Alabama Tops Preseason Coaches’ Poll

The University of Alabama football team lost to the University of Clemson in last year’s

title game, but the Crimson Tide are still the No. 1 team in the Amway Coaches’ Top 25 Poll for this preseason. Alabama garnered 49 first-place votes to take the top spot.

Ohio State University received five first-place votes to land in second, and Florida State University got four first-place votes for third in the poll. The University of Southern California failed to get any first-place votes but still came in fourth place.

Clemson, the defending national champion, earned seven first-place votes but could only muster fifth place. Pennsylvania State University is sixth, the University of Washington is seventh, the University of Oklahoma is eighth, the University of Michigan is ninth, and the University of Wisconsin rounds out the top 10.

The Big Ten conference had four schools in the running—Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan and Wisconsin—but didn’t have another team anywhere outside the top 10. The SEC placed the most teams in the poll with six, as No. 12 Louisiana State University, No. 13 Auburn University, No. 15 University of Georgia, No. 16 University of Florida and No. 24 University of Tennessee joined Alabama.

The Pac-12 put two teams in the top 10—USC and Washington—and four teams overall in the poll, with No. 14 Stanford University and No. 25 University of Utah. The Big 12 didn’t have any teams in last year’s College Football Playoffs but still have five teams in the poll, with Oklahoma, No. 11 Oklahoma State University, No. 19 Kansas State University, No. 20 University of West Virginia and No. 23 University of Texas.

Clemson doesn’t lead the Atlantic Coast Conference in the poll, as that honor goes to FSU, but the ACC did place five teams in the poll overall, with No. 17 University of Louisville, No. 18 University of Miami, and No. 22 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University also on the list.

Only one non-Power Five school earned a spot in the poll, with No. 21 University of South Florida out of the American Athletic Conference taking the honor.

There will be a major shakeup in the poll after the first week of the season, however, as Alabama will clash with Florida State to open the season in a battle of top-five teams. Meanwhile, Michigan will battle Florida, and Virginia Tech will face off with West Virginia for two contests of top 25-ranked teams.

Other games that may have an impact on the poll include LSU against Brigham Young University, Texas against the University of Maryland, and Tennessee against the Georgia Institute of Technology. Washington State University, University of Colorado and Texas Christian University were the top-three teams to finish just outside the top 25.

Mississippi State University got 19 votes but ended up as one of the 36 teams to receive votes but not land in the top 25. MSU will have plenty of chances to work its way into the poll later in the season, though.

In the next few days, the Associated Press will release its own top-25 poll, which could feature a few significant position swaps for teams.