Every year in late February, I put out my Projected AP Top 10 basically six months ahead of the AP Top Ten release.
Here we are in July and while my top 10 remains the SAME, I will make two very minor modifications to the order since that February posting.
It is important to make the point that this is NOT my preseason Top 10 for next season, rather what I am projecting the Preseason AP Top 10 will look like to start the season.
My predicted Preseason AP Top 10 has been a PERFECT 10 for 10 in EIGHT of the 15 years that I have put it out! When I predict the AP Top 10 in February (about a HALF YEAR ahead of the actual AP poll), I have now hit on 143 out of 150 over the last 15 years! That means hitting all 10 teams in eight of the fifteen years and missing by just one team in the other seven years. Once again, predicting the top ten teams in the AP poll SIX MONTHS in advance, the record is now 143 out of 150 or 95.3%!
Last year was one of those years where I missed by one. When I did the AP Top 10 in February, Notre Dame had signed Sam Hartman and I figured that would put them over the top. I had Notre Dame as the #10 team in the poll, but it was the Washington Huskies who were #10 in the preseason AP poll and the writers did a good job with that as they went undefeated all the way up to the national title game. I had the other nine teams correct.
When I put the original top 10 out this past February, I was starting the second write through process for each team. The second write thru process lasts about a month and a half. Once spring practices have ended, the 3rd write through process begins which involves me talking to 120+ coaches spending about an hour each going over their teams with them. The transfer portal closed on April 30 and we gave it the full month of May and an extra week to find out where all the players signed. We sent the last page to the press on June 7th.
The magazine is out an available right now but it is EXCLUSIVELY at Barnes and Nobles and Books-A-Millions. If you order online at PhilSteele.com you will get the digital magazine for free and the digital magazine is updated thru the start of September. We fix any typos and circle any players that are out for the year and capture any changes!
You can also order by calling 1-866-918-7711.
Here are the ten teams I feel will be in the 2024 AP Preseason Top Ten and over the last thirteen years 143 of my 150 (95.3%) Projected top ten teams in February made the actual top ten, so as I said earlier, I seem to have a pretty good feel for how the voters will rank these teams come August. The only change between this blog and the February blog is the order of the ten teams but they are not changed much. In the only change I made, I moved Oregon ahead of Alabama. That is the only changes as most of it remains the same, but all 10 teams are the same.
My 2024 Projected AP Preseason Top 10 (slightly reordered)
