Alabama is officially the hunted in one third of the BCS formula as the Tide gained 55 out of 59 first place votes in the 2010 preseason coaches poll. The other four went to Ohio State, the No. 2 team in the poll.
The coaches are pretty sure about the top team, as Alabama is a healthy 77 points ahead of the Buckeyes. The Ohioans, in turn, are 147 points ahead of third place Florida. The next big gap comes after No. 5 Boise State, who slides in behind No. 4 Texas, as the Broncos are 163 points ahead of their first opponent, No. 6 Virginia Tech.
After the third-ranked Gators, there's a big drop to the next SEC team. LSU clocks in at No. 16, proving that the coaches have more faith in the Tigers than the SEC Media Days crowd that voted them fourth in the West division. Next up is Arkansas at No. 19, showing that even if the Razorbacks are "this year's Ole Miss," they don't have nearly as far to fall (the Rebels were preseason top 10 last year). Georgia makes an appearance at No. 21, and Auburn slides in at No. 23.
A few SEC teams got into the also receiving votes list as well. Ole Miss is lined up as No. 30 with 48 points, South Carolina is tied with Notre Dame for No. 34 with 38 points, and Mississippi State tied with four other teams for No. 49 with a single point. Yes, if you must know, Dan Mullen is a voter this year.
The SEC has the most overall teams with six, followed by the ACC with five. As a reminder, USC does not appear anywhere as the Trojans are not allowed in the poll this year.
CONFERENCE STANDINGS
SEC: Six teams
ACC: Five teams
Big Ten: Four teams
Big 12: Three teams
Pac-10: Two teams
Big East: Two teams
MWC: Two teams
WAC: One team
NOTABLE VOTING COACHES
The voting coaches who have ties to the SEC.
David Cutcliffe, Duke (former Tennessee OC)
Larry Fedora, Southern Miss (former Florida OC)
Jimbo Fisher, Florida State (former LSU OC)
Urban Meyer, Florida
Dan Mullen, Mississippi State
Bo Pelini, Nebraska (former LSU DC)
Bobby Petrino, Arkansas
Paul Rhoads, Iowa State (former Auburn DC)
Mark Richt, Georgia
Nick Saban, Alabama
Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
Charlie Strong, Louisville (former Florida DC)
Tommy Tuberville, Texas Tech (former Auburn and Ole Miss head coach)
Ron Zook, Illinois (former Florida head coach)