Football fans rejoice, for we are upon the most wonderful time of year yet again. NIL is now in its 2nd full year and the memes are plentiful. Turns out you can take NIL money without ever taking a snap! (Looking at you, LSU) This could also be the final season of the ACC, Big Ten, and Big 12 as we know it. Fun!
Anyways, here is the AP preseason top 25 along with last year's record to refresh your memory.
1. Alabama (13-2)
2. Ohio State (11-2)
3. Georgia (14-1)
4. Clemson (10-3)
5. Notre Dame (11-2)
6. Texas A&M (8-4)
7. Utah (10-4)
8. Michigan (12-2)
9. Oklahoma (11-2)
10. Baylor (12-2)
11. Oregon (10-4)
12. Oklahoma St (12-2)
13. NC State (9-3)
14. Southern Cal (4-8)
15. Michigan State (11-2)
16. Miami (7-5)
17. Pittsburgh (11-3)
18. Wisconsin (9-4)
19. Arkansas (9-4)
20. Kentucky (10-3)
21. Ole Miss (10-3)
22. Wake Forest (11-3)
23. Cincinnati (13-1)
24. Houston (12-2)
25. BYU (10-3)
The NCAA is being extra special weird this year by technically having week 1 last two weeks. Yes, it's strange, but who are we to judge? There are a lot of games beginning Saturday, August 27th...but none of them look particularly good on paper. But still! Football! There will be more games to come on Thursday and Friday, 9/1 and 9/2 respectively, but again, most of them look like snoozefests.
The real fun begins on Saturday, 9/3 with two yuuuuge games.
#11 Oregon at #3 Georgia, 3:30pm on ABC (Mercedez Benz Stadium in Atlanta)
#5 Notre Dame at #2 Ohio State, 7:30pm on ABC
Bonus games!
Sunday 9/4
Florida State at LSU, 7:30pm on ABC (From the New Orleans Superdome)
Monday 9/5
#4 Clemson at Georgia Tech, 8pm on ESPN (Mercedez Benz Stadium in Atlanta)
Enjoy the season, folks!