Ohio State preseason No. 1 in coaches poll
The Sports Xchange
Defending champion Ohio State will open the season with the No. 1 ranking in the Amway Coaches Poll, receiving 62 of 64 first-place votes in the preseason picks released Thursday.
Second-ranked TCU and No. 3 Alabama each claimed one first-place vote apiece.
Georgia will begin the season ranked at No. 9, while Auburn will start seventh.
TCU has its highest preseason ranking in program history and with quarterback Travone Boykin returning, the Horned Frogs are the favorites in what is expected to be a competitive Big 12. Baylor, which won the conference title in 2014, is ranked fourth. Oklahoma was the third team in the preseason poll at No. 19.
Competition is always fierce in the Southeastern Conference, which has eight ranked teams in the preseason poll, including five of seven teams in the SEC West Division. The other SEC teams in the rankings: LSU (13th), Mississippi (15th), Arkansas (20th), Missouri (23rd) and Tennessee (25th).
Oregon, national runner-up to Ohio State in January, is ranked fifth and one of six Pac-12 teams in the top 25.
The last team to go wire-to-wire as the No. 1 team in the country was Southern California in 2004.
Georgia Tech is ranked No. 17 after finishing seventh in the final coaches poll of 2014.
Georgia Tech enters the 2015 season as the third-highest ranked team in the ACC, following Atlantic Division members Florida State (No. 8) and Clemson (No. 12).
Four of Georgia Tech’s 2015 opponents are ranked in the preseason poll – Florida State, Georgia (No. 9), Notre Dame (No. 11) and Clemson – while another four foes were among other teams to receive votes – Virginia Tech, Miami, Duke and North Carolina.
Tech is ranked in the preseason Top 25 for the first time since 2010 when the Jackets were ranked 16th by the Associated Press and 17th by the coaches.
^Amway Coaches Preseason Football Poll
1. Ohio State (62) 2
2. TCU (1) 18
3. Alabama (1) 1
4. Baylor 14
5. Oregon 4
6. Michigan State 9
7. Auburn 5
8. Florida State 17
9. Georgia 3
10. USC 13
11. Notre Dame 16
12. Clemson 15
13. LSU 8
14. UCLA 7
15. Ole Miss 6
16. Arizona State 24
17. Georgia Tech 19
18. Wisconsin 25
19. Oklahoma 10
20. Arkansas 12
21. Stanford 11
22. Arizona 34
23. Missouri 23
24. Boise State 27
25. Tennessee 20
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