:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/37063448/20140419_mta_ad9_011.JPG.0.jpg)
The inaugural AP Poll was released Sunday and it ranks Gary Pinkel's Tigers 24th in the country, flanked by North Carolina at 23 and Washington at 25. Missouri ended last season ranked fifth in the same poll, but saw its ranking drop thanks to the loss of several starters on both offense and defense.
Other rankings of note include opponents such as Texas A&M (21), Georgia (12), and South Carolina (9). The other ranked SEC school are Alabama (2), Auburn (6), LSU (13), and Ole Miss (18).
With the inception of the College Football Playoff, the AP Poll no longer carries the same weight that it did in the past. In the new format, polls and computer rankings will not be used to determine which four teams will compete in the playoff. Instead, a 13-member committee will select and seed the teams.
What does this mean for the AP Poll? Well, it pretty much strips it of all the importance that it never had anyway, leaving only one thing standing amongst the ashes: arguments on the internet. If the AP Poll was good for one thing, it was its uncanny ability to infuriate college football fans around the world. That power should remain intact in the new format. Somewhere, there's an Arizona State fan whose expletive-laced reaction to his team's ranking just ruined his niece's eighth birthday party, and the first thing he's going to do after he washes that cake off his face is log on to ESPN.com and compose a 400-word comment detailing the biases of each voter. The poster in the locker room that reminds everyone to turn off the lights when they leave is more important to this man's team than their ranking in the AP Poll, but if you think a trifling fact like that is going to stop him from voicing his outrage, you've got another thing coming.
In an attempt to honor these incessantly angry fans, we invite any and all commenters to participate in the poll below. Cast a vote, and then let us know – in excruciating detail, please – what you think about Mizzou's rank. Don't hold back, really let it all out. We're here to get mad and yell at each other, because this is the internet and that's what we do.