Clemson Ranked No. 1 in AP Poll

Just like in the Coaches Poll, the Clemson Tigers sit atop the Associated Press Preseason Top 25 Poll, which was released on Monday, for the second consecutive year.

Seeing Clemson No. 1 in the Associated Press Preseason Top 25 Poll isn't that surprising. 

Seeing Ohio State No. 2 will draw more eyebrow raises. The Tigers enter the 2020 season on Sept. 12 at Wake Forest atop the media's rankings while the Buckeyes, who lost to Clemson in last year's College Football Playoff Fiesta Bowl, are ranked second, despite the Big Ten opting not to play football in the fall. 

Clemson received 38 first-place votes in the AP Poll while Ohio State got 21. Third-ranked Alabama had two votes. 

The AP Poll decided to count all teams in their initial rankings, even though the Pac-12, Moutain West and MAC chose to join the Big Ten is sitting out the fall. No. 7 Penn State and No. 9 Oregon are the other teams to crack the top 10 that are looking to play in the spring. 

Clemson, meanwhile, is ranked No. 1 in the preseason by the AP for the second consecutive season, and it's the seventh time in school history the Tigers start in the top 5. This marks the ninth consecutive season Clemson's started the season ranked, which is the longest in school history.

The Tigers earned the top spot with an All-American backfield in quarterback Trevor Lawrence and running back Travis Etienne. No. 10 Notre Dame and No. 18 North Carolina join Clemson as ACC schools in the top 25. Virginia Tech received the second-most votes of teams not in the ranking while Miami, Louisville and Virginia are also listed. 

Here's the full ranking:

1. Clemson

2. Ohio State

3. Alabama

4. Georgia

5. Oklahoma

6. LSU

7. Penn State

8. Florida

9. Oregon

10. Notre Dame

11. Auburn

12. Wisconsin

13. Texas A&M

14. Texas

15. Oklahoma State

16. Michigan

17. USC

18. North Carolina

19. Minnesota 

20. Cincinnati 

21. UCF

22. Utah

23. Iowa State

24. Iowa

25. Tennessee