K-State football coach Chris Klieman hates preseason rankings. Here’s his alternative
You may have noticed that the Big 12 didn’t release a preseason football poll this year.
It was a major change for everyone involved with the conference. For decades, the poll (as voted on by media members who cover the league) served as a great reminder that football Saturdays were fast approaching. It also got fans fired up about where their favorite team ended up on the rankings.
But head coaches in the Big 12 wanted to get rid of it.
Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark went so far as to say “I think there’s no value” in it, and that eliminating the poll was “certainly the right thing for the Big 12.”
Why? K-State football coach Chris Klieman was happy to explain. He has never been a fan of preseason rankings. Watching Arizona State win the conference last season after the Sun Devils were picked to finish dead last was a final straw, of sorts, for him and others around the league.
“It was bad for them because they didn’t get ranked high,” Klieman said. “That’s why we got rid of our rankings this year, because our (preseason) poll meant nothing.”
Klieman went on to say that teams like Arizona State and BYU weren’t shown proper respect in the College Football Rankings, because they were perceived to be bad in the preseason.
Arizona State finished at No. 12 in the final CFP rankings after going 11-2 and winning the Big 12 championship. While that ranking was arguably low, it didn’t hurt the Sun Devils in the playoff as they received a bye and pushed Texas hard in the quarterfinals.
BYU was also picked low in the Big 12’s preseason poll, and the Cougars finished at No. 17 in the CFP rankings despite a 10-2 regular season. Klieman thought it was unfair that BYU was ranked behind teams with three losses.
Overall, he thinks preseason perception allows teams that start high remain in the top 25 after taking losses while teams that start low struggle to move up after they win.
“The narrative has really hurt our league,” Klieman said. “I know it hurt Arizona State and I know it hurt BYU last year.”
Interestingly, Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham is ambivalent about that topic.
“I could care less and I’d have no clue,” he said. “I’m not a voter, and I don’t really care where people put us. Vote us first, vote us last, vote us in the middle. If we’re so focused on other people’s expectations of us, then you’re going to limit yourself.”
Klieman didn’t just complain about preseason polls during his time at Big 12 Media Days. He also offered an alternative option that he thinks could improve college football moving forward.
His solution: Wait until Week 7 of the regular season to release any rankings.
That would eliminate the need for coaches or media to make projections for teams before they get to see how they have incorporated incoming transfers. Ten years ago, before the rise of NIL and the transfer portal, experts had a good feel for teams based on returning projection. Now, it’s impossible for anyone to know what certain teams are capable of.
Klieman thinks delaying the rankings would solve a lot of those problems.
“I wouldn’t want any AP or USA Today poll to come out until the College Football Playoff rankings came out,” Klieman said, “because it’s a narrative that doesn’t need to be discussed. Nobody really knows anything about a team until six, seven or eight weeks into the season anyway. I think that would be great for the game.”
This story was originally published July 9, 2025 at 11:09 AM with the headline "K-State football coach Chris Klieman hates preseason rankings. Here’s his alternative."