Yes, the Arizona State Sun Devils are ranked as the No. 23 football team in the country, according to USA Today.
Yes, Missouri is No. 19 and the top-25 matchup certainly adds to the allure of Friday’s matchup.
However, preseason and early season rankings should not exist.
I acknowledge that these early rankings will never be eliminated, but if they were, college football would be fairer.
Rankings are necessary, but should not be released until after the first week of conference play.
All early rankings do is help teams that are ranked and provide a disservice to the teams that are not.
Teams that do begin the year in the Top 25, or get in early, have a much better shot at playing for a national title than teams that do not crack the rankings until the later weeks.
Surprise teams that start the year off the radar have a hard time climbing into the polls, which is unfair to them.
Preseason rankings are all about potential, which is stupid.
Potential does not win games and should not have any impact on games played late in the season or on championship scenarios.
Talent and on-field performance wins games and should be the only thing affecting the rankings.
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