3 takeaways from the 2017 College Football USA TODAY Preseason Coaches Poll

The 2017 College Football USA TODAY Preseason Coaches Poll was released on Thursday and there are some things to notice from the initial poll of the year.

College football fans obsess over a lot of things when it comes to their beloved sport and polls are definitely one of them. Whether it’s gloating to the masses that your team is nearing — or at — the top or vehemently denying the validity of polls to begin with because you feel your team was slighted, the fact of the matter is polls get college football fans’ blood pumping one way or another.

With the 2017 college football season set to get started later this month with a few games, and officially on Sept. 2 with the full slate of contests around the country, we got our first taste of the polls on Thursday with the release of the 2017 USA TODAY preseason Coaches Poll. It’s our first glimpse at, at least, who the coaches believe will be the best of the best from around the country.

So what are a few things that stand out among the rest?

3. SEC! SEC! SEC!

We’re entering another year of college football, which means we’re entering another year of countless arguments over which is the best conference in the. So … you know what that means!

Yes, that means it’s time to put some more focus on the SEC. Over the course of the past decade, for better or worse, the SEC members have touted themselves as the best overall conference in the country. Despite stats here and there that may point in another direction, all you have to do is listen to a few hours of the Paul Finebaum Show during a day and you’ll see how passionate fans are about not just their favorite program, but their conference as a whole.

In the initial Coaches Poll of the year, some will believe their argument is validated, as the Southeastern Conference put six teams on the list, the most of any conference.

Alabama, LSU, Auburn, Georgia, Florida and Tennessee are the teams in the group this preseason Coaches Poll, with Nick Saban and the Tide taking the No. 1 spot overall in the ranking. All six of these teams have been talked about in the offseason as contenders to reach Atlanta and the SEC Championship Game, so really, there’s little argument to be made here about six SEC teams on the list.

2. Stanford … might be a little low

It seems no matter how consistent the program is under head coach David Shaw, in one way or another, they always seem to get overlooked in some capacity. In the Coaches Poll that was released on Thursday, Shaw and the Cardinal came in at No. 14, which might be slighting them just a bit.

Sure, with the loss of Solomon Thomas to the first-round of the NFL Draft on the defensive line is a hit, but the secondary is slated to be one of the best in the conference, which makes up the difference in that regard on the field. Not to mention, history has shown us that Stanford can do quite well with replacing the hoss men up front.

There were also some questions surrounding this team when quarterback Keller Chryst went down with an ACL injury in January. He had surgery to repair the injury, leaving many to question what would happen under center. However, Chryst is in pads and zinging the ball on the field, looking just fine in the process. Should he have defied some medical odds and that knee is fully healed by the time Week 1 rolls around, the senior could be set for the breakout season we’ve all been waiting for out of him since he signed with the Cardinal.

Don’t let the losses of Christian McCaffrey or Thomas blind you. This Stanford team could make a run into the top-10 sooner rather than later.

1. Tom Herman starts with a Top 25 team

Will the Texas Longhorns return to prominence in the near future? That is the question that has been asked since the program hired young, hotshot coach Tom Herman, it’s the question that will be asked countless times during the lead-up to the season, and it’s the question that will be asked … probably until Herman is able to win a national title in Austin.

The first Coaches Poll of the season gives Herman a pretty prominent start on that journey, as they come in at No. 23 in the ranking. They fired Charlie Strong following an abysmal 5-7 season last year, but the coaches believe enough in Herman and the returning players here to warrant them as one of the top-25 teams in the country.

Next: 30 bucket list items for college football fans

While Herman didn’t have the best opening recruiting class for his tenure back in February, he does have 10 defensive starters back along with seven on the defensive side of the ball.

This team is stocked with talent, whether anyone wants to admit it or not, and Herman has been pegged as the man to get the job done with turning around this program from the start.

And if they can’t climb up the polls, well … at least they have some pretty sweet lockers to look at everyday, so that’s something.