Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma top college football preseason coaches poll

The defending national champion will open the 2021 season at No. 1 in one prominent college football poll.

The preseason coaches poll from USA Today was released Tuesday and Alabama unsurprisingly was ranked No. 1. The Crimson Tide went undefeated last season to win their sixth national title in 14 seasons under head coach Nick Saban.

The programs that have routinely been atop the rankings in recent years were next in line with Clemson at No. 2, Oklahoma at No. 3 and Ohio State at No. 4. Two SEC teams — Georgia and Texas A&M — followed in the poll at Nos. 5 and 6, respectively, with Notre Dame, Iowa State, North Carolina and Cincinnati rounding out the top 10.

Alabama is the national championship betting favorite at BetMGM at +250 with Clemson (+450), Georgia (+500), Ohio State (+600) and Oklahoma (+800) next in the betting odds.

Elsewhere, No. 12 Oregon and No. 14 USC are the two top-ranked teams out of the Pac-12, which has not had a team reach the College Football Playoff since the 2016-17 season.

LSU is No. 13 after a disappointing 5-5 season that followed its triumphant run to the national championship in the 2019 season.

Indiana, on the heels of one of its best seasons ever, is ranked No. 17 ahead of Big Ten foes Iowa (No. 18) and Penn State (No. 20). Another Big Ten team, Wisconsin, is ranked No. 15.

Texas, in its first season under Steve Sarkisian, will open the season at No. 19 in the coaches poll while Louisiana and Coastal Carolina are the two other ranked Group of Five teams behind Cincinnati.

Also of note: Ole Miss is ranked No. 25. The Rebels went 5-5 in their first year with Lane Kiffin as coach, including winning four of five down the stretch.

The coaches poll is conducted weekly throughout the season using a panel of 65 FBS head coaches. The preseason poll from the Associated Press will be released Monday at noon ET.

Full preseason coaches poll

1. Alabama

2. Clemson

3. Oklahoma

4. Ohio State

5. Georgia

6. Texas A&M

7. Notre Dame

8. Iowa State

9. North Carolina

10. Cincinnati

11. Florida

12. Oregon

13. LSU

14. USC

15. Wisconsin

16. Miami

17. Indiana

18. Iowa

19. Texas

20. Penn State

21. Washington

22. Oklahoma State

23. Louisiana

24. Coastal Carolina

25. Ole Miss

Others receiving votes: Utah 145; Northwestern 120; Arizona State 90; Auburn 84; Liberty 68; Brigham Young 53; Texas Christian 48; Michigan 30; Central Florida 29; NC State 27; Boise State 27; Kentucky 20; San Jose State 18; Army 13; Virginia Tech 9; Missouri 8; UCLA 7; Tulsa 6; Pittsburgh 6; Boston College 6; Houston 5; Ball State 5; West Virginia 4; Southern Methodist 4; Appalachian State 4; UAB 3; Arkansas 3; Nevada 2; Mississippi State 2; Air Force 2; Stanford 1; Marshall 1; Florida State 1; California 1.

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