My ongoing take is that there shouldn't be any rankings before October at the earliest. TCU could very well be 1-3 by then. Hell they could also be 3-1!
You're 100% correct. Preseason rankings are stupid. Rankings in general are stupid, but I doubt they'll ever come up with a great post-season system that doesn't allow for journalist's input.
I think rankings enhance the sport regardless of if they’re antiquated or are beneficial to deciding a national champion or whatever.
They aren’t perfect, but help the layman understand which games are bigger, how non-regional teams stack up with each other, and provide sense of pride/positivity to teams, schools and fans. It’s cool when your team is ranked and then gets talked about nationally and has their highlights on national shows and stuff.
They give people something to talk about and debate and argue.
Who cares how accurate preseason ranking are? It doesn’t really matter. They also typically sort themselves out in the end anyway.
I have a hard time imagining how college sports would be better without rankings.
