UM a preseason top 10 in AP, coaches surveys
Alabama voted No. 1; Florida State rated 19th, with UCF picked 21st.
The Hurricanes were ranked eighth in both polls, the top spot for any Florida team; defending champ Alabama is in No. 1 slot.
It’s official: Both major polls consider the Hurricanes a preseason top-10 team.
Miami is ranked No. 8 in the preseason Associated Press top 25, which was released Monday afternoon. The Hurricanes also occupy the No. 8 position in the Amway preseason coaches poll.
Defending national champion
Alabama is preseason No. 1 in AP (as it was in the coaches poll), followed by No. 2 Clemson, No. 3 Georgia, No. 4 Wisconsin and No. 5 Ohio State.
Miami is one of three state schools in the preseason AP poll. Florida State is 19th heading into coach Willie Taggart’s first season, and UCF, the only Division I program not to lose a game in 2017, is 21st. The Knights also have a new coach in Josh Heupel.
If UCF’s ranking after going unbeaten seems unusually low, it is, but it is not unprecedented. In the CFP/BCS era (1998-present), 19 teams have had unbeaten seasons. Three of those teams — 1998 Tulane, 1999 Marshall, 2004 Utah — were unranked in the preseason poll the next season. Not surprisingly, all those teams played outside of what were then called BCS automatic qualifying conferences. Five other teams were ranked outside the top 10, including three from outside BCS auto-bid leagues. Boise State in 2007 was No. 24 in the preseason. Utah in 2009 started 19th. TCU began 2011 at No. 14.
Neither Florida Atlantic, com-
ing off a record-breaking year in Lane Kiffin’s first season as coach, nor Florida, entering its first season under coach Dan Mullen, made the top 25, but both received votes. Florida has the 27th-highest points total and FAU is 30th.
Though FAU has never been been a top 25 team at the Football Bowl Subdivision/Division I level, the football program was ranked No. 4 in The Sports Network poll in 2003, the Owls’ final season as a Football Championship
Subdivision/Division I-AA team. FAU moved to Division FBS the next year and joined the Sun Belt in 2005.
The Hurricanes finished last season ranked 13th in the AP poll after dropping their final three games, but climbed to as high as No. 2 in the poll last season after blowing out Notre Dame 41-8 on Nov. 11.
The No. 8 spot is Miami’s highest preseason ranking in the AP poll since starting the year at No. 6 in 2004.
The opponents on Miami’s schedule that also make an appearance in the preseason AP poll are Florida State, No. 20 Virginia Tech and No. 25 LSU.
The Hurricanes begin the season against LSU on Sept. 2 in Arlington, Texas.
The SEC (Bama, Georgia, No. 9 Auburn, No. 18 Mississippi State and No. 25 LSU) and Big Ten with Wisconsin, Ohio State, No. 10 Penn State, No. 11 Michigan State and No. 14 Michigan each placed three teams in the top 10 and five in the top 25.
The Crimson Tide is just the second team to be ranked No. 1 in the preseason AP poll for three straight seasons. Alabama received 42 out of 61 first-place votes. Clemson received 18 firstplace votes. Wisconsin received one first-place vote.
The preseason AP poll started in 1950 and since then only Oklahoma from 1985-87 had started No. 1 in three straight years.
Ring up another milestone for coach Nick Saban’s Tide dynasty. Alabama has won five national championships since 2009 and now has been No. 1 to start the season five times under Saban. Last season was the first time Saban’s team started and finished the season No. 1.
The Tide enter this season with a question at quarterback, but there appears to be two good answers from which Saban has to choose: Tua Tagovailoa won the College Football Playoff championship game for Alabama with a second-half comeback and overtime touchdown pass. Jalen Hurts has led the Tide to the national title game in each of his two seasons as a starter.
Whoever is quarterback, Alabama’s offense should be potent with running back Damien Harris working behind a powerful line anchored by tackle Jonah Williams.
The Tide’s always tough defense will have all new starters in the secondary, but defensive end Raekwon Davis and linebackers Mack Wilson and Dylan Moses are primed to be Alabama’s next All-Americans.
The ACC (Clemson, Miami, Florida State and No. 20 Virginia Tech), Pac-12 (No. 6 Washington, No. 13 Stanford, No. 15 USC and No. 24 Oregon) and Big 12 (No. 7 Oklahoma, No. 16 TCU, No. 17 West Virginia and No. 23 Texas) each placed four teams in the top 25.
Notre Dame is ranked 12th. Besides UCF, the other non-power 5 conference school ranked is No. 22 Boise State.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.