CollegeFootballNews.com has an extremely interesting article up about the most overrated teams in college football. Over the last 35 years, 31 teams have been ranked in at least 10 preseason polls.
Preseason polls are vital because they establish expectations and give those chosen schools a decided head start in the race for a national championship. And if Behemoth U. is getting a perennial lofty ranking because of its reputation and national notoriety, well, that's cause for a closer look. There's little debate that biases exist in the rankings, but until preseason and postseason polls are compared side-by-side, it's difficult to truly and tangibly know which schools have been overrated and which have earned their station on the charts.
It's by no means a perfect measurement of overratedness, but it's pretty solid.
Of the 31 teams, Alabama ranked #22 in terms of being overrated. Being in the bottom third of that statistic is something to be proud of. Subtract the Mike DuBose era and Alabama would rank #28. Not too shabby.
Our arch-rival Auburn came in at #7 and the object of the college football world's scorn, Notre Dame, followed them at #8.
The list looks very different from what I would've imagined...definately worth checking out.