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On Monday, exactly five days before the kickoff of the 2019 college football season the Associated Press released their preseason Top-25 poll. Unsurprisingly, the reigning national champion Clemson Tigers topped the preseason rankings with the Alabama Crimson Tide coming in second. In the initial poll of the season, the Ohio State Buckeyes came in at No. 5.
Rounding out the top five were the Georgia Bulldogs at third and the Oklahoma Sooners at fourth. This year marks the first time that Alabama has not started the season as the No. 1 team in the AP Poll, and this is the sixth time in the past seven years that the Buckeyes open the season in the Top 5.
The other Big Ten teams to make the preseason rankings were Michigan at seventh, Penn State at No. 15, followed by Michigan State (18), Wisconsin (19), Iowa (20), and Nebraska (24). Northwestern, Minnesota, and OSU’s Week 2 opponent Cincinnati also received votes.
The Big Ten leads all conferences with seven teams in the rankings. The SEC has six, Pac-12 five, Big 12 has three, and the ACC has a pair, not including their part-time member Notre Dame.
For the first time, SB Nation will be releasing their own fan-voted Top-25 every week during the season. If you want to participate, and to share your feelings about Ohio State’s season in LGHL’s Fan Pulse, you can sign up HERE.
AP Poll 2019 Preseason
Rank | Team | Conference | Points |
---|---|---|---|
Rank | Team | Conference | Points |
1 | Clemson | ACC | 1,540 |
2 | Alabama | SEC | 1,496 |
3 | Georgia | SEC | 1,403 |
4 | Oklahoma | Big 12 | 1,331 |
5 | Ohio State | Big Ten | 1,261 |
6 | LSU | SEC | 1,199 |
7 | Michigan | Big Ten | 1,164 |
8 | Florida | SEC | 1,054 |
9 | Notre Dame | IA Independents | 1,044 |
10 | Texas | Big 12 | 1,005 |
11 | Oregon | Pac-12 | 860 |
12 | Texas A&M | SEC | 852 |
13 | Washington | Pac-12 | 786 |
14 | Utah | Pac-12 | 772 |
15 | Penn State | Big Ten | 651 |
16 | Auburn | SEC | 578 |
17 | UCF | American Athletic | 410 |
18 | Michigan State | Big Ten | 377 |
19 | Wisconsin | Big Ten | 370 |
20 | Iowa | Big Ten | 330 |
21 | Iowa State | Big 12 | 302 |
22 | Syracuse | ACC | 209 |
23 | Washington State | Pac-12 | 200 |
24 | Nebraska | Big Ten | 154 |
25 | Stanford | Pac-12 | 141 |