I always hate it when people say ranking don't matter. Ranking help recruiting, determine bowl bids and national and local perception/conversation/interest in the team. If we beat MSU, one could argue that we have a better resume and team than Kentucky. However, because of preseason perception in ranking one will be top 10 and the other will be lucky to be in the top 25. MN won't get into the top 10 unless we beat Penn State and will need to remain perfect to stay there (1 loss and down we will tumble). Bottom line is rankings don't matter if the goal of your team is bowl eligibility and/or just to get a Rose Bowl bid (that is largely determined by B1G record). However, if your goal is to produce an eventual national championship contender and get a New Years bowl if you have only 2 losses, then preseason/early season rankings matter.