Clemson ranked No. 1 in preseason Coaches Poll

by TigerNet Staff - Thu Aug 06 12:01:39 GMT-04:00 2020

Clemson enters a college football season unlike any other as the preseason No. 1 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll.

The Tigers, with 38 first-place votes, are followed in the top-5 by Fiesta Bowl foe Ohio State (17 first-place votes) and then Alabama (4), Georgia and LSU (6).

Clemson was named No. 1 in the USA TODAY preseason top 25 for the first time last season and finished No. 2 after January’s loss to LSU. The Tigers had matched or improved on their preseason ranking each season since 2012 before with the Coaches.

This ranking is the 10th in the preseason top-10 in school history. It represents Clemson's fifth consecutive Top-5 preseason Coaches Poll debut in the last five years, extending the longest such streak in program history.

Clemson is scheduled to open its season at Wake Forest on Sept. 12. Nov. 7 road trip-opponent Notre Dame was ranked No. 10 out of the ACC, with UNC, No. 19, and Virginia Tech, No. 24.

Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney is once again one of the 65 coaches voting this year, joined in the ACC by Virginia Tech's Justin Fuente, Syracuse's Dino Babers, GT's Geoff Collins, Duke's David Cutcliffe, Miami's Manny Diaz, BC's Jeff Hafley and Notre Dame's Brian Kelly.

USA TODAY Preseason Top 25

Rnk Team Vote Points 1st votes Prev Chg Hi/lo rank

1 Clemson 0-0 1589 38 NR — 1/1

2 Ohio State 0-0 1555 17 NR — 2/2

3 Alabama 0-0 1495 4 NR — 3/3

4 Georgia 0-0 1345 0 NR — 4/4

5 Louisiana State 0-0 1330 6 NR — 5/5

6 Oklahoma 0-0 1315 0 NR — 6/6

7 Penn State 0-0 1199 0 NR — 7/7

8 Florida 0-0 1176 0 NR — 8/8

9 Oregon 0-0 1164 0 NR — 9/9

10 Notre Dame 0-0 1012 0 NR — 10/10

11 Auburn 0-0 898 0 NR — 11/11

12 Wisconsin 0-0 887 0 NR — 12/12

13 Texas A&M 0-0 807 0 NR — 13/13

14 Texas 0-0 703 0 NR — 14/14

15 Michigan 0-0 687 0 NR — 15/15

16 Oklahoma State 0-0 524 0 NR — 16/16

17 Southern California 0-0 521 0 NR — 17/17

18 Minnesota 0-0 494 0 NR — 18/18

19 North Carolina 0-0 415 0 NR — 19/19

20 Utah 0-0 241 0 NR — 20/20

21 Central Florida 0-0 232 0 NR — 21/21

22 Cincinnati 0-0 229 0 NR — 22/22

23 Iowa 0-0 204 0 NR — 23/23

24 Virginia Tech 0-0 143 0 NR — 24/24

25 Iowa State 0-0 135 0 NR — 25/25

Tennessee 111; Boise State 111; Arizona State 88; Kentucky 73; Memphis 71; Baylor 66; Washington 65; Louisville 62; Miami 58; Appalachian State 31; Navy 17; Virginia 13; Air Force 12; Mississippi State 9; Texas Christian 7; Washington State 6; Tulane 5; California 5; UL Lafayette 3; Southern Methodist 3; Nebraska 3; Stanford 2; Pittsburgh 1; Kansas State 1; Indiana 1; Duke 1.