Crimson Tide Start Year At #1 In Coaches Poll
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The University of Alabama Crimson Tide are in a familiar position in the season's first USA Today Coaches poll of 2013, looking down at the rest of the college football world.
The Crimson Tide will start out the season ranked right where the finished last season, as the number one team in the country. Tide Head Coach Nick Saban is expected to again field a team littered with NFL talent and ready to run roughshod over the Southeastern Conference.
Saban will have a challenge this season as he looks to replace much of his offensive line, but he returns one of the top quarterback, running back, wide receiver tandems in the country and could have his most explosive offense since he's been in Tuscaloosa.
Behind Alabama is the Ohio State Buckeyes who were undefeated last season under former University of Florida head coach Urban Meyer. But, the Buckeyes were ineligible for the postseason which won't be the case this season.
Ohio State is followed by Oregon, Stanford, Georgia, Texas A&M, South Carolina, Clemson, Louisville, and the Florida Gators. The SEC once again dominated the Top 10 with five teams being ranked that highly.
Looking at the rest of the Top 25, Florida State comes in at number 12 while the University of Miami is unranked in the initial poll. Overall, the SEC had six teams in the Top 25, the Pac-12 had five, the Big 10 also had five and the ACC had two.
One final note, no team in the last decade has started at number one and finished at number one in the Coaches Poll. (USC did pull it off in 2004-2005, but the title was stripped due to the Reggie Bush scandal.)
Here's the full USA Today Coaches Poll:
- Alabama
- Ohio State
- Oregon
- Stanford
- Georgia
- Texas A&M
- South Carolina
- Clemson
- Louisville
- Florida
- Notre Dame
- Florida State
- LSU
- Oklahoma State
- Texas
- Oklahoma
- Michigan
- Nebraska
- Boise State
- TCU
- UCLA
- Northwestern
- Wisconsin
- USC
- Oregon State
