Alabama led the way in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll released on Monday. It’s the third straight year the Crimson Tide was ranked No. 1 in the poll to start the season and the fifth time overall to be No. 1 in the preseason under Nick Saban.
Alabama received 42 of 61 first-place votes. Clemson came in at No. 2 with 18 first-place votes. Wisconsin received one vote for No. 1.
The SEC had five of its 14 teams included in the poll. Georgia was the highest-ranked team other than Alabama, sitting at No. 3. Auburn was ranked ninth, Mississippi State was 18th and LSU was 25th.
“You work to be No. 1, right? You work to stay No. 1, but at the same time that’s not our ultimate goal right now,” sophomore linebacker Dylan Moses said. “We’re not really focused on the media right now, we’re focused on what we have to do right now as far as getting back to where we were last year and finishing strong. That’s the main goal. ”
The top 25 included three teams on Alabama’s regular season schedule, led by No. 9 Auburn. Mississppi State and LSU were the other two teams.
Here’s the full poll. You can also see my ballot here.
1. Alabama (42)
2. Clemson (18)
3. Georgia
4. Wisconsin (1)
5. Ohio State
6. Washington
7. Oklahoma
8. Miami
9. Auburn
10. Penn State
11. Michigan State
12. Notre Dame
13. Stanford
14. Michigan
15. Southern Cal
16. TCU
17. West Virginia
18. Mississippi State
19. Florida State
20. Virginia Tech
21. UCF
22. Boise State
23. Texas
24. Oregon
25. LSU
