Clemson Tops AP Preseason Top 25 Poll For First Time Ever
Clemson is No. 1 in the Associated Press preseason Top 25 poll, ending a run of three straight years where Alabama lead the preseason edition. The Tigers took home 1,540 points, edging the Crimson Tide's 1,496.
Dabo Swinney's Clemson is coming off a national championship season where it routed Alabama in the title game and brings back star quarterback Trevor Lawrence and a wide array of offensive weapons. Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma and Ohio State round out the top five.
The Top 25 is determined by voter rankings for college football's best teams. A team receives 25 points for each first place vote, 24 for second place and so on through to the 25th team, which receives one point, per AP. The team with the highest point total leads the rankings.
The college football season set to kick off on Saturday, Aug. 24 when Miami and Florida meet at Camping World Stadium. Unlike the AP poll, the Tide edged the Tigers in SI.com's preseason Top 25.
View the full poll below:
1. Clemson
2. Alabama
3. Georgia
4. Oklahoma
5. Ohio State
6. LSU
7. Michigan
8. Florida
9. Notre Dame
10. Texas
11. Oregon
12. Texas A&M
13. Washington
14. Utah
15. Penn State
16. Auburn
17. UCF
18. Michigan State
19. Wisconsin
20. Iowa
21. Iowa State
22. Syracuse
23. Washington State
24. Nebraska
25. Stanford
Others receiving votes: Missouri 117, Army 94, Mississippi State 87, Miami (FL) 70, Northwestern 63, TCU 57, Virginia 44, Boise State 38, Cincinnati 16, South Carolina 15, Virginia Tech 12, Fresno State 8, Utah State 8, Minnesota 7, Memphis 6, Appalachian State 5, West Virginia 3, Oklahoma State 3, Arizona State 3, Arizona 1, USC 1