(EDITORS NOTE: caption correction) Jan 9, 2025; Miami, FL, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman celebrates defeating the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Why There Shouldn't Be Preseason College Football Rankings

Originally posted on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI
By John Kennedy | Last updated Jul 13, 2025 1:18 PM ET

The system works, but doesn't start purely

In college football, especially in the expanded CFP era, the best teams rise to the top of the rankings over the grind of a full season and get the chance to play for a national title. To this basic extent, the system works, now more than ever, with such a wide-ranging 12-team net being cast. If you deserve a title shot, you'll most likely get it.

But if you think about this from a purist perspective, I don't think there should be any rankings at all until about 4-5 weeks into the season. The theory would be to have every team starting on an equal playing field and let the on-field play in this year, not the one previous, dictate the first rankings.

Is this not a more just system than the current one, where the previous season's results often heavily align with the next season's early rankings, regardless of personnel losses, changes to the coaching staff, etc.

Things that should be considered when ranking the Irish this summer

If I were to go about ranking the Irish this preseason, a few things would be weighing in my mind. Firstly, Notre Dame finished strong in 2024 and is a really talented program, and getting more so by the season. The Irish proved they belong with the big boys last year, and the rest of college football is taking notice.

This being said, Notre Dame is breaking in both a new DC and QB against Miami and Texas A&M to start the year. The margin for error is small in these opening two contests. All things considered, I expect Notre Dame's preseason rank to be between 5 and 8.

Regardless of where the Irish land, don't get used to it, their rank will move up or down quickly depending on the results of these first two tests.

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This article first appeared on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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