I don't understand all the handwringing about State
they outperformed Wake in most of the advanced rankings in 2021 and return a higher percentage of their production
I'm sure there are probably stats that show the bold to be true, but didn't State lose their 4 best offensive players last year other than Leary? Their defense should be pretty nasty, but Wake has been torching NFL-level talent on State defenses for years.
https://www.espn.com/college-footba...otball-teams-returning-production-2022-season
methodology explanation below the rankings
So, if BC and WF both finish the season 9-3 and BC beats WF head to head, would WF be ranked higher because of the preseason bump for WF? Don’t think so.
Also, by the time the season ends, if there are two 12-1 (or 11-2) teams vying for a playoff bid everything would be scrutinized and don’t think preseason rankings would matter. Each week the importance of early season rankings mean less.
I'm sure there are probably stats that show the bold to be true, but didn't State lose their 4 best offensive players last year other than Leary? Their defense should be pretty nasty, but Wake has been torching NFL-level talent on State defenses for years.
The biggest loss for State was that number 99 has no more eligibility. He was the designated hurt person when their defense needed a breather. Huge loss!
The more things change…
WF is two points behind Texas. Texas received a first-place vote (and their coach does not have a vote).
ETA: regarding the AP poll, WF has been ranked in one preseason poll, ever (#23 in 2008)
Apparently back in the 1940's there were no preseason polls
To add a little more context: The first one was bottled up, just mass of humanity formed at the LOS, and Christian Turner bounced it. Was semi-fluky; not great for the defense but didn't feel like a blown fit or anything.
The second one ... yeesh. Will Towns ran through a hole I could've made it through.
So yeah, Aug. 9 isn't the time to be ringing the alarms and praying the offense scores 50 points/game. But if the shit keeps happening, things will look more like last year's Army, Clemson and UNC games than anybody would like.