Florida State is right where it ended the 2014 season.
The Seminoles, who had 57 of the 60 first-place votes, are No. 1 in the Associated Press Preseason Top 25, ahead of No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Oregon, No. 4 Oklahoma and No. 5 Ohio State. FSU had 1,496 points, followed by Alabama with 1,361.
The Seminoles, featuring Heisman Trophy-winning QB Jameis Winston, open the season versus Oklahoma State at 8 p.m. Aug. 30 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
No. 1 jinx? Last 4 preseason No. 1s: 2013 Bama 11-2 (No. 7), 2012 USC 7-6 (NR), 2011 OU 10-3 (No. 16), 2010 Bama 10-3 (No. 10)—
Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) August 17, 2014
Alabama, Oklahoma and Oregon each had one first-place vote.
As expected, the SEC leads the way with eight teams in the preseason poll.
They are: Auburn at No. 6, South Carolina at No. 9, Georgia at No. 12, LSU at No. 13, Ole Miss at No. 18, Texas A&M at No. 21 and Missouri at No. 24.
Auburn 10 voting points short of No. 5, which would have put Alabama, Auburn in AP preseason top 5 for first time: al.com/sports/index.s…—
Brandon Marcello (@bmarcello) August 17, 2014
The Pac-12 is second with six teams, a group that includes Oregon, No. 7 UCLA, No. 11 Stanford, No. 15 USC, No. 19 Arizona State, and No. 25 Washington.
There are four Big Ten teams (Ohio State, No. 8 Michigan State, No. 14 Wisconsin, No. 22 Nebraska) and three from the Big 12 (Oklahoma, No. 10 Baylor, No. 20 Kansas).
Already furious about a poll that doesn't count? Just wait til @CFBPlayoff unveils its Top 25 on Oct 28—
Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) August 17, 2014
Notre Dame is ranked 17th, but remember that the voters submitted their ballots about two weeks ago, which was before there was news of the investigation involving academic misconduct that resulted in the suspension of three starters on the football team.
