Now that the final season-ending polls are out, it's high time for some extremely early and wildly speculative preseason Top 25 lists for next year. ESPN's Mark Schlabach has his. CBS Sports' Brett McMurphy has his. Some guy at Yahoo Sports I've never heard of has one, too. And no one is particularly high on the Broncos.
- Mark Schlabach has Boise State at No. 20.
- Brett McMurphy has Boise State "also considered."
- Random Yahoo guy does not even mention the Broncos and is now dead to me, after knowing him for 45 seconds.
Of the early pollsters, Schlabach is the only one to throw any words Boise State's direction. He sees great things ahead for the Broncos, which is fun. He just can't help but notice all those star players who aren't around any more.
The Broncos are 73-6 in coach Chris Petersen's six seasons and probably will finish in the top 10 for the third straight year.
I think it's best I stop reading there.
In Bronco-related news, the way early preseason polls have a huge crush on Michigan State, the Broncos' first opponent of 2012. Schlabach has the Spartans at No. 9, McMurphy at No. 18, and Yahoo guy at No. 13. If Boise State can sneak into the Top 25 by August time, we could have ourselves a Top 25 matchup in East Lansing.
LSU is the consensus No. 1, USC is the consensus No. 2, and there are interesting names like TCU and Georgia dotting the Top 15s in multiple polls. I know that preseason polls are just the meaningless whimsy of writers and experts and Fresno State football teams circa early 2000s, but I guess I just got used to a certain style of living. Guess Boise State knows where to find its shoulder chips for next year.
Your turn
What do you make of these way-too-early polls? Do these guys have it right? Are they completely off base? Share your thoughts in the comments.