College football rankings: Winners and losers from preseason AP Top 25

College football rankings: Biggest losers of preseason AP Top 25 poll

Yessir! It’s gonna to be mighty hard for the Hogs to run the gauntlet at No. 19

There was some belief that Arkansas was the second-best team in the SEC West to only Alabama, but the AP is not buying that. The Hogs find themselves at No. 19, a full 13 spots back of No. 6 Texas A&M and only two ahead of No. 21 Ole Miss. Arkansas has to play all three of those teams, plus No. 23 Cincinnati right out of the gate. The AP does not believe they are running the gauntlet.

No amount of Slow Mesh is going to duct tape a Sam Hartman-less Wake team

After a great breakthrough season for Wake Forest, no amount of Slow Mesh is going to convince the AP that the Deacs should be ranked for all that much longer. That is because they suffered a massive blow right before the season started. Losing starting quarterback Sam Hartman indefinitely due to a non-football medical condition is just brutal. We are all pulling for you, Sam!

The AP hit Texas with a Horns Down so hard to keep them outside the top 25

As the Lone Star State’s second biggest hype machine to only America’s Team, the Texas Longhorns were all sizzle and no steak in the eyes of the AP voters. Not only did Texas not find itself in the teens with comparable teams like USC, the Longhorns did not even crack the top 25. They are seen as the 27th-best team in the country, based on how many votes they did receive.

Penn State projects as the fourth-best team in its own division, that ain’t great

Getting lost in all of this has to be Penn State. It may have been a year from hell for the Nittany Lions, but they still have James Franklin at head coach and Sean Clifford at quarterback. Unfortunately, that does nothing for the AP. Penn State is viewed as team No. 29 in the country, which is good enough for a distant third to Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State in division.

The best part in this is there are games to be played, and that is where seasons are won and lost.

For more NCAA football news, analysis, opinion and unique coverage by FanSided, including Heisman Trophy and College Football Playoff rankings, be sure to bookmark these pages.