At this point, it's reasonable to wonder if the voters who determine the Associated Press Top 25 poll are even trying anymore.
asserted
who → wonder → poll
It's been a recurring problem in recent years, with the first part of the 2026 season showing once again that many poll voters are either not paying close enough attention, or are hopelessly consumed, or confused, by specific pro-conference or pro-team biases.
asserted
voters → recur → biases
That observation was even more evident with the release of this week's poll, which has conclusively demonstrated, yet again, that preseason polls are given far too much importance and that no other conference gets the special treatment the SEC receives.
asserted
SEC → demonstrate → treatment
Texas has two poor quality losses this year, to the Oklahoma Sooners and a home loss to the Florida Gators.
asserted
Texas → have → Gators
They have the miraculous escape over Ohio State, and a win over Ole Miss.
asserted
They → have → Miss.
Texas Tech has just one loss, a bad one at Cincinnati, but two "ranked" wins in a surprisingly strong Big 12 Conference.
asserted
Tech → have → Conference
We've had an entire offseason and half a season with SEC coaches, cough Lane Kiffin cough, complaining about moving to a nine-game schedule and demanding preferential treatment for their schedules, all while they're already getting it.
asserted
they → have → it
Missouri is No. 19, for some reason, despite an extremely unimpressive resume of providing losses for other SEC teams.
asserted
Missouri → provide → teams
They were blown out 31-3 by Ole Miss, lost to what's clearly a mediocre Mississippi State team, though at least that was with Kamario Taylor, but their big win over Florida now looks much less impressive considering the Gators' collapse.
asserted
win → blow → collapse
Florida has two impressive wins, over Ole Miss and Texas, but has three awful losses.
asserted
Florida → have → losses
They were blown out 45-17 at Missouri, blown out 38-19 by South Carolina, and blown out 27-8 by Georgia.
asserted
They → blow → Georgia
Why are they ranked?
asserted
they → rank → ?
You could make the case that the Gators deserve to be in the top 25 had their three losses been even remotely close.
uncertain
losses → make → top
They shouldn't be ranked.
asserted
They → rank → ?
And they wouldn't be, if their jersey patch didn't have the SEC logo on it.
asserted
patch → have → it
Meanwhile, Northwestern isn't ranked, despite having just two losses.
asserted
Northwestern → rank → losses
South Carolina also has three losses, yet not only are they ranked, they're No. 23.
asserted
they → have → losses
At least Florida can point to Ole Miss and Texas, but the Gamecocks jumped into the top 25 after beating a very mediocre Oklahoma team.
asserted
Gamecocks → point → team
They lost to Mississippi State, Kentucky, and were blown out 49-18 by Alabama.
asserted
They → lose → Alabama
While they did beat Tennessee, there's little to justify being ranked with three losses this early in the season.
asserted
they → beat → season
The Irish have taken advantage of an easy schedule this year, going 7-1 with wins over Wisconsin, Rice, Michigan State, Purdue, North Carolina, Stanford and Navy.
asserted
Irish → take → Wisconsin
They lost their only "tough" game on the road at BYU.
asserted
They → lose → BYU
The Hoosiers, after all, lost in close fashion to Ohio State, with starting QB Julian Sayin.
asserted
Hoosiers → lose → Sayin
They've won everything else.
asserted
They → win → everything
UCLA hasn't lost at all, the only team in the Big Ten or SEC able to say that.
asserted
UCLA → lose → that
Sure, they've had a pretty easy schedule, but they have wins over Wisconsin at home and Oregon on the road...how's that any different from Notre Dame?
asserted
that → have → Dame
Especially considering, again, they haven't lost?
asserted
they → consider → ?
After Kiffin and Sarkisian have spent weeks complaining about the SEC's schedules and how they're handled, it's clear that the AP Poll is giving them an enormous amount of deference, likely undeservedly so.
asserted
Poll → spend → deference
The reality is that the SEC this year, and the Big Ten for that matter, are filled with teams that are far less talented than in years past.
asserted
that → fill → years
NIL and the transfer portal have flattened out college football, and brand names matter less than ever.
asserted
names → flatten → football
You'd think that watching Indiana win a national championship would show voters that the traditional pathways and powerhouse programs should not be given the benefit of the doubt.
asserted
pathways → think → doubt
Some of this will sort itself out as November plays out, but there's no question that the AP Poll will impact the College Football Playoff selection committee rankings.
asserted
Poll → sort → rankings
The ones that actually matter.
asserted
that → matter → ?
The Aporia
