AP Top 25 preseason poll: 5 knee-jerk reactions

4. Florida Atlantic isn’t feeling the love

Two teams outside of the Power 5 conferences were included in the AP Top 25 preseason poll. The UCF Knights, fresh off of their undefeated not-actually-national-championship-winning season, will start the season as the No. 21 in the country while the Boise State Broncos will be right behind them in the 22nd spot. However, there should have been a third team in this vein that earned some respect from the voters.

The Florida Atlantic Owls deserve way more credit and buzz than they seem to be getting heading into the 2018 college football season — and no, it’s not just because they have the ever-polarizing Lane Kiffin still heading things up on the sidelines. No, this is a team that is going to put their stamp on the sport this year time and again.

Last season, the Owls had a tough start to their schedule with games against both Navy and Wisconsin. They lost both of those and then suffered a disappointing defeat at Buffalo to begin 1-3. However, they righted the ship in a massive way to reel off 10-straight wins, including a dominant 50-3 win over Akron in the Boca Raton Bowl and a Conference USA Championship victory. Florida Atlantic made it clear that, under Kiffin, they were a group that had to be taken seriously, even if the AP didn’t get that message.

Coming into this year, the Owls could be even more dangerous. Not only do they return star running back Devin Singletary, who topped 2,000 yards rushing and had 32 rushing scores last season, but they will also get De’Andre Johnson back from injury. Put simply, this team could be even better than the group that went 11-3 last season, and that should’ve been recognized. If they can knock off Oklahoma in their season-opener though, that will surely change.