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The AP Top 25 Poll Released: No Love for the Cincinnati Bearcats

The Associated Press Top 25 poll has been released and, as Cincinnati fans have become accustomed too, there is little love heading the Bearcats' way as they sit outside the Top 25.

David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

The Preseason Associated Press Top 25 Poll is an interesting talking point, but really has little value after that. After all, it is a poll ranking teams before they have even faced off against an opposing team. There is no preseason, there is no exhibition game, we are quite literally looking at a list of teams based on pure speculation.

Leading that list of promise and speculation is the usual suspect heading into this 2015 season, Ohio State, taking the unanimous distinction as the number one team in the poll. From a quick look through, I don't see anything that is particularly surprising. TCU, Alabama, Baylor and Michigan State round out the top five, in that order. While it certainly feels like an interesting combination of college football programs, I don't think anyone is surprised. But why should I just tell you, we have the poll for you.

Ranking Team Points
1 Ohio State (61) 1,525
2 TCU 1,428
3 Alabama 1,322
4 Baylor 1,263
5 Michigan State 1,256
6 Auburn 1,192
7 Oregon 1,156
8 USC 1,085
9 Georgia 991
10 Florida State 959
11 Notre Dame 873
12 Clemson 862
13 UCLA 698
14 LSU 675
15 Arizona State 605
16 Georgia Tech 588
17 Mississippi 563
18 Arkansas 410
19 Oklahoma 394
20 Wisconsin 393
21 Stanford 347
22 Arizona 311
23 Boise State 240
24 Missouri 219
25 Tennessee 114

Now here's where you ask why you should care. Cincinnati didn't make the Top 25. Well...

And... there we go. Cincinnati received eight votes, just more than the likes of Nebraska, Kansas State, Florida and NC State. For what it's worth, Cincinnati did earn more votes than BYU, who figures to be one of their most difficult matchups this season.

My general thoughts here are that it would be nice to get a little more love in the early poll. Like I said above, this is a poll that is based entirely on speculation. Cincinnati's team is pretty darn exciting when based on speculation. As Bearcats' fans are well aware, Cincinnati will be fielding an offense headlined by a quarterback with potential for a very real early round NFL Draft status and is flanked by a wide receiving core that would make, arguably, most of the nation blush. The offensive line, running backs and the secondary look promising and even the perceived weaknesses in the front seven are likely being overblown. Throw in a coaching staff that has seen the big game and you have a team ripe with promise and potential.

That said, this is a preseason poll based on hype, which seems to cater to teams from the Power 5 conferences. I believe Cincinnati deserves a little more attention, but at the end of the day, these rankings are little more than a discussion point around the water-cooler until the opening kickoff for Week 1. Let's hope those eight votes only increase as the season progresses because it would be nice if the rest of the nation would take a closer look at the talent Cincinnati possesses.