Alabama Crimson Tide top Amway 2016 Preseason Coaches Poll

By John Buhler | Aug 4, 2016

January 10, 2016; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney and Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban pose in advance of the College Football Playoff championship at JW Marriott Camelback Inn. Mandatory Credit: Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports /

The Alabama Crimson Tide are the defending National Champions, so it’s only fitting that Nick Saban’s team would top the 2016 Preseason Amway Coaches Poll.

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The first Amway Coaches Poll was released on Thursday morning with three of the four 2015 College Football Playoff teams in the top three. Given that they won the second annual College Football Playoff, the Alabama Crimson Tide have the top spot in the first coaches poll with 55 first-place votes.

Last year’s National Runner-Up Clemson Tigers come in at No. 2 with seven first place votes. The 2015 Big 12 Champion and National Semifinalist Oklahoma Sooners start the year at No. 3 despite not having any first place votes. The only two other programs besides Alabama and Clemson to garner a first place vote were the Florida State Seminoles and the Tennessee Volunteers. Florida State and the Ohio State Buckeyes round out the top five, respectively.

Six through 10 are as follows: LSU Tigers, Stanford Cardinal, Michigan Wolverines, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Tennessee. All five teams are poised for a College Football Playoff push and are not surprising to be in the top 10 of the first Amway Coaches Poll.

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11 through 15 are as follows: Michigan State Spartans, Ole Miss Rebels, Houston Cougars, TCU Horned Frogs, Iowa Hawkeyes. Michigan State and Ole Miss have been top 10 programs the last few years, but are on the outside looking in during the early parts of 2016. TCU and Iowa have become increasingly relevant in the College Football Playoff era. Houston is the highest ranked Group of 5 team in the initial coaches poll.

16 through 20 are as follows: Georgia Bulldogs, USC Trojans, Washington Huskies, Oklahoma State Cowboys, North Carolina Tar Heels. These five teams’ ceilings are that of 10 wins this fall. Georgia and USC will have new coaches. Washington might have its best team in a decade. Oklahoma State and North Carolina could be dangerous this fall.

Rounding out the first top 25, here are 21 through 25: Baylor Bears, Oregon Ducks, Louisville Cardinals, UCLA Bruins, Florida Gators. Baylor is in the top 25 despite complete offseason chaos stemming from a campus-wide sexual assault scandal. Oregon and Louisville are about where they should be. UCLA and Florida could be higher.

A few of the teams to miss the cut include the Miami Hurricanes, the Wisconsin Badgers, and the Boise State Broncos. All three programs will be in the top 25 at some point this year.

Unless one feels a strong conviction that Clemson is better than Alabama entering the season, there really aren’t any bones to pick with the initial Amway Coaches Poll. The Division 1 coaches seemed to have mostly got it right.

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