) 0 1 | 3 2 | 84.31 18 | 92.90 6
   9 Boise State A = 88.53 12 1 68.29( 75) 0 0 | 1 1 | 85.43 13 | 90.95 8
  10 South Carolina A = 88.23 11 2 73.98( 32) 0 1 | 3 1 | 91.01 7 | 86.24 13

  11 Michigan A = 86.54 11 2 72.20( 40) 0 0 | 3 1 | 84.96 16 | 87.34 10
  12 Southern California A = 86.48 10 2 73.94( 33) 1 1 | 2 1 | 85.27 14 | 86.97 11
  13 Baylor A = 86.01 10 3 78.00( 10) 1 1 | 4 3 | 90.95 8 | 83.11 22
  14 Texas A&M A = 85.87 7 6 79.31( 4) 0 3 | 1 6 | 84.24 19 | 86.71 12
  15 Houston A = 85.26 13 1 65.46( 97) 0 0 | 1 1 | 84.13 20 | 85.68 14
  16 Missouri A = 85.25 8 5 77.58( 13) 0 2 | 2 4 | 84.99 15 | 85.00 16
  17 Texas A = 85.21 8 5 79.26( 5) 0 2 | 1 5 | 85.96 12 | 84.28 17
  18 Michigan State A = 85.13 11 3 72.93( 38) 1 1 | 3 3 | 84.67 17 | 85.03 15
  19 Kansas State A = 84.56 10 3 78.81( 8) 0 3 | 4 3 | 91.91 5 | 80.86 23
  20 TCU A = 84.13 11 2 66.76( 86) 1 0 | 1 1 | 83.72 22 | 84.00 18

  21 Georgia A = 84.01 10 4 75.01( 23) 0 3 | 1 4 | 83.92 21 | 83.64 20
  22 West Virginia A = 81.78 10 3 70.12( 57) 0 1 | 1 1 | 82.51 23 | 80.86 24
  23 Florida State A = 81.16 9 4 68.96( 68) 0 1 | 2 1 | 77.53 34 | 83.99 19
  24 Southern Miss A = 81.07 12 2 65.69( 94) 0 0 | 1 0 | 81.30 24 | 80.48 26
  25 Nebraska A = 81.06 9 4 74.32( 26) 0 2 | 2 3 | 81.25 25 | 80.49 25
  26 Notre Dame A = 79.91 8 5 74.54( 25) 0 1 | 1 4 | 75.89 39 | 83.15 21
  27 Virginia Tech A = 79.14 11 3 70.05( 59) 0 0 | 0 1 | 79.38 29 | 78.54 27
  28 Penn State A = 78.82 9 4 73.99( 31) 0 2 | 0 4 | 79.68 27 | 77.81 31
  29 Florida A = 78.78 7 6 75.01( 22) 0 3 | 0 5 | 78.78 30 | 78.33 29
  30 Cincinnati A = 78.63 10 3 68.43( 73) 0 0 | 0 1 | 78.42 32 | 78.35 28

  31 Mississippi State A = 78.43 7 6 74.07( 28) 0 4 | 0 5 | 79.64 28 | 77.19 35
  32 Clemson A = 77.78 10 4 72.09( 43) 0 1 | 3 2 | 80.71 26 | 75.57 45
  33 Auburn A = 77.40 8 5 77.14( 14) 1 3 | 2 4 | 86.31 11 | 72.82 52
  34 BYU A = 77.18 10 3 65.96( 90) 0 0 | 0 2 | 77.98 33 | 76.20 40
  35 Tulsa A = 77.02 8 5 71.75( 45) 0 3 | 0 4 | 75.77 40 | 77.52 33
  36 Rutgers A = 76.98 9 4 68.67( 69) 0 0 | 1 1 | 76.38 38 | 76.99 37
  38 California A = 76.20 7 6 74.06( 29) 0 2 | 0 4 | 74.31 45 | 77.24 34
  39 Utah A = 75.92 8 5 71.21( 49) 0 0 | 0 1 | 75.17 42 | 76.04 42
  40 Toledo A = 75.21 9 4 67.22( 81) 0 1 | 0 1 | 73.46 47 | 76.12 41
  41 Arizona State A = 74.94 6 7 73.86( 34) 0 2 | 2 2 | 71.28 59 | 77.62 32

