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The USA Today preseason Coaches' Poll is out, and the SEC has landed six teams in the rankings. To begin, here are the top 10 teams in the rankings:
- Alabama (58 first place votes)
- Ohio State (3)
- Oregon
- Stanford
- Georgia
- Texas A&M (1)
- South Carolina
- Clemson
- Louisville
- Florida
The SEC's six teams lead all conferences. The Big Ten and Pac-12 have five each, the Big 12 has four, and the ACC has two.
The two-time defending national champions headline the poll as you would expect, garnering by far the most first place votes to boot. Georgia clocks in at No. 5, making the Bulldogs the coaches' East division favorites as well as a potential national championship contender. Texas A&M and its reigning Heisman winner landed at No. 6, giving the Aggies a preseason top 10 rank for the second time in the last three seasons. South Carolina is the fourth SEC team in the top 10 at No. 7, the program's second consecutive preseason top 10 ranking.
Florida comes in a little farther back but still barely in the top 10, which is somewhat surprising given the heavy losses on defense and relative lack of faith in the team's offense. LSU sustained even heavier losses to the NFL Draft, which is largely why the Tigers are behind the Gators at No. 13. Ole Miss received some votes, and if you keep extending the rankings out into the others receiving votes section, the Rebels are No. 33 with 32 points. Vanderbilt is right behind at No. 34 and 29 points, Mississippi State is tied at No. 43 with three points, and Arkansas and Tennessee are tied at No. 49 with one point apiece.
This is the second consecutive year in which the SEC has had five teams in the top 10 of the preseason Coaches' Poll. The six total teams in it is one less than last year's seven.