No. 1 Alabama Tops Preseason Top 25
Alabama will begin its quest for a second consecutive national championship with a rare feat.
The Crimson Tide is just the second team to be ranked No. 1 in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll for three straight seasons. Alabama received 42 out of 61 first-place votes.
No. 2 Clemson received 18 first-place votes. Georgia is No. 3 and Wisconsin is fourth. The Badgers received one first-place vote. Ohio State was ranked fifth.
The preseason AP poll started in 1950 and since then only Oklahoma from 1985-87 had started No. 1 in three straight years until now.
The Southeastern Conference leads the way with six teams in the Top 25. The Big Ten is next with five teams while the Big 12 and ACC each had four.
The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press preseason college football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, 2017 records, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and 2017 final ranking:
| Record | Pts | Prv | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Alabama (42) | 13-1 | 1505 | 1 |
| 2. Clemson (18) | 12-2 | 1476 | 4 |
| 3. Georgia | 13-2 | 1350 | 2 |
| 4. Wisconsin (1) | 13-1 | 1271 | 7 |
| 5. Ohio St. | 12-2 | 1256 | 5 |
| 6. Washington | 10-3 | 1215 | 16 |
| 7. Oklahoma | 12-2 | 1173 | 3 |
| 8. Miami | 10-3 | 1027 | 13 |
| 9. Auburn | 10-4 | 1013 | 10 |
| 10. Penn St. | 11-2 | 1012 | 8 |
| 11. Michigan St. | 10-3 | 877 | 15 |
| 12. Notre Dame | 10-3 | 804 | 11 |
| 13. Stanford | 9-5 | 778 | 20 |
| 14. Michigan | 8-5 | 773 | - |
| 15. Southern Cal | 11-3 | 543 | 12 |
| 16. TCU | 11-3 | 533 | 9 |
| 17. West Virginia | 7-6 | 511 | - |
| 18. Mississippi St. | 9-4 | 450 | 19 |
| 19. Florida St. | 7-6 | 384 | - |
| 20. Virginia Tech | 9-4 | 351 | 24 |
| 21. UCF | 13-0 | 312 | 6 |
| 22. Boise St. | 11-3 | 292 | 22 |
| 23. Texas | 7-6 | 216 | - |
| 24. Oregon | 7-6 | 148 | - |
| 25. LSU | 9-4 | 106 | 18 |
Others receiving votes: South Carolina 96, Florida 68, Utah 60, Oklahoma St. 51, FAU 38, Arizona 28, NC State 22, Texas A&M 21, Boston College 18, Northwestern 13, Kansas St. 10, Iowa St. 8, Houston 6, Memphis 3, Troy 2, Iowa 2, Kentucky 1, Arkansas St. 1, Fresno St. 1.
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