Alabama tops preseason coaches poll for 4th time in SEVEN seasons, defending champions Georgia 3rd

Nick Saban has built himself a dynasty in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and Monday, the polls reflected their anticipation of yet another strong year from his team.

The University of Alabama Crimson Tide were ranked no. 1 in the USA Today preseason Coaches Poll. 

Alabama finished last season with a loss to Georgia in the CFP National Championship game in Indianapolis. 

The Bulldogs of Georgia won their first title since 1980 – getting revenge over Alabama, who they lost to in the 2017 CFP title game.

Despite the recent win, Georgia – who was named preseason coaches no. 1 last year – fell to no. 3 in this year’s rankings. 

The Ohio State University Buckeyes, led by coach Ryan Day, bridged the gap between the two SEC schools and polling second. 

Alabama was yet again named the no. 1 team in the preseason coaches poll, taking over from Georgia

Rounding out the top-5 were Clemson at no. 4 and Notre Dame at no. 5.

Notable snubs from the top-25 included the Iowa Hawkeyes, Penn State Nittany Lions, Tennessee Volunteers, and the LSU Tigers. 

Iowa in particular fell just nine votes short of no. 25 Houston.

The SEC led all conferences with six teams in the poll, with the ACC coming in a close second with five inclusions. 

Two schools from the smaller Group of Five conferences made the poll, with the University of Cincinnati and University of Houston from the American Athletic Conference making the list at no. 22 and no. 25 respectively.

While this is an important poll, the more respected poll put out by the Associated Press is expected to be released on August 15th. 

Ohio State’s Ryan Day and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney lead teams ranked in the top-5

Notre Dame, with a new coach at the helm, rounded out the top-5 of the poll in 5th.

It’s been a tumultuous offseason for college football, with multiple teams announcing their plans to leave their current conferences and triggering a second round of conference re-alignment.

Unlike the first round of re-alignment in the early-2010’s, where strong schools left weak football conferences, this round has seen traditional powerhouses leave for slightly greener pastures.

After the University of Texas and University of Oklahoma announced they were leaving the Big 12 Conference for the SEC, a number of schools chose to announce departures this offseason.

That includes USC and UCLA leaving the Pac-12 Conference for the Big Ten in 2024.