College Football Rankings: 5 biggest surprises from the preseason Coaches Poll

Lincoln Riley, USC Trojans. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Lincoln Riley, USC Trojans. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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Kirby Smart, Georgia Bulldogs
Kirby Smart, Georgia Bulldogs. (Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/Getty Images) /

4. Is USC really better than Penn State, Florida State and Clemson?

While I have no issues about USC being ranked inside of the top 10, are the Trojans really better than three teams they are ranked ahead of in the Penn State Nittany Lions, the Florida State Seminoles and the Clemson Tigers? If I had to pick one team to make the College Football Playoff among these four, I would take the winner of Clemson/Florida over USC, and maybe Penn State.

Caleb Williams is an outstanding quarterback, but why should I trust an Alex Grinch defense when I know it will never hold up when it counts? Manny Diaz has been a huge asset to James Franklin’s staff, so the Nittany Lions could be good enough to win the Big Ten if Drew Allar is as advertised. As far as the potential ACC winner between Clemson and Florida State, that team should be elite.

All four of these teams will play in New Year’s Six bowls, but USC loses to all three head-to-head.

3. Once again, it is Georgia and everybody else, as they have widened the gap

It really does feel like Georgia vs. the field again this season. Could the Dawgs pull off an unprecedented three-peat? That sounds patently insane, but who else are you taking? You may like other elite teams like Alabama, Michigan or Ohio State, as well as up-and-comers like Florida State and LSU, but we just have to accept that Georgia will be making the College Football Playoff.

For the Dawgs to have over 100 more votes than second-place Michigan, it really speaks volumes. Frankly, I think the smart money would be on them to meet in the national title bout, as the Wolverines should be as good as they have ever been. What makes UGA’s No. 1 ranking such a surprise is that nobody has a ton of confidence in truly identifying a No. 2 … outside of Michigan.

If the Wolverines were to knock down college football’s Goliath, they need to win a CFP game first.