No surprise here. The defending national champion Alabama Crimson Tide once again find themselves on top of college football, coming in #1 in the initial top 25 poll. Ohio State follows them, and Oregon, Stanford, and Georgia round out the top 5.
Here's a look at the poll in its entirety:
RANK | TEAM | 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 | 8-0 | 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. |
In case you hadn't noticed, of the 25 spots in the ranknigs, 22 belong to teams from the power five leagues. Only #9 Louisville (AAC) , #11 Notre Dame (Independent), and #19 Boise State (MWC) had invites to the preseason party this year.
As far as Conference USA is concerned, only two teams received votes; Tulsa (9) and East Carolina (3). Those two are the heavy favorites to win C-USA this year, and they also both happen to be in their final year in the conference, preparing to bolt for the American Athletic Conference after the 2013-14 seasons.