Coaches' poll lists Clemson as preseason No. 1 team
The preseason Coaches' Poll was released Thursday, and the coaches see 2019 picking up where 2018 left off. Clemson was the overwhelming choice for No. 1, garnering 59 votes.
But the defending champions were not the unanimous choice. Last fall's runner-up Alabama picked up six first-place votes and came in at No. 2 in the poll. The top five was rounded out by the three programs closest to the Tigers and Tide -- No. 3 Georgia, No. 4 Oklahoma and No. 5 Ohio State.
That is the exact same makeup of the coaches' 2018 preseason poll, just in a jumbled order: No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Clemson, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Georgia and No. 5 Oklahoma.
This is the first time since 2015 Alabama has not begun the year in the No. 1 spot; the Tide won their fourth national championship under Nick Saban's watch that January.
This also marks the fourth straight year Clemson has appeared in the Coaches' preseason Top 5, and the fifth straight for Ohio State.
Alabama has now begun 11 consecutive seasons inside the Coaches' Top 5.
Elswhere, Texas is inside the preseason Top 10 for the first time since 2010, while Florida is back for the first time since 2013.
No. 6 LSU has an argument for the most treacherous schedule with games against No. 2 Alabama, No. 8 Florida, No. 10 Texas, No. 11 Texas A&M and No. 16 Auburn on the docket, but no one can argue with unranked South Carolina's top-heaviness: No. 1 Clemson, No. 2 Alabama and No. 3 Georgia will all face the Gamecocks this fall.
The full poll:
1. Clemson -- 1,619 total points (59 first-place votes)
2. Alabama -- 1,566 (6)
3. Georgia -- 1,447
4. Oklahoma -- 1,415
5. Ohio State -- 1,368
6. LSU -- 1,218
7. Michigan -- 1,155
8. Florida -- 1,103
9. Notre Dame -- 1,100
10. Texas -- 1,038
11. Texas A&M -- 893
12. Washington -- 834
13. Oregon -- 787
14. Penn State -- 699
15. Utah -- 642
16. Auburn -- 606
17. UCF -- 436
17. Wisconsin -- 436
19. Iowa -- 343
20. Michigan State -- 313
21. Washington State -- 274
22. Syracuse -- 227
23. Stanford -- 200
24. Iowa State -- 169
25. Northwestern -- 161
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.
