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 26th season overall that the CFRA will crown a contemporaneous national champion and the 15th 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 154th 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.  Georgia (12)– 324 points

2.  Ohio State (1)– 281 points

3.  Michigan– 270 points  

4. Alabama– 265 points

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5.  LSU– 240 points

6.  Southern California- 232 points

7.  Clemson– 203 points

8.  Penn State– 197 points

9.  Texas- 185 points

10. Florida State- 176 points

11. Utah– 175 points

12. Tennessee– 162 points

13. Washington– 155 points

14. Notre Dame– 148 points

15. Oregon– 119 points

16. Kansas State– 110 points

17. TCU– 99 points

18. Oklahoma– 92 points

19. Wisconsin– 78 points

20. Oregon State– 61 points

21. Ole Miss– 57 points

22. North Carolina– 44 points

23. Iowa– 33 points

24. Tulane– 27 points

25. South Carolina– 25 points

Others Receiving Votes: New Mexico State 24, UMass 23, Jacksonville State 22, Eastern Michigan 21, Hawaii 20, Boise State 19, Miami-OH 19, Old Dominion 18, Oklahoma State 18, New Mexico 17, Texas Tech 17, Kentucky 16, FIU 16, UTSA 16, Sam Houston State 15, Rice 14, South Alabama 13, Texas State 12, San Jose State 11, Vanderbilt 10, Wake Forest 10, Colorado 10, NC State 10, UCF 10, Auburn 9, California 9, Wyoming 8, Texas A & M 8, Georgia State 7, Colorado State 6, Maryland 5, UL-Monroe 5, SMU 4, Coastal Carolina 4, UCLA 4, Arkansas 3, UTEP 3, Florida 2, Troy 2, Northwestern 2, Toledo 1, Pittsburgh 1, Syracuse 1, Minnesota 1, Michigan State 1

Teams Ranked Higher in CFRA than AP and Coaches Polls: Ohio State (2), Clemson (7), Texas (9), Utah (11), Oklahoma (18), Ole Miss (21), Iowa (23), South Carolina (25).

Teams Ranked Lower in CFRA than AP and Coaches Polls: Michigan (3), Penn State (8), Florida State (10), Washington (13), Notre Dame (14), Oregon State (20), North Carolina (22), Texas A & M (NR), Texas Tech (NR).

Teams Ranked Exactly the Same in All 3 Major Human Polls (AP, CFRA, and Coaches): Georgia (1), LSU (5), Southern Cal (6), Oregon (15).