Welcome back to our ongoing listing of preseason polls for the upcoming college football season. We will maintain this list and add to it every time a new preseason list is released right up through the release of the preseason Associated Press media poll.
Each year, it is my mission in life to produce an ongoing consensus preseason top 25 for college football. The premise is simple: We use the published polls on web sites and in magazines as “votes” in our own consensus poll. Teams ranked No. 1 get 25 points and so on down to one point for those ranked 25th.
Today, we add the USA Today coaches poll, which was released today.
So far, we have as many as 16 preseason polls. They are USA Today coaches poll, Gold Sheet, Athlon, TSN, CBSSportsLine.com, SI.com, CollegeFootballNews.com, Lindy’s, NationalChamps.net, Scout.com, Football Action, Street & Smith’s, Steele and two polls from ESPN.com (Ivan Maisel and Pat Forde).
And so far, those preseason prognosticators are unanimous in their selection of two-time defending national champion USC as the No. 1 pick. Keep in mind, a third straight national title for the Trojans would be unprecedented since the inception of the Associated Press poll in 1936. (It does not seem that anybody will have the guts to pick somebody other than USC to win it all.)
A year ago, our final consensus poll contained 14 different polls. USC was the preseason No. 1 on all but three. CBSSportsLine.com and The Sporting News each picked Georgia, while Phil Steele’s College Football picked Oklahoma. Nine of the 14 polls correctly picked the final 1-2 match-up of USC and Oklahoma at the Orange Bowl.
Also, a year ago, Ohio State was ninth in the final consensus poll with rankings ranging from sixth to 14th. OSU ended up 20th in the final AP poll after beating Oklahoma State in the Alamo Bowl to finish the year 8-4.
The initial Preseason Consensus Poll was published on May 25. At that point, just 10 voting points separated No. 4 Ohio State from defending co-Big Ten champions Michigan and Iowa. When we updated the poll June 5, the order was the same but only seven voting points separate the conference’s top three teams.
On June 14, Michigan slid past OSU for the top spot among Big Ten schools. That order, with UM fourth and OSU fifth, remains the same with this update. Recent updates have dropped Iowa to 10th.
If you see a published poll that we are missing, please send a link or the list to bucknuts@bucknuts.com
Here is a look at the updated Preseason Consensus Poll on Aug. 5:
Preseason Consensus Poll
(First-Place votes; last year’s record in parentheses)
