The AP poll matters not one lick in the BCS standings now, but I thought it was still worth noting here for the sake of general perception. The coaches poll, which does count, has the Hogs at No. 14 in the nation. So with or without Knile, we are seen as a bottom half of the Top 25 type of team. But when you consider that Auburn was No. 23 last year in the pre-season, you know that No. 14 or No. 15 is not something to worry over. If the Hogs go to Tuscaloosa and take care of business and then follow that up with a win over Texas A&M, thus showing the Alabama win not to be a fluke, expect to see the Hogs in the top five or very close to it. And with the schedule that follows, they could stay around the top five or well into it all the way to Baton Rouge.
The rest of the SEC follows as No. 2 Alabama, No. 4 LSU, No. 8 (soon to be SEC Texas A&M, which seems too high!), No. 12 South Carolina, No. 19 Georgia, No. 20 Miss. State, and No. 22 Florida. This is the most number of teams any conference has had ranked in the Top 25 AP pre-season poll. Well, your conference wins five straight national championships and such respect does follow. But I truly doubt the SEC ends the season this way. We'll beat a few of our own out of the Top 25 before it is said and done.
No. 1 by the way, is OU. See you in New Orleans, Sooners! A national championship win over those guys would surely replace the 1978 Orange Bowl in Razorback lore would it not as the best win over that team from Norman.