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Can we get rid of the biggest thing ruining college sports?

They’re great for clicks. Terrible for context and ruin the game.

Preseason college football polls have long been a staple of the sport’s chaotic tradition—but with every passing year, their flaws grow more apparent. Coaches haven’t seen fall practices. Media voters are leaning on reputation. And yet these rankings shape everything from early narratives to eventual College Football Playoff debates.

Kentucky knows the downside well. In 2021, the Wildcats started unranked, then went 6–0 and climbed into the Top 15 before finishing 10–3. In 2023, they started in some preseason Top 25s… and stumbled to 7–6 after an uneven finish.