Miami Hurricanes offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson just dropped a bombshell, telling reporters straight up, “First of all, there should be no such thing as preseason rankings.” He wasn’t stopping there, folks. Dawson called it “the most ridiculous thing on the planet” and then doubled down, saying it’s “the stupidest thing” he’s ever seen. You know why? Because, as he pointed out, people absolutely weigh those early polls way heavier than they should, and honestly, he’s got a point. This isn’t just some casual complaint, either. Dawson is pushing back hard on how teams are perceived, arguing we shouldn’t even have a ranking until October.
Preseason Polls Are a Joke, Says Dawson, and He’s Got the Receipts
Dawson’s argument against preseason polls is simple: how do you even know anything before games are played? He pointed to Texas A&M as a prime example of this nonsense. They were ranked in the top-five earlier this season, but guess what? After back-to-back losses to Kentucky and LSU by a combined 39 points, they are completely unranked now. Talk about a face-plant! Dawson even looked at last year’s top-10, and get this, five of those teams weren’t even in the final Top 25 at the end of the season. The numbers don’t lie, and Dawson is laying it all out: these early rankings are not predictable for the future, they are just based on the past.
SEC Bias on Blast: Unearned Love and Shaky Records
And then there’s the SEC love. Dawson didn’t hold back, blasting the “SEC, SEC” narrative and how the voters seem to just load up the Top 25 with their teams. He sees Kentucky at No. 24, Missouri at No. 25, and Tennessee at No. 17, and he’s not impressed. He flat-out said, “Guess what. Good for you. At the end of the year, half of them won’t be in the top 30.” Ouch. He even highlighted Tennessee and Missouri’s “extended struggles” when it comes to beating “even mediocre teams.” Dawson knows what’s up, calling out the unearned love some of these SEC teams get from the voters, purely based on conference reputation. Miami sits at No. 4 in the AP poll right now, but their schedule is a constant “talking point” because they only have one ranked opponent: No. 3 Notre Dame.
Miami’s Real Stakes: Proving It on the Field
Miami isn’t just talking, though. Last season, they proved they could hang, beating two SEC teams, Texas A&M and Ole Miss, in the College Football Playoff on their way to the national championship game. They ultimately fell to Indiana, which gave the Big Ten three straight titles and continued the SEC’s recent CFP issues. That’s a pretty strong statement on its own. While the AP poll gets all the hype, it’s the CFP selection committee’s rankings that truly matter. Miami will face their only ranked opponent, No. 3 Notre Dame, in a highly anticipated showdown on November 7. Will the committee be influenced by these “ridiculous” preseason rankings and all the SEC teams rounding out the poll? Or will Dawson’s words spark a shift? We’ll have to wait and see if Miami can keep shutting up the critics on the field.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Bleacher Report.
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