Colorado football's spot revealed in 247Sports' Big 12 preseason poll

USA Today

4 days ago

The Big 12 announced last month that it will discontinue its conference-backed preseason media polls, following last year's poll that incorrectly predicted Arizona State, the eventual conference champion, would finish in last place.
With no official media poll this year, many media outlets will compile their own polls. 247Sports recently released their preseason poll, with Arizona State (233 points) coming out on top after winning the Big 12 Championship a year ago. Kansas State (231 points), Texas Tech (213) and Baylor (213) round out the top four. Based on the vote totals, the Big 12 looks to be as competitive as ever.
The poll slotted Colorado as the No. 10 overall team ahead of the Houston Cougars and behind BYU. With 127 points, the Buffs finished significantly ahead of Houston, which received only 81 points. Colorado seems to find itself around the middle of the pack when it comes to various preseason rankings, with USA TODAY Sports also having the Buffs as the tenth-best squad in their latest power rankings.
As far as media polls go, they do a good job of providing fans with a snapshot of what to expect going into a season. However, with the transfer portal shifting how rosters are built, conferences like the Big 12 and Big Ten believe that preseason media polls do more harm than good.
USA TODAY Sports' columnist Dan Wolken wrote that perhaps the Big 12 eliminated their preseason poll because of the "upside-down nature of last year's [2024] conference title race created a perception that the league wasn't very good."
Wolken makes a great point that although Arizona State went on to win the Big 12, the preseason media poll generated a perception that the Sun Devils were worse than their record showed.
Whether the negative perception indeed stemmed from the preseason poll's incorrect ranking remains to be seen. Still, it is a fair argument from a conference that may feel slighted by the College Football Playoff committee for undervaluing its conference. Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark seemed to agree when talking at this week's Big 12 media days.
Enjoy the preseason polls while they last, college football fans, but always take them with a grain of salt.
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