Amway Coaches Poll: Alabama in familiar spot at No. 1 in the preseason poll

Eddie Timanus | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Preseason Amway Coaches Poll: Alabama is still No. 1 USA TODAY Sports' Paul Myerberg gives his biggest surprises and takeaways from the top 25 ranked teams in the preseason Amway Coaches Poll.

Alabama, the premier program in college football over the past decade, will begin the 2018 campaign in a familiar position at the top of the Amway Coaches Poll.

The Crimson Tide, fresh off their fifth national championship of coach Nick Saban’s tenure in Tuscaloosa, were voted No. 1 by 61 of the 65 Football Bowl Subdivision coaches on this season’s panel. Though Alabama didn’t quite go wire-to-wire at No. 1 a year ago, the Tide started at the top and got back to the top spot when it mattered.

This is third consecutive season Alabama has started at No. 1 and fifth time since 2010.

They’ve played in the College Football Playoff final in each of the last three years and are strong candidates to make it four in a row.

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Other familiar names are expected to be Crimson Tide’s main challengers this fall. Clemson, the 2016 champion and a participant in the last three playoffs, will open at No. 2 in the poll. The Tigers received three first-place votes.

The final No. 1 nod went to Ohio State, which will open the season in the No. 3 spot. The status of coach Urban Meyer is uncertain as the school placed him on administrative leave while it is investigating his possible knowledge of alleged abuse by a former assistant.

The Buckeyes head a crowded field of Big Ten contenders, as the league placed five teams in the top 14 of the preseason rankings.

The remaining two playoff participants from last year round out the preseason top five. Georgia, which fell to the Tide in the overtime thriller of a title game, opens at No. 4. The Tide and Bulldogs head a group of five SEC squads in the Top 25. The Big 12 also has five ranked members headed by No. 5 Oklahoma, though the next highest one is TCU at No. 16.

The other power conferences are well-represented in the poll as well. The ACC will begin with four members ranked headed by Clemson and No. 8 Miami (Fla.), and the Pac-12 features three top-25 schools led by No. 6 Washington.

That leaves just three spots for independents and Group of Five league members. No. 11 Notre Dame holds one of those positions. Mountain West favorite Boise State checks in at No. 22. No. 23 Central Florida, coming off an undefeated campaign with an American Athletic Conference title and a major bowl win, will have its first preseason ranking in the program’s short history.