1. USC (16; 13-0) 400 points
2. Texas (11-1) 359 points
3. Tennessee (10-3) 337 points
4. Michigan (9-3) 315 points
5. Ohio State (8-4) 307 points
6. Oklahoma (12-1) 297 points
7. LSU (9-3) 295 points
8. Florida (7-5) 285 points
9. Virginia Tech (10-3) 283 points
10. Iowa (10-2) 277 points
11. Miami (Fla.) (9-3) 264 points
12. Louisville (11-1) 218 points
13. Florida State (9-3) 205 points
14. Georgia (10-2) 202 points
15. Purdue (7-5) 141 points
16. Auburn (13-0) 137 points
17. Texas A&M (7-5) 123 points
18. Fresno State (9-3) 100 points
19. Arizona State (9-3) 99 points
20. Boise State (11-1) 82 points
21. Cal (10-2) 70 points
22. Pittsburgh (8-4) 52 points
22. Texas Tech (8-4) 52 points
24. Boston College (9-3) 51 points
25. Bowling Green (9-3) 32 points
26. Georgia Tech (7-5) 31 points
27. Alabama (6-6) 28 points
28. Virginia (8-4) 27 points
29. Oregon (5-6) 16 points
30. Wisconsin (9-3) 12 points
30. Iowa State (7-5) 12 points
32. Nebraska (5-6) 10 points
32. N.C. State (5-6) 10 points
34. Penn State (4-7) 8 points
35. Colorado (8-5) 7 points
36. Utah (12-0) 6 points
36. Wyoming (7-5) 6 points
38. Minnesota (7-5) 4 points
39. Miami (Ohio) (8-5) 3 points
40. UCLA (6-6) 2 points
40. UTEP (8-4) 2 points
40. Clemson (6-5) 2 points
43. Oregon State (7-5) 1 point
Athlon Sports
1. USC
2. Tennessee
3. Iowa
4. Oklahoma
5. Florida State
6. Texas
7. Michigan
8. Louisville
9. LSU
10. Virginia Tech
11. Miami (Fla.)
12. Ohio State
13. Florida
14. Georgia
15. Purdue
16. Alabama
17. Boston College
18. Boise State
19. Arizona State
20. Auburn
21. Texas Tech
22. Virginia
23. Pittsburgh
24. UTEP
25. Georgia Tech
The Sporting News
1. USC
2. Tennessee
3. Ohio State
4. Virginia Tech
5. Texas
6. LSU
7. Miami (Fla.)
8. Michigan
9. Oklahoma
10. Iowa
11. Florida
12. Florida State
13. Georgia
14. Texas A&M
15. Cal
16. Auburn
17. Purdue
18. Georgia Tech
19. Louisville
20. Boise State
21. Bowling Green
22. Iowa State
23. Virginia
24. Arizona State
25. Utah
ESPN.com (Ivan Maisel)
1. USC
2. Texas
3. Michigan
4. Iowa
5. Florida
6. Virginia Tech
7. Auburn
8. Miami (Fla.)
9. Oklahoma
10. Tennessee
11. Ohio State
12. Louisville
13. Texas A&M
14. Florida State
15. Georgia
16. Nebraska
17. Arizona State
18. LSU
19. Boise State
20. Wisconsin
21. Cal
22. Wyoming
23. Alabama
24. Georgia Tech
25. Bowling Green
ESPN.com (Pat Forde)
1. USC
2. Michigan
3. Texas
4. Tennessee
5. Iowa
6. Oklahoma
7. Ohio State
8. Florida
9. Miami (Fla.)
10. Louisville
11. LSU
12. Florida State
13. Virginia Tech
14. Georgia
15. Boise State
16. Texas Tech
17. Auburn
18. Texas A&M
19. Fresno State
20. Arizona State
21. Bowling Green
22. Cal
23. Pittsburgh
24. Iowa State
25. Wyoming
Scout.com
1. USC
2. Texas
3. Ohio State
4. Tennessee
5. Oklahoma
6. Michigan
7. LSU
8. Florida
9. Iowa
10. Miami (Fla.)
11. Virginia Tech
12. Louisville
13. Florida State
14. Georgia
15. Arizona State
16. Texas A&M
17. Texas Tech
18. Fresno State
19. Auburn
20. Wisconsin
21. Boston College
22. Purdue
23. Pittsburgh
24. Alabama
25. Cal
CBSSportsLine.com
(Dennis Dodd online edition; updated July 25)
1. USC
2. Tennessee
3. Ohio State
4. Texas
5. Iowa
6. Virginia Tech
7. Oklahoma
8. Florida
9. LSU
10. Michigan
11. Louisville
12. Miami (Fla.)
13. Georgia
14. Fresno State
15. Texas A&M
16. Purdue
17. Boston College
18. Florida State
19. Arizona State
20. Pittsburgh
21. Boise State
22. Auburn
23. Colorado
24. Texas Tech
25. Bowling Green
Collegefootballnews.com (updated July 25)
