# "Win or lose Monday night, Alabama will start right back at the top of the polls next year." Huh?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/win-or-lose-monday-night-alabama-will-start-right-back-at-the-top-of-the-polls-next-year-huh/776726>\
**Category:** The Game Room\
**Created:** [January 9, 2017, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/win-or-lose-monday-night-alabama-will-start-right-back-at-the-top-of-the-polls-next-year-huh/776726 "2017-01-09T15:51:41Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Quintas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/48db29/32.png) [@Quintas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quintas)\
**Post date:** [January 9, 2017, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/win-or-lose-monday-night-alabama-will-start-right-back-at-the-top-of-the-polls-next-year-huh/776726/1 "2017-01-09T15:51:41Z")

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From this article: [Why Clemson winning the national championship would be good for college football | FOX Sports](http://www.foxsports.com/college-football/story/clemson-winning-national-championship-good-college-football-010917)

Was the writer claiming that Alabama would be pre-season #1 next fall win or lose? Or by ‘top of the polls’ did he mean top 5?

Assuming Clemson wins tonight, has the defending National Champion ever entered the next season NOT ranked #1?

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**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\
**Post date:** [January 9, 2017, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/win-or-lose-monday-night-alabama-will-start-right-back-at-the-top-of-the-polls-next-year-huh/776726/2 "2017-01-09T15:53:54Z")

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Yes

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**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\
**Post date:** [January 9, 2017, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/win-or-lose-monday-night-alabama-will-start-right-back-at-the-top-of-the-polls-next-year-huh/776726/3 "2017-01-09T16:29:30Z")

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No, the defending champ isn’t always the #1 ranked team in the following pre-season. The pre-season rankings are a prediction of the upcoming season, not a reflection on the past season.

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**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\
**Post date:** [January 9, 2017, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/win-or-lose-monday-night-alabama-will-start-right-back-at-the-top-of-the-polls-next-year-huh/776726/4 "2017-01-09T16:41:37Z")

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^ That. Seniors graduate, and next year’s team isn’t necessarily the same as the previous year’s champs.

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**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\
**Post date:** [January 9, 2017, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/win-or-lose-monday-night-alabama-will-start-right-back-at-the-top-of-the-polls-next-year-huh/776726/5 "2017-01-09T19:30:52Z")

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I just hope Alabama can overcome the tremendous odds against them:

From [ESPN](http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/18425683/alabama-crimson-tide-players-feeling-underdog-college-football-playoff-championship-vs-clemson-tigers):

> [@](#):
>
> “We do feel like we’re underdogs right now,” Alabama linebacker Ryan Anderson said.
> 
> Come again?
> 
> “Just feel that way,” Anderson added.