Alabama Is #1 Again in Preseason AP College Football Poll

For the third year in a row, Alabama is the #1 team in the first AP College Football Poll of the season. The only other time that’s happened was with the 1985-87 Oklahoma Sooners. The Crimson Tide received 42 of the 61 first place votes in the poll. Alabama is the defending National Champion; the Tide won a thrilling 26-23 overtime victory over fellow SEC team Georgia in the College Football Championship game. Georgia is ranked #3 in the poll; if you are wondering if there is a regular season rematch between these two Southeastern Conference powerhouses, they do not play each other in the regular season, but obviously the writers and broadcasters who make up the poll’s voters think they can meet in the SEC Championship game. Here’s some highlights from Alabama’s 2017 season:

Clemson is #2. The Tigers are two years removed from winning the National Championship after beating Alabama in the 2016 championship game; they lost in the Sugar Bowl to the Crimson Tide last year in one of the national semifinals. Clemson has only one game scheduled against a team in the preseason Top 25, at #19 Florida State on October 27th, so they should be poised for a good run. The Tigers received 18 first place votes.

Wisconsin is ranked fourth, and fellow Big Ten team Ohio State is fifth. Wisconsin is coming off its best season ever record wise; the Badgers were 13-1, with only a bad first half of the Big Ten championship game keeping them from an undefeated season. The Badgers received one first place vote in this year’s poll. Wisconsin beat #10 Miami 34-24 in the Orange Bowl, essentially a home game for the Hurricanes. Wisconsin’s opponent in the Big Ten championship last season was Ohio State. The Buckeyes were Big Ten champs, but regular season losses to Oklahoma and Iowa kept them out of the four team national championship playoffs.

Washington, Oklahoma, Miami, Auburn, and Penn State round out the top ten. Washington and Auburn open the season against each other in the Chick-Fil-A Classic in Atlanta on September 1st.

Michigan State, Notre Dame, Stanford, Michigan and USC are numbers 11 through 15. Michigan opens the season at Notre Dame on September 1st.

Numbers 16 through 20 are TCU, West Virginia, Mississippi State, Florida State, and Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech opens at Florida State on Labor Day (September 3rd). Central Florida, which finished 13-0 last year including a victory in the Peach Bowl over Auburn and was the only undefeated Division I team, is number 21. Boise State, Texas, Oregon, and LSU complete the Top 25.