Florida State tops preseason coaches poll
Defending national champion Florida State is ranked No. 1 in the preseason Amway Coaches Poll, which was released Thursday. The Seminoles received 56 of 62 first-place votes.
"We're very excited about being No. 1 and happy to be No. 1, but we understand that we have to play like No. 1 and play great football," Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher told USA TODAY Sports. "That's going to be our objective. We're proud to start there and now we just have to go play great football."
Florida State last topped the preseason coaches poll in 1999, and it is the fourth time they have topped the preseason poll since USA TODAY began administering the poll in 1991.
The Seminoles are one of only three ACC teams to make the top 25. The SEC leads the way with seven teams, and the Pac-12 is second with six.
Alabama comes in at No. 2, despite somewhat surprisingly not receiving a single first-place vote. Oklahoma received three first-place votes, with the others going to Oregon, Ohio State, and South Carolina.
| Rank | Team (first place votes) | Conference |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florida State (56) | ACC |
| 2 | Alabama | SEC |
| 3 | Oklahoma (3) | Big 12 |
| 4 | Oregon (1) | Pac-12 |
| 5 | Auburn | SEC |
| 6 | Ohio State (1) | Big Ten |
| 7 | UCLA | Pac-12 |
| 8 | Michigan State | Big Ten |
| 9 | South Carolina (1) | SEC |
| 10 | Baylor | Big 12 |
| 11 | Stanford | Pac-12 |
| 12 | Georgia | SEC |
| 13 | LSU | SEC |
| 14 | Wisconsin | Big Ten |
| 15 | USC | Pac-12 |
| 16 | Clemson | ACC |
| 17 | Notre Dame | Independent |
| 18 | Arizona State | Pac-12 |
| 19 | Ole Miss | SEC |
| 20 | Texas A&M | SEC |
| 21 | Kansas State | Big 12 |
| 22 | Nebraska | Big Ten |
| 23 | North Carolina | ACC |
| 24 | Texas | Big 12 |
| 25 | Washington | Pac-12 |
The low rank for Ohio State, which came in at No. 6, surprised many, though head coach Urban Meyer thinks it's about right.
Meyer on Ohio State starting sixth in the Coaches Poll: "I think that's a fair assessment. I had a vote and had us somewhere in there."
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) July 31, 2014
The Buckeyes have appeared in every poll in which they are eligible, the exception being the 2012 poll which they missed out on because of NCAA sanctions.
No team ranked in the top 25 is associated with a conference other than the Power 5. Central Florida of the AAC, which finished 12-1 and upset Baylor in the Fiesta Bowl last season, is the highest ranked of the non-power 5 teams, coming in at No. 28.