The very first college football game of the 2017 NCAA season is in less than three weeks, and that means it is time for the preseason Amway Coaches Top 25 Poll, and a familiar face is on top. Yes, the Alabama Crimson Tide is sitting on top of the first poll with Ohio State right behind them in second place. Bama is the only SEC team in the Top 10, but there are five others spread throughout the rest of numbers 11-25.
Early on Thursday afternoon, the 2017 preseason Amway Coaches Poll was released, and there aren’t a lot of surprises up at the top. USA Today revealed that Alabama has taken the preseason top spot just as they did last year, and they did it by grabbing 49 of the 65 first-place votes.
Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide have started out the preseason in the Top 5 of every poll since 2009.
Ohio State starts out 2017 in the number two spot while the Florida State Seminoles have taken the third ranking. That sets up a huge opening weekend matchup between FSU and Alabama on Sept. 2 in Atlanta.
USC and Clemson respectively finish out the top five as a few surprises finish out the Top 10.
Penn State had a great season in 2016 and finished out with an 11-3 record which lands them in the number six spot in this poll. They are followed by Washington (12-2), Oklahoma (11-2), Michigan (10-3), and Wisconsin (11-3) to round out the Top 10.
The full 2017 preseason Amway Coaches Top 25 Poll.
- Alabama
- Ohio State
- Florida State
- USC
- Clemson
- Penn State
- Washington
- Oklahoma
- Michigan
- Wisconsin
- Oklahoma State
- LSU
- Auburn
- Stanford
- Georgia
- Florida
- Louisville
- Miami
- Kansas State
- West Virginia
- South Florida
- Virginia Tech
- Texas
- Tennessee
- Utah
Defending national champion Clemson did end up receiving seven of the first-place votes, but without the return of a starting quarterback, they dropped down a few spots.
The SEC does lead the way in true power conferences as they have six teams in the Top 25, but it’s the first time since 1991 that only one has stated the season in the Top 10. Both the ACC and Big 12 have five teams each in the Amway Coaches Poll.
The Alabama Crimson Tide are in a very familiar spot as the 2017 preseason Amway Coaches Top 25 poll, but will they be able to capture a championship? In all four title seasons during the Nick Saban era, the Tide did not start out the year in the top spot. Only time and games will tell just what will happen en route to the College Football Playoff, but these rankings will play a huge role in how things will go.
[Featured Image by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images]
