Preseason Ranking Means Nothing. Really.

Spring practice is over for every team, important position battles have been waged, players have been arrested (everyone is doing it) and some even dismissed from their squad. That means there is only one thing left to do: make ridiculously early Top 25 predictions. Hey, if players can practice year round, we can prognosticate year round.

Luckily for you (and me), five respected institutions have obliged with some paid-by-the-word breakdowns of the Top 25 teams in college football - at least as it stands four months prior to the season. Other polls are sure to follow and we can update this data accordingly. As history has taught us, no players will be injured, arrested for assault and/or resisting arrest or suspended for soliciting prostitutes between now and August 30, 2008.

A couple of the rankings are in need of updating (CFN and ESPN), but when you are dealing with an inexact science’s second cousin, what is a few months? The other three were composed after the conclusion of spring practice and two after Perrilloux’s fate was decided.

If there is one motif to this incomplete slate of predictions, it is that amateur pollsters agree that Ohio State is going to be very good, and that it will be against most fan and analyst’s wishes. Sunday Morning Quarterback said it best when describing the level of disdain that will and, already is, focused on Ohio State.

Stewart Mandel’s post-spring rankings avoid mention of the public sentiment while giving us a perfunctory breakdown of rosters and returning starters. But Dennis Dodd could not resist. Sure, he ranks the Buckeyes #1, but you cannot help but wonder why after he pans the Buckeyes schedule and takes a shot at Todd Boeckman. Seriously, you would think he lost a bet with the way he describes the Buckeyes.

The Sporting News and College Football News each take a more cautious approach, recognizing the contempt, yet avoiding ownership in the cause. Impartiality becomes them.

Finally, ESPN’s Mark Schlabach does not come right out and mention the Buckeyes perceived inferiority but the line, “Ohio State is good enough to go through the Big Ten schedule unbeaten, but …” belies his otherwise neutral words.

The upshot of SMQ’s piece, and my imperfect composition, is that Ohio State will be held to a higher standard – a standard that always exists in the future. Regardless of the Buckeyes performance each week, many around the country will project their imminent demise, i.e., “They’re good, but they cannot beat [insert SEC team here].”

AP voters and the coaches will rank Ohio State highly at the beginning of the season, but given the chance to demote them, the Buckeyes downward slide would most likely be permanent and fatal. Because of the recent past and public outcries, one loss may be too much for the Buckeyes and pollsters to overcome. The assertion that the entire regular season is a playoff may never be truer for any team.