Coaches vote Clemson No. 1 again preseason poll; 3 SEC teams in the top 5

Clemson was selected as the No. 1 college football team in the preseason coaches poll Thursday for the second straight season.

The Tigers, who return Trevor Lawrence at quarterback, lost to LSU in last season’s national title game. Ohio State was ranked No. 2 by the coaches.

The next three teams are all from the SEC — Alabama at No. 3, Georgia at No. 4 and LSU at No. 5.

The full poll is as follows (first-place votes in parentheses):

1. Clemson 1,589 (38)

2. Ohio State 1,555 (17)

3. Alabama 1,495 (4)

4. Georgia 1,345

5. LSU 1,330 (6)

6. Oklahoma 1,315

7. Penn State 1,199

8. Florida 1,176

9. Oregon 1,164

10. Notre Dame 1,012

11. Auburn 898

12. Wisconsin 887

13. Texas A&M 807

14. Texas 703

15. Michigan 687

16. Oklahoma State 524

17. USC 521

18. Minnesota 494

19. North Carolina 415

20. Utah 241

21. Central Florida 232

22. Cincinnati 229

23. Iowa 204

24. Virginia Tech 143

25. Iowa State 135

Others receiving votes: Tennessee 111; Boise State 111; Arizona State 88; Kentucky 73; Memphis 71; Baylor 66; Washington 65; Louisville 62; Miami 58; Appalachian State 31; Navy 17; Virginia 13; Air Force 12; Mississippi State 9; Texas Christian 7; Washington State 6; Tulane 5; California 5; UL Lafayette 3; Southern Methodist 3; Nebraska 3; Stanford 2; Pittsburgh 1; Kansas State 1; Indiana 1; Duke 1.

Will Fagan