AP Top 25: Alabama tops Oklahoma, Clemson in preseason college football rankings
The first Associated Press Top 25 poll of the season is here. And unsurprisingly, the defending national champions are ranked No. 1.
Alabama, on the heels of its sixth national title in 14 seasons under Nick Saban, opens the season at No. 1. The Crimson Tide, the preseason No. 1 for the fourth time in the past six seasons, are ranked ahead of several other programs who have made multiple trips to the College Football Playoff: No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 Clemson and No. 4 Ohio State.
While Alabama received 47 first-place votes, Oklahoma and Clemson received six apiece. The Sooners narrowly edged the Tigers for No. 2 in the rankings, earning 1,462 points in the poll compared to 1,447 for Clemson. At No. 4, Ohio State received just one first-place vote. The Buckeyes lost to Alabama in last year's CFP title game.
Next in line are two more SEC teams — No. 5 Georgia and No. 6 Texas A&M. The Bulldogs were the recipients of three first-place votes.
Rounding out the top 10 are Iowa State at No. 7, Cincinnati at No. 8, Notre Dame at No. 9 and North Carolina at No. 10.
Iowa State is coming off arguably the best season in program history and returns almost all of its starters from that team. This is ISU's best preseason ranking ever.
Cincinnati had an undefeated regular season last fall before losing to Georgia in the Peach Bowl. According to the AP, Cincinnati is the first team from outside the Power Five conferences to be ranked in the preseason top 10 since Louisville (then in the AAC) was No. 9 in 2012.
Notre Dame also went unbeaten in the regular season before losing to Clemson in the ACC title game and to Alabama in the CFP semifinal. North Carolina, meanwhile, has seen its talent level ascend quickly under Mack Brown and is led by Sam Howell, one of the top quarterbacks in the country. This is UNC's best preseason ranking since 1997 during Brown's first stint as the Tar Heels' head coach.
Big Ten, Pac-12, SEC lead with 5 teams apiece
The Pac-12’s first appearance in the Top 25 comes courtesy of Oregon at No. 11. The Ducks are one of five Pac-12 teams to crack the Top 25. Joining Oregon are USC at No. 15, Washington at No. 20, Utah at No. 24 and Arizona State at No. 25.
The SEC and Big Ten also have five teams apiece in the Top 25. For the SEC, there are the three teams in the top 10 (Alabama, Georgia and Texas A&M) followed by Florida at No. 13 and LSU at No. 16.
For the Big Ten, there is a big gap between Ohio State at No. 4 and the rest of its ranked teams. Wisconsin is second in line at No. 12, followed by Indiana at No. 17, Iowa at No. 18 and Penn State at No. 19. This is the first time Indiana has been ranked in the preseason poll since 1968.
The ACC and Big 12, meanwhile, have three ranked teams each.
For the ACC, it’s No. 3 Clemson, No. 10 North Carolina and No. 14 Miami. Notre Dame, a temporary ACC member in 2020, will return to its status as an independent program in 2021. For the Big 12, it’s No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 7 Iowa State and No. 21 Texas. Oklahoma and Texas, of course, have accepted invitations to leave the Big 12 for the SEC once the Big 12’s media rights deal expires in 2025.
The Sun Belt is also well-represented with two members near the bottom of the rankings: No. 22 Coastal Carolina and No. 23 Louisiana. Before this year, the Sun Belt had never had any of its teams ranked in the preseason poll.
Full AP preseason Top 25 rankings
Alabama (47 first-place votes)
Oklahoma (6)
Clemson (6)
Ohio State (1)
Georgia (3)
Texas A&M
Iowa State
Cincinnati
Notre Dame
North Carolina
Oregon
Wisconsin
Florida
Miami
USC
LSU
Indiana
Iowa
Penn State
Washington
Texas
Coastal Carolina
Louisiana
Utah
Arizona State
Others receiving votes: Oklahoma State 107, Ole Miss 106, TCU 40, Liberty 36, Auburn 32, North Carolina State 14, Michigan 12, Northwestern 8, Boise State 7, Nevada 7, Brigham Young 6, Ball State 6, Houston 5, Boston College 5, UCF 5, West Virginia 3, UAB 2, Army 2, UCLA 2
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