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Over one-third of the teams ranked in preseason AP Poll won’t be playing in 2020
Published:
The release of the Associated Press Preseason Poll is often one of the many signs that the college football season is approaching. And while that’s still the case for a lot of teams, there are four conferences that have already backed away from playing football this fall.
Currently, six conferences — AAC, ACC, Big 12, C-USA, SEC and Sun Belt — are pushing forward with a fall football schedule. The B1G, MAC, Mountain West and Pac-12 have opted out. Still, the AP released its annual preseason Top 25, including all FBS teams, whether they’re playing or not.
In the initial poll, there are nine teams in the rankings that will not be moving forward with a fall schedule. Six of those are from the B1G and the other three are from the Pac-12. The nine teams are:
- No. 2: Ohio State (B1G)
- No. 7: Penn State (B1G)
- No. 9: Oregon (Pac-12)
- No. 12: Wisconsin (B1G)
- No. 16: Michigan (B1G)
- No. 17: USC (Pac-12)
- No. 19: Minnesota (B1G)
- No. 22: Utah (Pac-12)
- No. 24: Iowa (B1G)
What could have been.
Many expected Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin to compete for a B1G title, and potentially a spot in the College Football Playoff. Iowa and Minnesota both hit double-digit win totals a year ago and Michigan hit the 9-win mark in 2019.
It would’ve been another fun season in the B1G. But, unfortunately, we’ll have to wait until at least the winter to see these teams in action.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB