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College football rankings: 3 unranked teams in preseason AP Top 25 who can crash the party

By John Buhler

Joey McGuire, Texas Tech Red Raiders. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
Joey McGuire, Texas Tech Red Raiders. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /
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Jeff Traylor, UTSA Roadrunners
Jeff Traylor, UTSA Roadrunners. (Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images) /

The latest college football rankings shorted these teams in the initial AP Top 25 Poll big time.

With the first AP Top 25 Poll released on Monday afternoon, some high-quality teams did not see a number next to their names.

Naturally, this will all sort itself out. Keep in mind that national runner-up TCU started last season ranked outside of the top 25. The Horned Frogs went on to win 13 games, including a thrilling Fiesta Bowl victory over Big Ten champion Michigan. Not to say any outsiders this year will have the power of the Hypnotoad on their side, but somebody will totally be crashing this top 25 party.

Here are three teams well equipped to pull it off, as well as a few honorable mentions that could.

Honorable mentions: Arkansas, Auburn, Boise State, Kentucky, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Troy, UCLA

AAC. No. 29. UTSA Roadrunners. player. Pick Analysis. 3. 2408. Scouting Report

UTSA has a great opportunity to roll Tulane to win the AAC and the Group of Five

Jeff Traylor has done a remarkable job of turning UTSA from an irrelevant upstart college football team into one of the very best Group of Five programs in the country. They offer an exciting brand of offensive football and play everyone they come across incredibly tough. In time, Traylor will be leading his own Power Five team. For now, he may lead the Roadrunners into the New Year’s Six.

With teams like Cincinnati, Houston and UCF getting the call-up to the Power Five with their Big 12 bids, somebody substantial had to backfill The American. The AAC added six new schools this offseason, none better equipped to challenge the Tulane Green Wave for conference supremacy than UTSA. Though the Sun Belt could win the Group of Five, it has never done so up to this point.

Should the Roadrunners upend Houston in Week 1 and look good against Tennessee a few weeks later, they could conceivably win the Group of Five with an 11-1 mark. They have the schedule to do it, which includes a high-profile road date to end the regular season vs. the Greenies in New Orleans. Though they don’t draw SMU this year, they could meet in the conference championship.

Even without an AAC title, the Roadrunners could crash the top 25 party with two or fewer losses.

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