The Coaches opening poll is reproduced below and like the AP version, the top is dominated by teams who have by and large dominated the CFP playoffs in recent seasons. They also have two Sun Belt teams ranked and are high on Cincinnati although probably more realistically ranking them at 10. Having said that with trips to Indiana & Notre Dame in their opening 4 games they could be worthy top 10 or completely gone before October’s out.<\/p>\n
They have both Oklahoma State & Ole Miss ranked and of those on the fringes are much higher on Northwestern than AP.<\/p>\n
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1 Alabama<\/p>\n
2 Clemson<\/p>\n
3 Oklahoma<\/p>\n
4 Ohio State<\/p>\n
5 Georgia<\/p>\n
6 Texas A&M<\/p>\n
7 Notre Dame<\/p>\n
8 Iowa State<\/p>\n
9 North Carolina<\/p>\n
10 Cincinnati<\/p>\n
11 Florida<\/p>\n
12 Oregon<\/p>\n
13 LSU<\/p>\n
14 USC<\/p>\n
15 Wisconsin<\/p>\n
16 Miami<\/p>\n
17 Indiana<\/p>\n
18 Iowa<\/p>\n
19 Texas<\/p>\n
20 Penn State<\/p>\n
21 Washington<\/p>\n
22 Oklahoma State<\/p>\n
23 Louisiana<\/p>\n
24 Coastal Carolina<\/p>\n
25 Ole Miss<\/p>\n
Here the Coaches are much more diversified with around 35 teams getting at least one vote. We are a little surprised that everyone seems down on Appalachian State. We appreciate QB Zac Thomas will be a miss but they were not a great red zone team last year with him Anyway they have added Chase Brice who has played in the ACC for both Clemson & Duke. He is i his senior year and will be keen to impress.<\/p>\n
Utah 145
\nNorthwestern 120
\nArizona State 90
\nAuburn 84
\nLiberty 68
\nBYU 53
\nTCU 48
\nMichigan 30
\nUCF 29
\nNC State & Boise State 27
\nKentucky 20
\nSan Jos\u00e9 State 18
\nArmy 13
\nVirginia Tech 9
\nMissouri 8
\nUCLA 7
\nPittsburgh, Tulsa & Boston College 6,
\nBall State & Houston 5
\nSMU, Appalachian State & West Virginia 4
\nArkansas & UAB 3
\nNevada, Air Force & Mississippi State 2
\nMarshall, Florida State, California & Stanford 1<\/p>\n
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So there it is AP’s thoughts as to who the top teams are. Preseason polls are meaningless in the grand scheme of things but it’s always fun to have a guess.<\/p>\n
We will have our opening rankings decided soon bit in the meantime why not check out our other Top 25 posts<\/a>.<\/p>\n