Alabama Football: Preseason AP Poll and the Crimson Tide

Alabama Football finished at No. 5 in the final AP Poll of the 2022 season. The Crimson Tide moved up a notch on Monday when the 2023 Preseason AP Poll was released.

Ahead of Alabama’s No. 4 position were Ohio State at No. 3, Michigan at No. 2 and Georgia at No. 1.

The Bulldogs were ranked No. 1 by 60 of the 63 AP Poll voters. The only other first-place votes went to Michigan with two and Ohio State with one.

LSU was ranked No. 5, but the voting gap between the Bengal Tigers and the Crimson Tide was significant. LSU received a total of 1,276 points. The Alabama Crimson Tide point total was 1,398 points.

The complete rankings are listed below.

Based on the rankings, Alabama Football will play five top 25 teams in the 2023 regular season. Along with LSU (No. 5), the Crimson Tide will face, Texas (No. 11), Tennessee (No. 12), Ole Miss (No. 22) and Texas A&M (No. 23).

Other Alabama Football Opponents

Based on the list of ‘others receiving votes’ Alabama will also have games against Arkansas (No. 30), Kentucky (No. 33), Auburn (No. 37) and Mississippi State (No. 41). Two more SEC football teams were in the ‘others’ category; South Carolina (No. 27) and Florida (No. 42).

The largest ranking dips from last season’s final poll were TCU and Tulane. Both teams are 15 spots lower in the current poll than they finished last season. At least in the case of TCU, the new ranking was a much-needed correction to the Horned Frogs ending last season ranked No. 2.

Another interesting wrinkle is the Oregon State Beavers are ranked No. 18. Oregon State is a team without a conference (the old Pac-12 does not count) for the 2024 season.

The only ranking that matters does not come out until late October when the CFB Playoff’s first ranking is released. Until then, the AP Poll is generally more trusted for accuracy than the Coaches Poll. The recent preseason Coaches Poll had the Crimson Tide at No. 4.

1. Georgia Bulldogs – 1,572 points and 60 first-place votes
2. Michigan Wolverines – 1,490 points and two first-place votes
3. Ohio State Buckeyes – 1,400 points and one first-place vote
4. Alabama Crimson Tide – 1,398 points
5. LSU Bengal Tigers – 1,276 points
6. USC Trojans – 1,245 points
7. Penn State Nittany Lions – 1,177 points
8. Florida State Seminoles – 1,147 points
9. Clemson Tigers – 1,032 points
10. Wahington Huskies – 977 points
11. Texas Longhorns – 882 points
12. Tennessee Vols – 868 points
13. Notre Dame Fighting Irish – 863 points
14. Utah Utes – 811 points
15. Oregon Ducks – 732 points
16. Kansas State Wildcats – 501 points
17. Texas Christian Horned Frogs – 416 points
18. Oregon State Beavers – 406 points
19. Wisconsin Badgers – 386 points
20. Oklahoma Sooners – 296 points
21. North Carolina Tar Heels – 292 points
22. Ole Miss Rebels – 282 points
23. Texas A&M Aggies – 227 points
24. Tulane Green Wave – 224 points
25. Iowa Hawkeyes – 131 points

The best thing about a preseason AP Poll is its close proximity to a new college football season.