Pre-Season Coaches Poll Top25: Alabama at No.1; Oklahoma, LSU Take Plunge

By Lou Aguila (staff@latinospost.com) | First Posted: Aug 01, 2013 03:56 PM EDT

Tags Alabama, Ohio State, Oregon, BCS Coaches’ Poll, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State

The two-time defending BCS football champion Alabama Crimson Tide unsurprisingly enter the new season as the kings of college football after landing the no.1 spot on the Preseason Coaches' Poll on Thursday.

The message the poll sent was loud and clear-- experts say the Crimson Tide are the team to beat heading into the upcoming college football season as the Nick Saban-coached football program garnered 58 out of a possible 62 first-place votes (1,545 points).

After serving a postseason ban last season, the Ohio State Buckeyes are ready to make some noise this year with an enormously talented roster and a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate in quarterback Braxton Miller. The Buckeyes, who collected three first place votes and 1,427 points to take the no.2 spot in the poll, are expected to improve even farther in their second season under head coach Urban Meyer.

The Oregon Ducks remain a BCS title contender despite the departure of Chip Kelly, who now assumed the head coaching duties for the Philadelphia Eagles. The Ducks received 1,397 points for the no.3 position in the poll.

Stanford (1,262 points), University of Georgia (1,250 points), Texas A&M (1,215), South Carolina (1,136 points), Clemson (1,047 points), Louisville (1,010 points), and Florida (930 points) rounded out the top 10 of the Preseason Coaches' Poll.

On the other hand, the Oklahoma Sooners (16^th) found themselves out of the Preseason Top 10 for the first time since 2000 and were even outranked by intra-state rivals the Oklahoma State Cowboys (14^th). The LSU Tigers did not make the Top 5 for the first time since 2010 and the USC Trojans are out of the magic five for the first time since 2004 (not included the 2011 and 2010 ban).

The Coaches' Poll, consists of 62 FBS head coaches or athletic department employees, is considered an integral part in determining the teams participating in the BCS Championship game.

Here is the complete list of Top-25 football programs courtesy of USA Today

RANK	TEAM	2012 RECORD	POINTS	PREVIOUS RANK
1	Alabama (58)	13-1	1545	1
2	Ohio St. (3)	12-0	1427	NR
3	Oregon	12-1	1397	2
4	Stanford	12-2	1262	6
5	Georgia	12-2	1250	4
6	Texas A&M (1)	11-2	1215	5
7	South Carolina	11-2	1136	7
8	Clemson	11-2	1047	9
9	Louisville	11-2	1010	13
10	Florida	11-2	930	10
11	Notre Dame	12-1	872	3
12	Florida St.	12-2	844	8
13	LSU	10-3	797	12
14	Oklahoma St.	8-5	726	NR
15	Texas	9-4	622	18
16	Oklahoma	10-3	620	15
17	Michigan	8-5	589	NR
18	Nebraska	10-4	426	23
19	Boise St.	11-2	420	14
20	TCU	7-6	400	NR
21	UCLA	9-5	202	NR
22	Northwestern	10-3	186	16
23	Wisconsin	8-6	172	NR
24	USC	7-6	165	NR
25	Oregon St.	9-4	135	19
Schools Dropped Out
No. 11 Kansas State (11-2), No. 17 Utah State (11-2), No. 20 Vanderbilt (9-4), No. 21 San Jose State (11-2), No. 22 Cincinnati (10-3), No. 24 Northern Illinois (12-2), No. 25 Tulsa (11-3).
Others Receiving Votes
Kansas State (11-2) 113; Miami (Fla.) 101; Michigan State 89; Baylor 80; Virginia Tech 65; Fresno State 62; Arizona State 51; Mississippi 32; Vanderbilt (9-4) 29; Utah State (11-2) 23; Brigham Young 20; North Carolina 19; Northern Illinois (12-2) 19; Tulsa (11-3) 9; Ohio 8; San Jose State (11-2) 8; Arizona 5; Cincinnati (10-3) 3; East Carolina 3; Kent State 3; Mississippi State 3; Washington 3; Central Florida 2; Arkansas 1; Arkansas State 1; Rutgers 1; Tennessee 1; Toledo 1.