South Bound & Down
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Six SEC Football teams in the Preseason Coaches Poll

By Matt Green

ATLANTA, GA - DECEMBER 07: The Auburn Tigers hold up the SEC sign in celebration after defeating the Missouri Tigers 59-42 to win the SEC Championship Game at Georgia Dome on December 7, 2013 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - DECEMBER 07: The Auburn Tigers hold up the SEC sign in celebration after defeating the Missouri Tigers 59-42 to win the SEC Championship Game at Georgia Dome on December 7, 2013 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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The college football season is so close, we can taste it. And now we know those all-important little numbers that will be next to our favorite team’s name on the scoreboard, because the preseason rankings have officially been released.

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Much has been made over the past calendar year about the SEC no longer being the top conference in college football. Well, don’t tell college football coaches, because six SEC football teams were voted into the Top 25 of the preseason coaches poll, the most of any conference.

It’s no surprise that the Alabama Crimson Tide are preseason no. 1, despite all that they lost from their defense a year ago. The Crimson Tide reload every year, and until we’re proven wrong, the media and the coaches are going to continue to forecast Alabama as the best team in the country. Ohio State, Florida State, and Clemson also received first-place votes.

Big Ten

What might come as a surprise is the top 10. Alabama was the only team voted in the top 10. Instead, the Big Ten is the conference that is well-represented at the top of the poll. Four Big Ten teams are ranked in the top 10 of the preseason coaches poll, with Ohio State leading the way at no. 2, Penn State at no. 6, Michigan at no. 9, and Wisconsin at no. 10. But those four were the only Big Ten teams in the top 25.

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SEC

You have to go down to no. 12 before you find another SEC team, which is LSU. Then Auburn comes in at no. 13, Georgia at no. 15, Florida at no. 16, then Tennessee at no. 24.

ACC

The big, bad ACC has been claiming to be the best conference in college football all offseason. I guess they figure if they say it enough times, it might come true. They were second to the SEC with five teams ranked in the top 25 of the preseason coaches poll.

Florida State and Clemson led the way at no. 3 and no. 5, while Louisville (17), Miami (18), and Virginia Tech (22) are also ranked.

It’s worth noting that in last year’s rankings, only 14 of the 25 teams in the preseason coaches poll finished the season ranked in the top 25.

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Ultimately, preseason polls are pointless. But it’s fun to talk about and it means we’re that much closer to the start of the college football season.

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