Oklahoma Starts at No. 3 in Coaches Poll

Other than Alabama, OU was the only team to receive a first-place vote.

John E. Hoover | Aug 10, 2021

College football coaches like Oklahoma in this year’s USA Today Coaches Poll.

Not as much as Alabama, and not as many as Clemson, but it’s close.

The Sooners start the 2021 season ranked No. 3 — but are the only team other than the Crimson Tide to receive any first-place votes.

Bama landed 63 of the 65 first-place votes, while OU got the other two. First-place votes are worth 25 points, second place is 24, down to one point for a 25th-place vote.

Alabama leads the way with 1,621 points, Clemson is No. 2 with 1,508 points and OU is third with 1,481 points. Ohio State ranks No. 4 with 1,435 points.

Elsewhere in the Big 12, Iowa State comes in at No. 8 (1,131 points), Texas is No. 19 (427) and Oklahoma State is No. 22 (216).

Meanwhile, OU’s future conference, the SEC, landed six teams: No. 1 Alabama, No. 5 Georgia, No. 6 Texas A&M, No. 11 Florida, No. 13 LSU and No. 25 Ole Miss.

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Published Aug 10, 2021

JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.