Some people hate college football. Some people are obsessed with criticizing college football. The Deadspin College Football Top 25 Or So loves college football. We love college football so much, we will spend the season ranking the sport according to its own logic, even where that logic might seem demented or self-contradictory. Here's what matters: winning. Tradition. A tradition of winning. Crushing your rivals. Sportsmanship. Running up the score. Class. Swagger. Here's what doesn't matter: NCAA rules, unless their enforcement makes a team start losing. Graduation rates.

These are the rankings at the beginning of the season. As such, they are based on past accomplishments, reputation, politics, and style—Deadspin's subjective impression of how much respect each team deserves, coming into the season. The list can and will be revised, violently, as the results of actual games come in. Don't like your team's ranking? Buy the quarterback a Land Rover and tell him to start winning. More »