With each passing day, the start of a new college football season draws nearer, and it almost feels official now that the 2018 preseason Coaches Poll has been released. Last year's preseason poll had Alabama at No. 1, and that's exactly where the Tide ended the season as College Football Playoff National Champions.
Not surprisingly, this year's rankings have the defending national champions at No. 1 once again, followed by Clemson, Ohio State, Georgia and Oklahoma to round out the top five.
Both the SEC and Big Ten have three teams in the top 10 with No. 7 Wisconsin, No. 9 Penn State and No. 10 Auburn joining No. 1 Alabama, No. 3 Ohio State and No. 4 Georgia.
UCF, which finished last season at 13-0 and No. 7 in the poll, will begin the season at No. 23. Four teams that finished the 2017 campaign unranked are in the preseason Coaches Poll, including Michigan, Florida State, West Virginia and Texas.
Here's the poll in its entirety:
1. Alabama (61 first-place votes)
2. Clemson (3)
3. Ohio State (1)
4. Georgia
5. Oklahoma
6. Washington
7. Wisconsin
8. Miami
9. Penn State
10. Auburn
11. Notre Dame
12. Michigan State
13. Stanford
14. Michigan
15. USC
16. TCU
17. Virginia Tech
18. Mississippi State
19. Florida State
20. West Virginia
21. Texas
22. Boise State
23. UCF
24. LSU
25. Oklahoma State
