Preseason Amway Coaches Poll: Alabama tops Clemson for No. 1

The preseason Amway Coaches poll was released on Thursday with three of the four teams from last year’s College Football Playoff making up the top three.

In a move that shouldn’t come as a surprise to people who follow college football, the Alabama Crimson Tide were voted as the No. 1 team in the preseason Amway Coaches poll.

The defending national champions received 55 of a possible 64 first-place votes to secure the top spot in the preseason poll. The national runner-up Clemson Tigers received seven first-place votes and came in at No. 2 behind Alabama. The two teams could meet again in the College Football Playoff if both stay healthy and live up to their preseason hype and expectations.

Coming in at the No. 3 spot is the Oklahoma Sooners who lost to Clemson in the CFB Playoff semifinals last year in the Orange Bowl. The Florida State Seminoles received one first-place vote to come in fourth and the Ohio State Buckeyes come in at No. 5 despite losing 16 starters to the NFL.

1. Alabama (55 first-place votes)

2. Clemson (7)

3. Oklahoma

4. Florida State (1)

5. Ohio State

6. LSU

7. Stanford

8. Michigan

9. Notre Dame

10. Tennessee (1)

11. Michigan State

12. Ole Miss

13. Houston

14. TCU

15. Iowa

16. Georgia

17. USC

18. Washington

19. Oklahoma State

20. North Carolina

21. Baylor

22. Oregon

23. Louisville

24. UCLA

25. Florida

The SEC leads all conferences with six teams in the preseason coaches poll with LSU, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Georgia and Florida joining Alabama in the top 25.

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The No. 10 ranking for Tennessee is the highest preseason rank for the Vols since 2005 when they were ranked No. 5. The No. 9 preseason ranking is also the highest for Notre Dame since 2006. Conversely, the No. 22 ranking for Oregon is their lowest since 2005.

Which team do you think is ranked too high/too low in the preseason Amway coaches poll?