Ohio State behind Michigan in top five of preseason coaches poll
COLUMBUS — Ohio State is in the top five of the preseason USA TODAY Sports AFCA football coaches poll, but the No. 4 Buckeyes are behind both Georgia and, more notably, Michigan.
The back-to-back national champion Bulldogs are unsurprisingly No. 1, and the Wolverines — who have beaten Ohio State and won the Big Ten two consecutive years — are No. 2.
Alabama, which has won three national titles in the College Football Playoff era, is No. 3.
Ohio State is No. 4, and LSU rounds out the preseason coaches poll top five at No. 5.
Georgia received 61 first-place votes, Alabama received four first-place votes and Ohio State snagged one first-place vote. Michigan was the only team ranked inside the top four that didn’t get a first-place vote.
There are four Big Ten teams in the Top 25: No. 2 Michigan, No. 4 Ohio State, No. 7 Penn State and No. 21 Wisconsin. The Badgers, who are led by new head coach Luke Fickell, are the only Big Ten West team ranked in the poll. The 2023 season, however, is the Big Ten’s final season with divisions.
Starting next season, the Big Ten will grow to 18 teams. USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington will be in the mix. This year’s preseason Top 25 includes seven teams in the soon-to-be, new-look Big Ten: No. 2 Michigan, No. 4 Ohio State, No. 6 USC, No. 7 Penn State, No. 11 Washington, No. 15 Oregon and No. 21 Wisconsin.
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Iowa leads the receiving votes section with 169 votes. Next up are South Carolina (89 votes), Florida (63 votes), UTSA (59 votes), Pitt (52 votes) and UCLA (42 votes).
Other current Big Ten programs receiving votes are Minnesota (16 votes), Maryland (10 votes) and Illinois (seven votes).
Here is the complete Top 25:
- Georgia
- Michigan
- Alabama
- Ohio State
- LSU
- USC
- Penn State
- Florida State
- Clemson
- Tennessee
- Washington
- Texas
- Notre Dame
- Utah
- Oregon
- TCU
- Kansas State
- Oregon State
- Oklahoma
- UNC
- Wisconsin
- Ole Miss
- Tulane
- Texas Tech
- Texas A&M
Counting down
Buckeyes vs. Indiana: 26 days
Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 111 days
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