Alabama and Clemson keep the top two spots in the preseason Amway Coaches Poll released this morning, the same places they landed in the final 2015 rankings after the Crimson Tide outlasted the Tigers 45-40 in an instant classic of a championship game.
Five Big Ten teams make the polls this year with IU and Purdue missing.
The two top teams received all but two of the first-place votes from the panel of 64 FBS head coaches.
Alabama topped 55 of the ballots while the Tigers received seven No. 1 votes.
Fourth-ranked Florida State and No. 10 Tennessee received a first-place vote each.
Oklahoma, the defending Big 12 champion and a playoff semifinalist a year ago, opens at No. 3, while the fourth 2015 semifinalist, Michigan State, starts at No. 11.
The Amway Coaches Poll is conducted weekly throughout the regular season using a panel of head coaches at FBS schools.
The panel is chosen by random draw, conference by conference plus independents, from apool of coaches who have indicated to the American Football Coaches Association their willingness to participate.
Each coach submits a Top 25 with a first-place vote worth 25 points, second place 24, and so on down to one point for 25th.
IU begins play on Sept. 1 against Florida International. That game will be broadcast on WSLM 97.9 FM. at 7:30p.
The Boilermakers open play against Eastern Kentucky on Sept. 3 at noon.
| 1 | Alabama | 14-1 | 1585 | 55 | NR | 0 | – |
| 2 | Clemson | 14-1 | 1524 | 7 | NR | 0 | – |
| 3 | Oklahoma | 11-2 | 1398 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
| 4 | Florida State | 10-3 | 1351 | 1 | NR | 0 | – |
| 5 | Ohio State | 12-1 | 1321 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
| 6 | Louisiana State | 9-3 | 1241 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
| 7 | Stanford | 12-2 | 1149 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
| 8 | Michigan | 10-3 | 1062 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
| 9 | Notre Dame | 10-3 | 1034 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
| 10 | Tennessee | 9-4 | 960 | 1 | NR | 0 | – |
| 11 | Michigan State | 12-2 | 901 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
| 12 | Mississippi | 10-3 | 792 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
| 13 | Houston | 13-1 | 668 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
| 14 | Texas Christian | 11-2 | 649 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
| 15 | Iowa | 12-2 | 579 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
| 16 | Georgia | 10-3 | 525 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
| 17 | Southern California | 8-6 | 468 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
| 18 | Washington | 7-6 | 454 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
| 19 | Oklahoma State | 10-3 | 426 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
| 20 | North Carolina | 11-3 | 422 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
| 21 | Baylor | 10-3 | 383 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
| 22 | Oregon | 9-4 | 361 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
| 23 | Louisville | 8-5 | 331 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
| 24 | UCLA | 8-5 | 296 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
| 25 | Florida | 10-4 | 245 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
