The league that has reigned over college football for seven years will begin this season with the nation’s No. 1 team and half of the top 10, according to the Associated Press preseason poll released Saturday.
Alabama was voted No. 1 by an overwhelming margin, putting the Crimson Tide in the same position where it finished the past two seasons and setting the tone for the SEC’s prevalence in the poll.
The media panel voted Georgia No. 5, the second highest-ranked SEC team. The Bulldogs were followed by fellow league members South Carolina at No. 6, Texas A&M at No. 7 and Florida at No. 10. Another SEC team, LSU, ranked No. 12.
Alabama received 58 of the 60 first-place votes. Georgia got one first-place vote — from a Louisiana sportswriter — and the other went to Ohio State, which was ranked No. 2 in the poll. Oregon and Stanford were Nos. 3 and 4, respectively.
Alabama’s top ranking completed a sweep of the major preseason polls as the Crimson Tide, also No. 1 in the USA Today coaches’ poll released earlier this month, seeks to become the first team to win three consecutive national championships and the SEC seeks to extend the league’s streak of consecutive BCS titles to eight.
In addition to confirming the high expectations for Georgia’s season, the AP poll underscored the difficulty of the Bulldogs’ early schedule. Georgia plays three of the top 12 teams within its first four games — the Aug. 31 nonconference opener at No. 8 Clemson and home SEC games against South Carolina on Sept. 7 and LSU on Sept. 28.
Georgia Tech was not ranked in the poll’s Top 25, but received six points in the voting, putting the Yellow Jackets 38th overall.
The voter who placed Georgia No. 1 on his ballot, Glenn Guilbeau of Gannett Louisiana Newspapers, said he did so because the Bulldogs return virtually all of a prolific offense and because he suspects the UGA defense, which underperformed last season, might benefit from losing eight starters. Also, he theorized that Alabama, which he ranked No. 2, will be less fortunate this time around.
“Bama deserved to beat LSU and Georgia last year, but it was pretty fortunate in both games, and coach Nick Saban basically said that,” Guilbeau told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution by email Saturday. “He returns a great team as well, but he will not have quite the luck.
“Georgia, meanwhile, got a strong sniff of its first national championship since 1980 last year,” Guilbeau continued. “A break here and there (in last season’s SEC Championship game), and Georgia is ripping Notre Dame in the national title game. It’s a calculated hunch, but 2013-14 will be Georgia’s year.”
Georgia’s ranking in the AP poll matched its No. 5 spot in the coaches’ poll. However, Sports Illustrated pegged the Bulldogs No. 12 in its season-preview rankings.
The two first-place votes for teams other than Alabama kept alive the AP poll’s record of having never had a unanimous preseason No. 1 pick. Alabama’s 58 first-place votes tied the 2009 Florida team for largest percentage in the preseason poll’s 63-year history.
With five teams in the top 10, the SEC had three more than any other conference. The Pac-12 had two, Oregon and Stanford. No other conference had more than one in the top 10.
After No. 12 LSU, the SEC placed no more teams in the Top 25. Still, with six, it had more than any other league.
Alabama’s ranking assures nothing, of course. The top team in the preseason AP poll has finished the season No. 1 only five times since 1976 and not since 2004.
Last year’s preseason No. 1 team, USC, finished the season unranked. The preseason No. 1 in 2011, Oklahoma, finished No. 16. And the last time Alabama opened a season atop the AP poll, 2010, it lost three games.
The Crimson Tide started the past two seasons No. 2.
While the AP poll commands much attention and respect, it is not part of the BCS formula that ultimately determines which two teams play for the national championship. The BCS standings are based on the coaches’ poll, Harris Interactive poll (which doesn’t have a preseason version) and computer rankings.
COMPARING THE RANKINGS
The Associated Press’ preseason college football poll was released Saturday. We compare how the top 15 teams in the AP poll fared in two other preseason rankings:
Team; AP poll; Coaches poll; Sports Illustrated
Alabama; 1; 1; 1
Ohio State; 2; 2; 4
Oregon; 3; 3; 5
Stanford; 4; 4; 2
Georgia; 5; 5; 12
South Carolina; 6; 7; 6
Texas A&M; 7; 6; 3
Clemson; 8; 8; 10
Louisville; 9; 9; 7
Florida; 10; 10; 9
Florida State; 11; 12; 13
LSU; 12; 13; 14
Oklahoma State; 13; 14; NR
Notre Dame; 14; 11; 8
Texas; 15; 15; 11
