Looking for meaning in the preseason polls

Meyer on importance of education, winning culture Ohio State coach Urban Meyer stresses the importance of education and culture in the aftermath of four players being suspended for the team’s opening game against Virginia Tech. 0 Shares Print BURBANK, Calif. — Preseason polls are almost meaningless. They are speculative projections for entertainment purposes only. Everyone, of course, wants a look at how the so-called experts see things, though most often in order to sniff and snark. Preseason polls win a team nothing, and they most often operate as tools to be filed away in order to launch postseason broadsides at which teams were overrated or underachieved. Media tapped USC as the preseason pick in the Pac-12 poll on Thursday, with voters predicting the Trojans would prevail over North Division champion Oregon, winner of four of the last six conference titles, in the Pac-12 championship game. Pac-12 administrators would leap into their air and click their heels together over that sexy matchup on Dec. 5 in Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, even though the teams do meet for the first time since 2012 in the regular season. Meanwhile, the USA Today coaches poll was also released Thursday, and it rated Oregon No. 5 and USC 10th. Coaches and media at odds — who knew? …

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