As expected Alabama Football is ranked No. 1 in the preseason USA Today AFCA Coaches Poll released on Tuesday. The Alabama Crimson Tide received 63 of 65 first-place votes. The ranking comes as no surprise, but with the Crimson Tide losing so much offensive talent from last season’s Championship roster, the ranking is a tribute to the monster program Nick Saban has built.
Alabama Football fans will be quick to notice the Auburn Tigers failed to garner enough votes to be ranked in the Top 25. Six SEC teams are in the Top 25, the most of any conference. The Big Ten followed with five teams. The Big 12 has four teams. The Pac 12 and the ACC each have three teams in the Top 25.
Alabama Football Not a Surprise
There were some surprises in the Coaches’ preseason poll. USA Today reports,
"The Sun Belt Conference also is worthy of mention. The league has never had a team ranked in the preseason. This year, there are two: No. 23 Louisiana-Lafayette and No. 24 Coastal Carolina."
The complete rankings are available here.
Despite some detractors about who actually votes for the designated coaches, the Coaches Poll is a solid, credible source of information. Alabama Football fans have nothing to complain about but many other college football fans will disagree with the preseason rankings.
My two cents is North Carolina and LSU are ranked too high at No. 9 and No. 13. Perennially overrated Notre Dame at No. 7 might be correct. The two Sun Belt schools are given generous assessments. I doubt either could beat Ole Miss, ranked just below them.
The Crimson Tide’s tough schedule is confirmed by the Coaches’ rankings. The Tide will play No. 6 Texas A&M; No. 11 Florida; No. 13 LSU; No. 16 Miami and No. 25 Ole Miss.
The preseason AP and Coaches polls continue to elicit excitement, even though their significance has been dwarfed by the College Football Playoff Rankings that will follow later in the season. Before the Playoff format, an early high ranking often indicated the few teams with a chance to later be named the National Champions. Perhaps the older (AP and Coaches) rankings still do.
The preseason AP Poll will be released next week. Alabama Football fans can rightfully expect the Crimson Tide to also receive an early No. 1 ranking.