  42 Vanderbilt A = 74.94 6 7 74.12( 27) 0 3 | 0 6 | 71.83 54 | 77.07 36
  43 Iowa State A = 74.64 6 7 80.40( 2) 1 1 | 1 6 | 78.49 31 | 71.89 59
  44 Washington A = 74.52 7 6 74.54( 24) 0 2 | 0 5 | 75.41 41 | 73.48 50
  45 Iowa A = 74.51 7 6 72.32( 39) 0 1 | 1 4 | 74.28 46 | 74.24 46
  46 Temple A = 74.50 9 4 61.52( 119) 0 0 | 0 1 | 69.86 64 | 78.19 30
  47 Northern Illinois A = 74.46 11 3 64.52( 103) 0 1 | 0 1 | 76.41 37 | 72.75 54
  48 Louisiana Tech A = 74.34 8 5 68.39( 74) 0 0 | 0 3 | 71.29 58 | 76.41 39
  49 Ohio State A = 74.19 6 7 74.06( 30) 1 0 | 1 5 | 71.58 56 | 75.85 43
  50 Tennessee A = 74.09 5 7 77.83( 12) 0 4 | 1 6 | 74.32 44 | 73.49 49
  51 SMU A = 73.88 8 5 68.59( 70) 0 0 | 1 3 | 74.55 43 | 72.98 51

  52 Miami-Florida A = 73.61 6 6 69.86( 61) 0 0 | 0 3 | 69.56 66 | 76.63 38
  53 Texas Tech A = 73.17 5 7 77.99( 11) 1 1 | 1 6 | 76.77 36 | 70.52 65
  54 North Carolina A = 72.86 7 6 70.96( 51) 0 0 | 0 2 | 72.33 50 | 72.80 53
  55 Illinois A = 72.80 7 6 70.52( 53) 0 1 | 0 3 | 72.33 51 | 72.70 55
  56 Georgia Tech A = 72.31 8 5 68.05( 76) 0 0 | 0 2 | 72.15 53 | 71.98 58
  57 NC State A = 71.70 8 5 66.99( 83) 0 0 | 0 2 | 72.99 48 | 70.39 66
  58 Northwestern A = 71.35 6 7 71.38( 46) 0 0 | 1 4 | 69.12 68 | 72.65 56
  59 South Florida A = 71.02 5 7 69.86( 62) 0 0 | 1 2 | 66.83 79 | 74.09 47
  60 Nevada A = 70.89 7 6 66.61( 88) 0 2 | 0 3 | 66.63 81 | 74.01 48
  61 Louisville A = 70.75 7 6 69.87( 60) 0 0 | 1 1 | 70.42 62 | 70.56 64

  64 Arizona A = 70.52 4 8 75.64( 18) 0 3 | 0 4 | 68.23 74 | 71.86 60
  65 Purdue A = 70.28 7 6 69.27( 65) 0 1 | 0 4 | 71.32 57 | 69.13 72
  66 UCLA A = 70.18 6 8 76.14( 16) 0 2 | 0 5 | 70.69 61 | 69.38 70
  67 Arkansas State A = 69.89 10 3 60.09( 124) 0 0 | 0 1 | 70.95 60 | 68.72 75
  68 Ohio A = 69.81 10 4 61.59( 118) 0 0 | 0 0 | 70.24 63 | 69.08 74
  69 Pittsburgh A = 69.65 6 7 71.29( 48) 0 0 | 0 3 | 68.84 70 | 69.80 68
  70 San Diego State A = 69.30 8 5 65.56( 95) 0 1 | 0 3 | 67.35 77 | 70.34 67
  71 Virginia A = 69.17 8 5 68.48( 71) 0 0 | 1 2 | 72.80 49 | 66.40 80
  72 Air Force A = 68.58 7 6 64.28( 104) 0 1 | 0 3 | 63.70 93 | 72.19 57
  73 Wake Forest A = 68.42 6 7 70.41( 54) 0 0 | 1 2 | 68.34 73 | 68.03 77

