Guess tentative ap/coaches rankings come monday

In the BCS era it absolutely matters. If you started higher in the preseason/early season, an early loss doesn't hurt you nearly as much. For "mid-major" teams you had to be ranked at a certain point to be BCS eligible Obviously the higher your ranking, the better shot you had at getting to the national championship game. Also, college football is built off of it's rankings WAY more than basketball. At the end of the college football season, even if you didn't win the national championship, you still want to finish as high as possible. In college basketball, it's all about March Madness. No one cares if they finish 9th rather than 6th. Do you remember where FGCU finished last year in the rankings? No. But I bet you know they made the Sweet 16. THAT is what matters. When Butler, VCU and George Mason made the Final Four, where did they finish in the rankings? Who cares. The Final Four is what they'll forever hold on to. In football, you don't get a shot to make the "Final Four" aka a BCS Bowl if you're not ranked high enough. Rankings mean everything. At least they do up until you actually get that BCS bid. If you're a mid-major, you can have a great year in college basketball, be ranked, and lose in the first round of your conference tournament a miss the NCAA Tournament because you're a 1-bid league and you're not undefeated and 31-0 like Wichita St. Would you rather say "heeey, we were ranked" or cut down the nets of your conference tournament and go to the dance?