LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Ratings mania arrived in Louisville with the release of the Associated Press college football pre-season Top 25 poll Saturday morning. The list that begins with USC, Alabama and Louisiana State ends with U of L at Number 25.
Imagine. Now consider how much hysteria this historical nugget will create:
Guess which team kicked off the 2011 season ranked 25th in the AP poll?
The same one that is kicking off the 2012 season ranked Number One – USC. The Trojans began last season ranked 25th and finished sixth, a prelude to the national championship expectations that surround Lane Kiffin's program today.
I'll give you time to spread the news on Twitter before I remind you to plant your cleats back in the turf. Ready? OK. Here is the rest of the story:
The 2011 Trojans were the first team in the last eight seasons that started and finished the season ranked in the AP Top 25. Everybody else, starting with Minnesota in 2004 and stretching through West Virginia in 2010, was missing by season's end.
You can twist the pre-season polls in your favorite direction. The writers and broadcasters in the AP poll like U of L. The coaches who vote in the USA Today poll as well as the folks at Sports Illustrated had 25 (or more) teams they preferred over Louisville.
Pat Forde, who writes about college football for Yahoo!Sports, believes it is safe to rank the Cardinals 23rd as the season begins. John Clay, columnist for the Lexington Herald-Leader, is the sole AP voter from the state of Kentucky. He did not include U of L on his ballot.
You can also look at the U of L schedule and say the Cardinals should be favored in all 12 regular-season games.
Not one opponent is ranked ahead of Louisville in the AP poll, a considerable contrast from Kentucky, which faces five ranked opponents; Indiana, which plays three; and Western Kentucky, which visits No. 2 Alabama during the second week of the season.
The AP voters like what Charlie Strong is building. They ranked his team considerably ahead of two U of L opponents that actually defeated the Cards last season – North Carolina (No. 29) and Cincinnati (No. 39).
What excites the voters?
I asked Jon Wilner, college football writer for the San Jose (Calif.) Mercury-News. Wilner voted Louisville higher than anybody, ahead of Virginia Tech, Ohio State, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Wilner voted Louisville Number 12. He explained his vote in this e-mail:
"Louisville's spot is the result of how I put the pre-season ballot together: It's a general projection of how I think teams will end the year. My No. 1 is my projected national champ, No. 2 is the runner up, and so on.
"I like the Cardinals' chances to have a first-rate season -- they could be one of the country's biggest surprises -- given what they have coming back and what the Big East lost. Wouldn't be surprised if they won 9-plus games. If WVU were still around, I'd have a slightly different view of the matter. But the BE's loss is UL's gain."
Wilner, for the record, is currently ahead in balloting for the Lead Bad Voter at the web site, www.pollspeak.com, which tracks the ballots of all AP voters and asks visitors to pick the best and worst voters.
Kirk Bohls doesn't like Louisville as much as Wilner. But as the columnist at the Austin (Tx.) American-Statesman, Bohls is a respected voice in college football. Bohls ranked U of L Number 21.
"I'm a big Charlie Strong fan, and I think he's really building something in an obviously diminished Big East," Bohls wrote in an e-mail. "I expect a lot of improvement in (quarterback Teddy) Bridgewater after his freshman year, and that's always where it starts. He should be the best QB in the Big East.
"With three starters back in the line and some quality receivers, the passing game should click. How much the running game improves will determine the Cardinals' overall success. I won't be surprised if Louisville flirts with 10 wins."
Getting to 10 wins would enable Louisville to finish this season where the Cards are starting this season – in the Top 25.
Copyright 2012 WDRB News. All Rights Reserved.
Like Louisville this season, USC started last season ranked Number 25.
