[OutsiderFan]

And now #3 in ESPN's early top-25
http://espn.go.com/college-football/stor...013-top-25

As flattering as it is, I don't like it. I do think the chip on the shoulder helps us a bit, although it was getting tiresome, to be honest.
My main problem is that if they rank us this high next season, we'll be verging on being overrated. The defense will probably be stellar, but the offense can be anything between mediocre and very good.
If we have offensive problems, all the hordes of people who already doubt Stanford can sustain success, will be out in force.

I'd rather start in the 10-15 range, or even in the 5-10 range. From there, we're high enough that if we win our games we won't be snubbed, but not as high that the screams of "overrated!" can become defeaning (cough, U.SC, cough).

I can't believe I am reading this.  It's straight from the California fan "I'd rather be under the radar and sneak up on people so success doesn't go to our heads and make us overconfident" school of thinking.  If a team can't handle having expectations, it doesn't have a chance to win a championship.  Stanford fans are better than this.

Every fan base wants their team to get respect, to be talked about as one of the best, and here Stanford is, having performed at a level in the last four seasons to have earned the program such respect, and it isn't wanted?

There is no advantage to being ranked lower and the only disadvantage of a high ranking is maybe that you have a bulls eye on your chest.  But if you want to win championships, that can only be embraced as a positive.  Stanford's players and coaches have worked far too hard and have much higher goals than to be afraid of a high ranking.  Who cares if people say Stanford is overrated if the team wins?  And if the team doesn't win, it won't be ranked high anyway, so what's the issue here?

Having a whole off season with the team ranked pre-season Top 5 can do nothing but strengthen the national perception of the program among the people who end up voting for who the best teams are, and especially with recruits.  A whole off-season of Stanford being talked about as a National Title contender is invaluable.  Once the season does start, the higher you are ranked to start, the easier it is to absorb a loss and still be in title contention. 

None of the reasons given for wanting to avoid a high ranking stand up to much scrutiny, and I doubt there are any others that do either.

[OutsiderFan]

And now #3 in ESPN's early top-25
http://espn.go.com/college-football/stor...013-top-25

As flattering as it is, I don't like it. I do think the chip on the shoulder helps us a bit, although it was getting tiresome, to be honest.
My main problem is that if they rank us this high next season, we'll be verging on being overrated. The defense will probably be stellar, but the offense can be anything between mediocre and very good.
If we have offensive problems, all the hordes of people who already doubt Stanford can sustain success, will be out in force.

I'd rather start in the 10-15 range, or even in the 5-10 range. From there, we're high enough that if we win our games we won't be snubbed, but not as high that the screams of "overrated!" can become defeaning (cough, U.SC, cough).

I can't believe I am reading this.  It's straight from the California fan "I'd rather be under the radar and sneak up on people so success doesn't go to our heads and make us overconfident" school of thinking.  If a team can't handle having expectations, it doesn't have a chance to win a championship.  Stanford fans are better than this.

Every fan base wants their team to get respect, to be talked about as one of the best, and here Stanford is, having performed at a level in the last four seasons to have earned the program such respect, and it isn't wanted?

There is no advantage to being ranked lower and the only disadvantage of a high ranking is maybe that you have a bulls eye on your chest.  But if you want to win championships, that can only be embraced as a positive.  Stanford's players and coaches have worked far too hard and have much higher goals than to be afraid of a high ranking.  Who cares if people say Stanford is overrated if the team wins?  And if the team doesn't win, it won't be ranked high anyway, so what's the issue here?

Having a whole off season with the team ranked pre-season Top 5 can do nothing but strengthen the national perception of the program among the people who end up voting for who the best teams are, and especially with recruits.  A whole off-season of Stanford being talked about as a National Title contender is invaluable.  Once the season does start, the higher you are ranked to start, the easier it is to absorb a loss and still be in title contention. 

None of the reasons given for wanting to avoid a high ranking stand up to much scrutiny, and I doubt there are any others that do either.