They matter until Week 4 and then reality takes over. The only ranking that counts is the committee's first Top 25 in November. Everything before that is talk-radio fuel and we all know it.
Preseason rankings are basically a reputation contest, nobody's played a snap. Yet they anchor the narrative all year and quietly frame how the Playoff committee sees teams in the early weeks. With the 12-team bracket and autobids, do the AP and Coaches polls matter less now, or does early positioning still decide who ends up with a first-round bye? Curious how much weight you all put on the polls before October actually sorts things out.
