Preseason Coaches Poll: Clemson tops Alabama for No. 1 – 10 takeaways fans need to know

It’s August and that means real-life college football will be played this month. And now we have the first poll of the year to spark debate among fans with the release of the Coaches Poll.

Reigning national champion Clemson tops the preseason Coaches Poll Top 25 for the first time in program history. The Tigers, led by sophomore quarterback Trevor Lawrence received all but six first-place votes. The remaining six first-place votes went to Alabama, who finished as the national runners-up to Clemson last year.

• It’s a clear gap between Clemson and Alabama and the next wave of teams as no other team received a first-place vote. This marks the first time since 2010 that only two teams received first-place votes.
• This is the first time since 2015 that Alabama wasn’t the preseason No. 1 team in the Coaches Poll. However, that doesn’t mean this season is already a loss. In four of five titles won during the Saban reign, they began the season out of the top spot just once. The lone title they won when ranked No. 1 in the preseason was in 2017.
• The rest of the top five is made up of the same three teams that began there last year for the first time since 1992, albeit in a different order. Georgia, Oklahoma and Ohio State round out the top five.
• Clemson is No. 1 but the ACC is not. Syracuse at No. 22 is the only other conference member to make the Coaches Poll Top 25.
• The SEC is normally the conference most-represented in the Top 25, but they come in second this year with six, granted they do have four in the top eight.
• But it’s the Big Ten that has the most teams in the Coaches Poll Top 25 with seven teams, including Michigan who checks in at No. 7 and defending Big Ten West champion Northwestern who nabbed the No. 25 spot.
• The Big 12 has three teams in the Coaches Poll with Texas (7) and Iowa State (24) joining Oklahoma. This marks the first time Iowa State was voted in the preseason Coaches Poll.
• Notre Dame is the lowest-ranked team of last year’s Playoff participants at No. 9.
• UCF is the only Group of Five team ranked, checking in at No. 17.
• Fallen Giants: Florida State is used to being ranked but enter unfamiliar territory this year after a miserable 2018 and are unranked in the preseason poll for the first time since 2008. This is only the second time they’ve missed the preseason poll since 1990. USC is another fallen power who finds themselves outside the Top 25. The Trojans are out of the Top 25 for the first time they’ve been eligible since 2001.

2019 Preseason Coaches Poll Top 25

1. Clemson
2. Alabama
3. Georgia
4. Oklahoma
5. Ohio State
6. LSU
7. Michigan
8. Florida
9. Notre Dame
10. Texas
11. Texas A&M
12. Washington
13. Oregon
14. Penn State
15. Utah
16. Auburn
17. Wisconsin
17. UCF
19. Iowa
20. Michigan State
21. Washington State
22. Syracuse
23. Stanford
24. Iowa State
25. Northwestern

Others receiving votes:

Nebraska 152; Boise State 118; Mississippi State 111; Miami 94; Army 91; Kentucky 79; Virginia Tech 64; Texas Christian 63; Southern California 47; Utah State 32; Fresno State 32; Virginia 30; Cincinnati 25; West Virginia 24; Memphis 24; Oklahoma State 20; South Carolina 15; NC State 12; Duke 10; Boston College 5; Florida State 4; Baylor 4; Appalachian State 4; North Texas 3; Houston 3; UCLA 2; Temple 2; Arizona State 2; Troy 1; Tennessee 1; Mississippi 1; Minnesota 1