It's pretty rare that there's ever a serious race for No. 1 in the preseason AP Top 25 poll. Even if there's a debate, it's typically settled long before ballots are cast. Over the last 20 seasons, the difference in first-place votes between No. 1 and 2 has been within 10 ballots only twice.

After all, when combined, you place 16 teams in the preseason top 25, perhaps calls for a duopoly in college football are not that far-fetched. In fact, four out of the top 5 teams in the country, according to AP are in both these powerhouse conferences.