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Northwestern college football rankings: AP Poll, USA Today countdown rank Wildcats 22

THE AP POLL AND USA TODAY AGREE THAT NORTHWESTERN IS THE BEST AND SO IS TAYLOR SWIFT

By Rodger Sherman

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Chris Graythen

Hey guys, just a regular morning of talking about college football and where Northwestern is ranked in college football! Today, the AP Poll came out, and, hey, where did Northwestern rank? Northwestern already ranked at No. 22 in the Coaches poll, and then ranked at No. 22 in the SI countdown -- surely, the AP Poll won't be completely identical right?

Oh --

I DON'T KNOW BOUT NU/ BUT I BET YOU WANT TOO-OOOH/ EVERYTHING WILL BE ALRIGHT IF/ COACH FITZ KNOWS WHAT TO DOO-OOOH/ I GOTTA HAVE NU/ I GOTTA HAVE NYOU-OOOH

NOBODY HAS EVER BEEN AS EXCITED AS I AM ABOUT BEING RANKED NO. 22

Updates from Northwestern fall football camp

 WE ARE WAY TOO PUMPED FOR NORTHWESTERN FOOTBALL SEASON. Track the excitement, from Evanston to Kenosha.


BECAUSE TAYLOR SWIFT IS A) LIKE 5'11 B) SINGS COUNTRY MUSIC ALL DAYS OF THE WEEK INSTEAD OF JUST ON COUNTRY MUSIC THURSDAY AND C) ALSO MAKES DISTURBINGLY CATCHY POP SONGS

Anyway, it's the first time Northwestern has been ranked in the poll since 2001. BIG THINGS.

Hey, Paul Myerberg also has a countdown over at USA Today. I wonder where he put Northwestern?

I'll put NU here, No. 22 nationally and fourth in the Big Ten

JUST KEEP DANCIN LIKE WE'RE/TWENTY TWO-OOOOOOOH/TWENTY TWO-OOOH-OOOOOOOOHIT FEELS LIKE ONE OF THOSE NIGHTS

Some people wouldn't be excited about being ranked 22, because there are 21 spots higher. But, dammit, Northwestern isn't normally ranked in the preseason. Paul Myerberg explains why and how Northwestern could hypothetically win the Big Ten in his piece, and explains why Northwestern will continue being damn good for the foreseeable future.

AND THERE IS NOTHING IN THE WORLD BETTER THAN TAYLOR SWIFT, AND DON'T YOU FORGET IT. I am THRILLED that everybody has come to the exact same conclusion about Northwestern, and although I may be 23, Taylor Swift's powers of simile allow me to continue dancing like I'm 22 as long as I damn please, and say that everything will be alright until I feel like stopping.

Here's the full AP poll:

Rank Team Record Votes Previous
1 Alabama (58) 0-0 1,498 NR
2 Ohio State (1) 0-0 1,365 NR
3 Oregon 0-0 1,335 NR
4 Stanford 0-0 1,294 NR
5 Georgia (1) 0-0 1,249 NR
6 South Carolina 0-0 1,154 NR
7 Texas A&M 0-0 1,104 NR
8 Clemson 0-0 1,083 NR
9 Louisville 0-0 1,042 NR
10 Florida 0-0 894 NR
11 Florida State 0-0 845 NR
12 LSU 0-0 802 NR
13 Oklahoma State 0-0 755 NR
14 Notre Dame 0-0 748 NR
15 Texas 0-0 677 NR
16 Oklahoma 0-0 579 NR
17 Michigan 0-0 531 NR
18 Nebraska 0-0 382 NR
19 Boise State 0-0 328 NR
20 TCU 0-0 323 NR
21 UCLA 0-0 286 NR
22 Northwestern 0-0 199 NR
23 Wisconsin 0-0 185 NR
24 USC 0-0 134 NR
25 Oregon State 0-0 129 NR
Others Receiving Votes: Michigan State 95, Baylor 92, Virginia Tech 86, Miami (FL) 85, Arizona State 53, Kansas State 43, Fresno State 36, Vanderbilt 19, Washington 17, Northern Illinois 16, Mississippi 11, Utah State 8, Georgia Tech 6, North Carolina 3, Arizona 3, Cincinnati 3, Penn State 2, Brigham Young 1

Go Cats, y'all.

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