Georgia tops USA Today preseason coaches poll; Ohio State ranked second
NEW YORK — Georgia will open the season ranked No. 1 in the rankings USA Today Coaches Preseason Poll a year after ending his two-year national title run.
The Bulldogs received 46 of 55 first-place votes from college football coaches on the team announced Monday. Ohio State, the preseason No. 2 seed, received seven first-place votes, followed by Oregon, Texas and Alabama.
The Associated Press preseason college football poll is scheduled to be released next Monday.
Texas and defending national champion Michigan both earned the No. 1 seed. The Wolverines will begin their season ranked No. 8 after losing coach Jim Harbaugh and quarterback JJ McCarthy to the NFL.
Mississippi’s No. 6 ranking represents the Rebels’ highest preseason ranking in the coaches’ poll since 1970. Notre Dame is No. 7, followed by Michigan, Penn State and Florida State.
The SEC’s Missouri (11) and LSU (12) were just outside the top 10.
The Southeastern Conference had nine teams in the poll, including half of the Top 12. It’s the highest starting position for Texas since 2010 and the lowest for the Crimson Tide since 2009.
The Big Ten also had four teams in the top 10 and six ranked overall while the Big 12 starts with five ranked teams.
Independent Notre Dame was the only team outside of the Power 4 conferences ranked.
Washington, the national runner-up, narrowly missed the Top 25.
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