Tide tops preseason coaches poll

Defending national champion Alabama is the preseason No. 1 in the USA Today Sports AFCA Coaches Poll released Tuesday.

The Crimson Tide got 63 of the 65 firstplace votes while No. 3 Oklahoma got the other two. Clemson is No. 2 with Ohio State and Georgia rounding out the top five.

No. 8 Iowa State has its highest preseason ranking since USA Today started administering the coaches poll in 1991. So does No. 10 Cincinnati.

At No. 17, Indiana is ranked in the preseason coaches’ poll for the first time. And Mack Brown’s North Carolina team is ranked ninth, its best opening slot since heading into the season at No. 8 in 1997.

The AP Top 25 will be released Aug. 16.

■ Craig Ogletree, an Auburn linebacker who played on three straight SEC championship teams in the 1980s, died onday from complications related to COVID-19. He was 53. Ogletree was part of Auburn’s title teams from 1987-89. He was a co-captain in 1989 and led that team with 11 sacks in addition to 113 tackles. Ogletree played briefly in the NFL with the Bengals . ... A Virginia Union freshman football player died after collapsing during practice over the weekend. He was 19. Quandarius Wilburn’s death was announced by the D-II university. The 6-foot-2, 230-pound defensive end collapsed Sunday during a conditioning session. Wilburn reportedly was taken to VCU Medical Center, where he later died. The team opens its 2021 season Sept. 4 . ... Valparaiso University announced that it has adopted the Beacons as its new team name, replacing the Crusaders, a term school officials dropped this year after saying it had been embraced by hate groups.