1. USC
2. LSU
3. Tennessee
4. Miami (Fla.)
5. Ohio State
6. Georgia
7. Michigan
8. Florida
9. Texas
10. Virginia Tech
11. Florida State
12. Oklahoma
13. Arizona State
14. Boston College
15. Auburn
16. Purdue
17. Cal
18. Iowa
19. Virginia
20. Georgia Tech
21. Alabama
22. Pittsburgh
23. Minnesota
24. Clemson
25. Oregon State
NationalChamps.net
1. USC
2. Texas
3. LSU
4. Tennessee
5. Oklahoma
6. Michigan
7. Ohio State
8. Virginia Tech
9. Miami (Fla.)
10. Auburn
11. Iowa
12. Florida
13. Georgia
14. Boise State
15. Louisville
16. Florida State
17. Fresno State
18. Texas A&M
19. Purdue
20. Cal
21. Arizona State
22. Virginia
23. Pittsburgh
24. Colorado
25. Minnesota
Lindy’s
1. USC
2. Texas
3. Michigan
4. Florida
5. Oklahoma
6. Tennessee
7. Ohio State
8. Florida State
9. LSU
10. Virginia Tech
11. Louisville
12. Miami (Fla.)
13. Purdue
14. Georgia
15. Iowa
16. Texas A&M
17. Auburn
18. Oregon
19. Pittsburgh
20. Boston College
21. Texas Tech
22. Alabama
23. Fresno State
24. UCLA
25. Penn State
SI.com
1. USC
2. Texas
3. Tennessee
4. Ohio State
5. Florida
6. Virginia Tech
7. LSU
8. Iowa
9. Miami (Fla.)
10. Michigan
11. Oklahoma
12. Louisville
13. Auburn
14. Georgia
15. Fresno State
16. Arizona State
17. Boise State
18. Florida State
19. Purdue
20. Texas Tech
21. Pittsburgh
22. Cal
23. Bowling Green
24. Georgia Tech
25. Wyoming
Street & Smith’s
1. USC
2. Texas
3. Tennessee
4. Oklahoma
5. Michigan
6. LSU
7. Virginia Tech
8. Miami (Fla.)
9. Florida
10. Purdue
11. Georgia
12. Ohio State
13. Iowa
14. Auburn
15. Louisville
16. Boise State
17. Texas A&M
18. Florida State
19. Fresno State
20. Cal
21. Virginia
22. Oregon
23. Pittsburgh
24. Texas Tech
25. Utah
Phil Steele’s College Football
1. USC
2. LSU
3. Purdue
4. Louisville
5. Texas
6. Miami (Fla.)
7. Michigan
8. Oklahoma
9. Ohio State
10. Georgia
11. Florida
12. Virginia Tech
13. Florida State
14. Iowa
15. Tennessee
16. N.C. State
17. Auburn
18. Texas A&M
19. Penn State
20. Cal
21. Texas Tech
22. Oregon
23. Miami (Ohio)
24. Fresno State
25. Alabama
Football Action
1. USC
2. Texas
3. Tennessee
4. Michigan
5. Florida
6. Iowa
7. Louisville
8. LSU
9. Ohio State
10. Virginia Tech
11. Oklahoma
12. Miami (Fla.)
13. Purdue
14. Fresno State
15. Florida State
16. Arizona State
17. Boise State
18. Bowling Green
19. Georgia
20. Georgia Tech
21. Texas Tech
22. Cal
23. Texas A&M
24. Auburn
25. Pittsburgh
The Gold Sheet
1. USC
2. Tennessee
3. Ohio State
4. Florida
5. Texas
6. Iowa
7. Virginia Tech
8. LSU
9. Michigan
10. Louisville
11. Oklahoma
12. Florida State
13. Texas A&M
14. Fresno State
15. Arizona State
16. Miami (Fla.)
17. Bowling Green
18. Georgia
19. Cal
20. Iowa State
21. Georgia Tech
22. Utah
23. Texas Tech
24. Pittsburgh
25. Alabama
CBSSportsLine.com (magazine edition)
1. USC
2. Iowa
3. Tennessee
4. Texas
5. Ohio State
6. Virginia Tech
7. Oklahoma
8. LSU
9. Florida
10. Michigan
11. Miami (Fla.)
12. Louisville
13. Georgia
14. Florida State
15. Pittsburgh
16. Arizona State
17. Texas A&M
18. Purdue
19. Boston College
20. Fresno State
21. Auburn
22. Texas Tech
23. Boise State
24. Colorado
25. Georgia Tech
USA Today coaches poll
1. USC
2. Texas
3. Tennessee
4. Michigan
5. Oklahoma
6. LSU
7. Virginia Tech
8. Miami (Fla.)
9. Ohio State
10. Iowa
11. Florida
12. Florida State
13. Georgia
14. Louisville
15. Auburn
16. Purdue
17. Texas A&M
18. Arizona State
19. Boise State
20. Cal
21. Texas Tech
22. Boston College
23. Virginia
24. Alabama
25. Pittsburgh