University of Cincinnati football received 16 votes in the preseason AP Top 25 poll released Monday.

That ranks the Bearcats No. 34 in the country, behind Missouri (117), Army (94), Mississippi State (87), Miami (FL) (70), Northwestern (63), TCU (57), Virginia (44), Boise State (38), and ahead of South Carolina (15) and Virginia Tech (12) and others in schools receiving votes outside of the Top 25.

Clemson, Alabama, Georgia and Oklahoma were ranked the top four.

Bearcats' coach Luke Fickell said earlier this month that rankings mean little to him at this point in the season, but he acknowledged the significance of the polls to his players.

"I want the recognition for them for what it is that they've done," Fickell said. "The reality is, it's talking points, whether it's positive for negative we've got to be able to handle it. We understand that the way we played last year and the things we did, it got noticed."

The Bearcats went 11-2 and defeated Virginia Tech in the Military Bowl last season. They return eight offensive starters, seven on defense and three on special teams.

UC's season-opening opponent UCLA did not receive any votes in the poll. The Bearcats play at No. 5 Ohio State September 7 and host No. 17 UCF October 4.

"The rankings aren't really a big deal to us," said quarterback Desmond Ridder. "At the end of the day, we're going to go out and play our game. It doesn't matter who walks out of the tunnel, who lines up against us."