By JOHN KLEIN Sr. Sports Columnist on Aug 4, 2012, at 9:47 AM Updated on 8/04 at 9:47 AM
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Auburn started out the 2010 season ranked 22nd and with a new quarterback from some junior college in Texas.
Cam Newton won the Heisman and Auburn won the national title.
So, where you start isn’t really all that important. If you are good enough, and you play in one of the perceived power conferences, you can get to the top of the polls.
Still, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State had to be somewhat pleased with their starting points in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
The Sooners, the Big 12 favorite, are ranked fourth. OSU, the defending Big 12 champs, are 19th.
OU is high enough that a good season should put it in a good spot to play in the national championship game.
OSU is in the poll despite an 18-year-old true freshman quarterback.
So, pollsters hold the two state schools in high regard.
Where you start does matter. It helps you to stay in the national championship hunt because you are starting higher up in the poll.
So, being ranked fourth is probably about right and a good spot for Oklahoma to start the season.
One has to figure the SEC will eliminate a few of its own teams through the season. There are five teams in the SEC in the top 10, including three from the SEC West (LSU, Bama and Arkansas).
At the same time, the eventual Big 12 champ should get plenty of love from pollsters because the Big 12 has six in the top 21 of the preseason poll.
That means 60 percent of the Big 12 is ranked and that doesn’t include Texas Tech (a winner over OU last year), Iowa State (a winner over OSU last year) and Baylor (home to the Heisman winner last year).
Preseason polls are just guesses. But, the first poll of this season looks pretty solid to us and is good news for OU and OSU.
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