College football season is back! We are less than week away from the Week 0 slate of games so it is time to once again publish the College Football Researchers Association preseason poll! This will be the 25th season overall that the CFRA will crown a contemporaneous national champion and the 14th consecutive since the re-emergence of the poll in 2009. The history there may not seem overwhelmingly vast but keep in mind that when you include all of the retrospective champions we’ve elected, this season’s champion will be the 153rd in poll history which is more than any other multi-voter, NCAA-recognized poll in the country.
Without further ado, here is this year’s preseason poll.
1. Alabama (10)– 322 points
2. Georgia (2)– 300 points
3. Ohio State– 297 points
4. Clemson (1)– 270 points
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5. Utah– 249 points
6. Michigan- 247 points
7. Oklahoma– 230 points
8. Texas A & M– 219 points
9. Notre Dame- 208 points
10. Oklahoma State- 173 points
11. NC State– 167 points
12. Oregon– 164 points
13. Southern California– 159 points
14. Baylor– 139 points
15. Wisconsin– 110 points
16. Arkansas– 96 points
17. Miami-FL– 90 points
18. Michigan State– 87 points
19. Kentucky– 73 points
20. Cincinnati– 69 points
21. Wake Forest– 64 points
22. Ole Miss– 58 points
23. Texas– 57 points
24. Tennessee– 53 points
25. Houston– 50 points
Others Receiving Votes: Pittsburgh 49, Pen State 38, Iowa 32, Mississippi State 26, Texas Tech 18, LSU 15, Purdue 14, UCF 13, Washington 12, Boise State 10, Brigham Young 9, North Carolina 5, Iowa State 5, UAB 5, Air Force 5, Coastal Carolina 4, Virginia Tech 4, Kansas State 3, Fresno State 3, Appalachian State 2, Memphis 2, Minnesota 1
Teams Ranked Higher in CFRA than AP and Coaches Polls: Georgia (2), Utah (5), Oklahoma (7), Oklahoma State (10), NC State (11), Southern California (13), Wisconsin (15), Arkansas (16), Kentucky (19), Cincinnati (20), Tennessee (24).
Teams Ranked Lower in CFRA than AP and Coaches Polls: Ohio State (3), Texas A & M (8), Notre Dame (9), Baylor (14), Michigan State (18), Pittsburgh (NR), BYU (NR).
Teams Ranked Exactly the Same in All 3 Major Human Polls (AP, CFRA, and Coaches): Alabama (1), Clemson (4).