  74 Navy A = 68.37 5 7 69.04( 67) 0 1 | 0 3 | 64.35 90 | 71.17 63
  76 Connecticut A = 68.09 5 7 69.33( 64) 0 0 | 0 2 | 66.18 82 | 69.10 73
  77 Central Florida(UCF) A = 67.61 5 7 64.61( 102) 0 0 | 0 1 | 62.07 104 | 71.81 61
  78 Western Michigan A = 67.51 7 6 64.91( 99) 0 0 | 0 1 | 65.84 85 | 68.32 76
  79 Marshall A = 67.49 7 6 70.29( 56) 0 0 | 1 3 | 72.26 52 | 64.02 90
  80 Utah State A = 67.43 7 6 64.90( 100) 0 0 | 0 0 | 64.34 91 | 69.41 69
  82 Louisiana-Lafayette A = 66.60 9 4 60.47( 122) 0 1 | 0 1 | 69.67 65 | 64.11 89
  83 Washington State A = 66.14 4 8 71.29( 47) 0 2 | 0 2 | 63.60 94 | 67.64 78
  84 Wyoming A = 66.09 8 5 65.77( 92) 0 1 | 0 3 | 67.67 76 | 64.55 86
  85 Kentucky A = 66.03 5 7 72.18( 41) 0 2 | 0 4 | 68.70 72 | 63.78 92

  86 Syracuse A = 65.97 5 7 70.39( 55) 0 0 | 1 2 | 66.85 78 | 64.90 83
  87 Oregon State A = 65.76 3 9 75.59( 19) 0 3 | 0 3 | 64.51 88 | 66.24 81
  88 Minnesota A = 64.89 3 9 75.86( 17) 0 1 | 0 5 | 65.63 86 | 63.92 91
  89 Rice A = 64.45 4 8 72.95( 37) 0 0 | 0 4 | 66.06 83 | 62.88 98
  90 Boston College A = 64.40 4 8 70.71( 52) 0 0 | 0 3 | 63.14 95 | 64.88 84
  91 Kansas A = 64.09 2 10 80.72( 1) 0 2 | 0 7 | 68.85 69 | 60.49 112
  92 UTEP A = 63.71 5 7 66.69( 87) 0 0 | 0 2 | 62.39 102 | 64.25 88
  93 East Carolina A = 63.52 5 7 68.48( 72) 0 1 | 0 4 | 64.49 89 | 62.39 100
  94 Fla. International A = 63.26 8 5 59.28( 127) 0 0 | 0 0 | 63.00 96 | 63.02 97
  96 San Jose State A = 62.99 5 7 67.49( 80) 0 1 | 0 1 | 61.94 106 | 63.32 95

  97 Hawaii A = 62.79 6 7 62.30( 114) 0 0 | 0 0 | 59.92 112 | 64.51 87
  98 Miami-Ohio A = 62.62 4 8 66.77( 85) 0 0 | 0 2 | 59.20 119 | 64.76 85
  99 Bowling Green A = 62.57 5 7 65.70( 93) 0 0 | 0 1 | 62.36 103 | 62.28 101
 100 Ball State A = 62.43 6 6 67.63( 78) 0 1 | 0 1 | 65.96 84 | 59.54 116
 101 Western Kentucky A = 62.11 7 5 61.27( 120) 0 1 | 0 1 | 64.07 92 | 60.27 114
 103 Mississippi A = 61.77 2 10 78.17( 9) 0 3 | 0 4 | 62.55 101 | 60.77 110
 104 Maryland A = 61.76 2 10 72.18( 42) 0 0 | 0 3 | 60.53 110 | 62.22 102
 105 Fresno State A = 61.68 4 9 67.89( 77) 0 1 | 0 2 | 59.21 118 | 63.08 96
 107 Colorado A = 61.65 3 10 75.03( 21) 0 2 | 0 3 | 62.82 97 | 60.37 113
 112 Army A = 60.51 3 9 67.60( 79) 0 0 | 0 0 | 55.71 134 | 63.69 93

