The AP preseason poll was released this morning, and the Boise State football team landed at No. 3 - the highest ranking in school history, the highest preseason ranking ever for a non-BCS team, and high enough to please pretty much every Bronco fan.
After the jump, view the full AP poll along with some additional notes and feedback. Then celebrate in the comments. The Boise State Broncos are No. 3 before any games have been played. Yes! Yes! Yes!
The AP preseason poll, which has always been my favorite poll anyway
- Alabama
- Ohio State
- Boise State
- Florida
- Texas
- TCU
- Oklahoma
- Nebraska
- Iowa
- Virginia Tech
- Oregon
- Wisconsin
- Miami (FL)
- USC
- Pitt
- Georgia Tech
- Arkansas
- North Carolina
- Penn State
- Florida State
- LSU
- Auburn
- Georgia
- Oregon State
- West Virginia
Notable others: No. 28 Utah, No. 30 Houston, No. 32 Notre Dame, No. 34 BYU
What's up now, USA Today Coaches Poll?
Many people (me) expected Boise State to be at No. 3 when the Coaches Poll was released a couple weeks back. They weren't. They were at No. 5, and I talked myself into being okay with that. But guess what? I never truly was. No. 3 makes much more sense for a team that finished No. 4 last season and returns more skill and experience than any other team nationwide. The AP poll gets it, which is weird because I'm pretty sure Craig James is still a voter.
Even better, Boise State is a solid No. 3.
| AP rank | Team | First place votes | Points | Coaches Poll rank |
| 1 | Alabama | 54 | 1491 | 1 |
| 2 | Ohio State | 3 | 1400 | 2 |
| 3 | Boise State | 1 | 1336 | 5 |
| 4 | Florida | 1237 | 3 | |
| 5 | Texas | 1 | 1223 | 4 |
| 6 | TCU | 1160 | 7 | |
| 7 | Oklahoma | 1 | 1104 | 8 |
| 8 | Nebraska | 1033 | 9 | |
| 9 | Iowa | 1007 | 10 | |
| 10 | Virginia Tech | 973 | 6 |
That's a full 99 points separating Boise State from Florida, so there would have to be some pretty serious changing of the minds to flip those spots. In fact, Boise State is closer to catching Ohio State at No. 2 than they are falling behind Florida at No. 3.
Of course, the AP poll is not the one that counts in the BCS standings. Probably because it is the poll that makes the most sense.
This actually happened: Someone voted Boise State No. 1
I don't know who it is yet (if any readers get wind, feel free to leave a comment). UPDATE: Thanks, Shrewd and ty_ol. I know who it is now.
The No. 1 voter is Joe Giglio from the News and Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina, and he is awesome. I presume.
The No. 1 voter was most certainly not the one who represents Boise State's home paper. Chadd Cripe of the Idaho Statesman voted Boise State No. 2 behind Alabama, presumably because Mike Prater actually casts Cripe's ballot for him. Good to know you can always count on your hometown paper to go out of its way to show no signs of favoritism to the team it covers.
This AP Poll is great - oh, no offense, Virginia Tech
The team that suffered greatest from the release of the AP poll was the Hokies who went from a prestigious No. 6 in the Coaches Poll to an okay No. 10 in the AP. I can hear Gregg Doyel's Boise State strength of schedule story writing itself at this very moment.
Craig James not the one who votes Boise State the lowest, for once
One of Boise State's biggest detractors, James voted the Broncos No. 6, which is bad but not the worst. That honor belongs to Cecil Hurt and Ray Ratto who combined their powers of idiocy to each put Boise State at No. 7. Which one did a worse job? Cecil Hurt by a mile. He ranked USC ahead of the Broncos.
Your turn
Are you happier with Boise State's No. 3 ranking in the AP than with their No. 5 in the Coaches? Think Boise State will catch Ohio State sooner rather than later? Share your thoughts in the comments.