NEW YORK (AP) - Clemson is No. 1 in the USA Today coaches’ preseason poll for a second straight year.
The Tigers received 38 of 65 first-place votes in the poll released Thursday. Clemson is seeking its third national title in five years after losing 42-25 to LSU in last season’s championship game. Ohio State, which lost 29-23to Clemson in a Fiesta Bowl semifinal last year, is second in the poll and received 17 first-place votes. Alabama, Georgia and LSU round out the top five.
North Carolina is ranked 19th, while Virginia Tech comes in at No. 24. Notre Dame, a independent program playing an ACC schedule in 2020 and eligible for the conference title game, is ranked 10th.
Click here to see the entire poll.
Alabama received four first-place votes. LSU got six while Georgia did not get a No. 1 vote.
Rounding out the top 10 are Oklahoma, Penn State, Florida, Oregon and the aforementioned Fighting Irish. Oklahoma is seeking its fourth straight playoff berth after losing 63-28 to LSU in a Peach Bowl semifinal last year.
The preseason Associated Press Top 25 will be released Aug. 24.
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