Coaches Poll: Clemson tops Ohio State for No. 1, but who else is overrated and underrated?

Clemson tops Ohio State in the Preseason Coaches Poll with a trio of SEC football teams rounding out the top five.

For the second year in a row, the Clemson Tigers rank as the top team in all of college football by coaches, with the Ohio State Buckeyes ranking in second. Having the presumptive first overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft under center in Trevor Lawrence will certainly help Clemson rank atop of the mountain. Oh, and the fact that Lawrence and the Tigers defeated Justin Fields and the Buckeyes in the Fiesta Bowl earlier this year.

The top five is rounded out by Alabama, Georgia, and LSU respectively.

College football preseason Coaches Poll

1. Clemson
2. Ohio State
3. Alabama
4. Georgia
5. LSU
6. Oklahoma
7. Penn State
8. Florida
9. Oregon
10. Notre Dame
11. Auburn
12. Wisconsin
13. Texas A&M
14. Texas
15. Michigan
16. Oklahoma State
17. USC
18. Minnesota
19. North Carolina
20. Utah
21. UCF
22. Cincinnati
23. Iowa
24. Virginia Tech
25. Iowa State

5. Penn State at No. 7 is too high without Micah Parsons

The Nittany Lions have a solid team entering the 2020 season. But their prized athlete on the entire team is linebacker Micah Parsons, and he won’t be playing this season if there’s even a season. Reports earlier this week said Parson would opt out to focus on the 2021 NFL Draft, where he’s projected to be a top-10 selection. Parsons confirmed the report on Thursday. Penn State is good, but not sure they’re worth being ranked at No. 7 without the best linebacker in the nation leading the defense.

4. Notre Dame isn’t overrated this year

2020 is a weird year for everyone, but no one has experienced that more than the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Usually, an Independent, Notre Dame joined the ACC as a full-time member due to the scheduling restrictions. The schedule gets easier for them too. Besides Clemson and North Carolina, the Fighting Irish will be facing a majority of unranked opponents. Clemson trounced Notre Dame two years ago in the College Football Playoff, but could this year be different?

3. Texas is perennially overrated

The Texas Longhorns are hyped up every single preseason, and in recent years, they failed to live up to them this past season. Texas finished with an 8-5 record but ended up with the 14th spot in the rankings. That’s pretty generous. As is the case with any team in the Big 12, a team will only go as far as their defense can carry them. The Longhorns will have some wakeup calls when facing the likes of Oklahoma, Iowa State and Oklahoma State this season. If anyone can bail them out, it’s quarterback Sam Ehlinger.

2. Oregon is underrated

When is the Pac-12 going to get some respect? The Oregon Ducks are a loaded football team, led by offensive tackle Penei Sewell, who will no doubt be one of the first two players taken off the board in the 2021 NFL Draft. Yeah, the team doesn’t have Justin Herbert under center, but they should be ranked higher than Penn State.

1. Florida will finish ranked ahead of Georgia

The Florida Gators made the wise decision to bring in Dan Mullen as their head coach and they’ve reaped the benefits. Florida has a 21-5 record these past two seasons, which is nothing to scoff at. Of course, it’s always difficult to top Georgia in the polls. Florida appears to finally have their quarterback in Kyle Trask and a stout overall team. Don’t be surprised once we see Mullen lead the Gators over the Bulldogs in the SEC East.

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