Ohio State will open the 2020 college football season as the second-ranked team in the coaches’ poll, behind only Clemson.
The Buckeyes earned 17 of the a possible 65 first-place votes, and 1555 total points.
The Tigers were at 1589 points and 38 first-place votes.
A trio of SEC teams, Alabama, Georgia, and LSU round out the top five.
Penn State is the next Big Ten team to appear in the poll at No. 7, followed by 12th-ranked Wisconsin, 15th-ranked Michigan, 18th-ranked Minnesota, and 23rd-ranked Iowa.
Nebraska and Indiana were among the teams outside the top-25 who also received votes.
A total of six SEC teams rank among the top-13 programs in the nation in the initial poll, including No. 3 Alabama, No. 4 Georgia, No. 5 LSU, No. 8 Florida, No. 11 Auburn, and No. 13 Texas A&M.
Oregon, who the Buckeyes were originally scheduled to play during the second week of the season, checks in at No. 9.
You can find the complete poll below, including team name, record, points, first place votes, previous ranking, and season high/low in the poll.
The “others receiving votes” are below the top-25.
| 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 |
i don’t as as rule get wigged out about pre-season or polls generally, though confess to looking forward to their annual appearance, but for the life of me, I do not understand on an annual basis why Georgia is always perceived to be so great when they have done NOTHING really since…? Admittedly, it is a great source of college and pro talent, and Ga does quite well here, but that just means they do less with more than maybe anybody in the country (not named Mich or TX).
just don’t get it.