Upsets are a fact of life in sports. This year, they're a common theme in college football. Upsets are much more apparent this season than usual, from one of the most substantial upsets in college football — Division I-AA  Appalachian State defeating then No. 5 Michigan, a Division I-A school, at the Big House in Ann Arbor —  to what was thought to be an upset - the University of Kentucky defeating the University of Louisville until the Cardinals later faltered against the likes of Syracuse. One reason for this is all of the overreaction from fans, sportswriters and analysts when, say, No. 8 Team A loses to No. 12 Team B. Yes, by definition, this is an upset because of the numbers, but those numbers are based on polls decided by coaches and the media.But these rankings aren't the most reliable sources, especially early in the season. An Oct. 11 debate on SportsCenter claimed that No. 10 USC is a better team than, say, No. 5 South Florida or No. 4 Boston College even though the Trojans are ranked lower. This may very well be true, and it's exactly why the polls are absolutely worthless, particularly in the preseason.  Preseason rankings are a fun way for the fans to get psyched for the coming season and are something to look forward to in the summer months when fans are sick of the humidity and burned out on baseball. But they are a load of rubbish because they are based on the talents of prospective lineups, recruits and how well teams fared in the previous season.Preseason polls and preview magazines, while enjoyable to read and analyze, are just an easy way for the publishing companies to earn a quick profit off ecstatic fans who are impatient for football season to start. They are not quality predictions of how the season will play out because no one really knows what will happen. Sportswriters, after all, are not psychics.    Unfortunately, a team's fate can be decided by these polls before the season even begins. If a team doesn't make the Top 10 or 15 from the get-go, it has little chance of qualifying for a national championship berth even if it finishes the season undefeated — unless it gets lucky and many teams ahead of it are beaten throughout the course of the season. The 1-loss teams get screwed over (especially SEC teams) because of the polls as well. Auburn's 2004 team is an example of that. A possible solution to this would be waiting to release the Associated Press and USA Today polls until a few weeks into the season. This would allow time for teams to get acclimated and for fans, coaches and sportswriters to get a feel for each team's potential. While it's not a playoff game or even a solution to the bewildering Bowl Championship Series (that's another column), later polls would be much fairer because they would allow for initial wins and losses in the season and give teams a slightly fairer shot at making it to the BCS National Championship.