None of the polls are important at all anymore. With the CFP going to 12 teams there is absolutely no reason to even have them. They’re really just talking points for sports writers and sports media.
More than that, fans love them. Absolutely love them. If the high-end media didn't provide them, the mid-grade would. And if they didn't the low end would. People love things ranked and love complaining about rankings.
I remember reading somewhere, the preseason AP poll was a relatively good predictor, in part because the bar for any predictions are rather low. College football is simultaneously somewhat static, but also super random.
This year was interesting because there was sort of a big gap. You had 10 teams that started ranked and finished ranked, and most of of them moved negligibly. ND fell from 5 to 21. NC State dropped from 13 to 23, which is honestly a difference of like one win. Next biggest move was Michigan from 8 to 2.
But you also had 15 dang teams that fell out, some spectacularly (Oklahoma, A&M, Baylor, I guess OKState). Here's how everyone that dropped out finished:
| 6 Texas A&M 5-7 |
| 9 Oklahoma 6-7 |
| 10 Baylor 6-7 |
| 12 Oklahoma State 7-6 |
| 15 Michigan State 5-7 |
| 16 Miami (FL) 5-7 |
| 17 Pitt 9-4 |
| 18 Wisconsin 7-6 |
| 19 Arkansas 7-6 |
| 20 Kentucky 7-6 |
| 21 Ole Miss 8-5 |
| 22 Wake Forest 8-5 |
| 23 Cincinnati 9-4 |
| 24 Houston 8-5 |
| 25 BYU 8-5 |
Some of those might bounce back in when the final comes out (thought bowls are sort of terrible for rankings. All in all, a few big swings, a lot of minor ones, which is just how the sport goes, a presume.