 113 Duke A = 60.07 3 9 69.52( 63) 0 1 | 0 3 | 58.88 120 | 60.51 111
 116 Kent State A = 59.79 5 7 65.46( 96) 0 1 | 0 2 | 61.62 107 | 58.02 124
 119 Eastern Michigan A = 59.57 6 6 61.67( 117) 0 0 | 0 2 | 62.60 100 | 56.95 131
 121 North Texas A = 59.18 5 7 64.15( 105) 0 1 | 0 2 | 59.51 114 | 58.51 119
 124 Louisiana-Monroe A = 58.88 4 8 62.39( 113) 0 0 | 0 2 | 55.24 135 | 61.12 109
 133 New Mexico State A = 56.68 4 9 66.32( 89) 0 0 | 0 1 | 57.75 124 | 55.46 139
 135 Buffalo A = 56.15 3 9 65.18( 98) 0 0 | 0 0 | 55.72 133 | 56.03 135
 137 Central Michigan A = 56.00 3 9 65.94( 91) 0 0 | 0 1 | 57.12 126 | 54.73 144
 139 Indiana A = 55.37 1 11 70.97( 50) 0 1 | 0 3 | 53.04 141 | 56.62 133
 141 Idaho A = 54.74 2 10 67.04( 82) 0 0 | 0 1 | 53.52 138 | 55.18 142

 142 Colorado State A = 54.65 3 9 63.94( 106) 0 1 | 0 2 | 52.95 142 | 55.44 140
 147 Troy A = 52.68 3 9 63.60( 109) 0 1 | 0 1 | 52.32 146 | 52.50 151
 150 Massachusetts A = 52.34 5 6 54.15( 154) 0 0 | 0 0 | 53.11 140 | 51.32 155 <====
 152 UAB A = 52.04 3 9 66.82( 84) 0 0 | 1 2 | 54.34 136 | 49.83 162
 155 UNLV A = 51.47 2 10 69.16( 66) 0 2 | 0 3 | 52.36 145 | 50.35 159
 169 Middle Tennessee A = 48.29 2 10 61.77( 116) 0 0 | 0 0 | 49.44 157 | 46.98 174
 171 Tulane A = 47.69 2 11 63.47( 110) 0 0 | 0 1 | 47.89 167 | 47.11 173
 175 New Mexico A = 47.05 1 11 70.12( 58) 0 2 | 0 3 | 49.26 160 | 44.84 185
 178 Texas State A = 46.65 6 6 50.77( 170) 0 0 | 0 0 | 48.13 165 | 45.04 184 <====
 181 South Alabama A = 45.75 6 4 46.93( 189) 0 0 | 0 0 | 44.85 183 | 45.96 180 <====

 182 Memphis A = 45.68 2 10 63.18( 112) 0 0 | 0 1 | 47.81 169 | 43.53 190
 190 Florida Atlantic A = 43.84 1 11 64.64( 101) 0 0 | 0 2 | 46.18 176 | 41.46 200
 198 Akron A = 42.49 1 11 63.76( 107) 0 0 | 0 1 | 44.11 187 | 40.75 202
 200 Texas-San Antonio A = 42.27 4 6 53.38( 160) 0 0 | 0 0 | 39.58 203 | 43.65 189 <====

```

It ought to be fun to watch how Sagarin and Rivals and others change their opinions after things get organized and spring ball has been evaluated.

There are quite a few Top 25 or Top x-number lists already with [2012 Preseason College Football Polls](http://www.lsufootball.net/articles/2012-preseason-polls.htm)  
likely to have as good a summary as is available.

Post links to any other such lists you’re aware of, please.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\
**Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047/19 "2012-04-30T11:53:59Z")

</div>

Did any other team get their mascot in the backfield? [Sparty carries the ball!](http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20120428/GW01/304280042)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\
**Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047/20 "2012-04-30T11:56:34Z")

</div>

> [@sitchensis](#):
>
> I had no idea, they even have a football team “The Scots”

I’ve actually been to their stadium for high school track invitationals. Nice little place, great concessions, the only problem is for some stupid reason the main stands face west, directly into the afternoon sun.

[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047.md?page=2)