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There may have been a lot of off-field changes in college football this offseason, with players enjoying their name, image and likeness to the impending Oklahoma and Texas moves of the Big for the first time. 12 to the SEC.
But if you believe the 65 coaches who voted in the preseason coaches poll, not much is going to change on the pitch in 2021.
Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State are ranked in the top four for the second straight season in the preseason coaching poll released Tuesday, although their order has changed slightly.
The Crimson Tide, who will seek their seventh national title under coach Nick Saban, were an overwhelming choice for the No.1 with 63 votes, followed by Clemson, Oklahoma, Ohio State and the Georgia. The Sooners received the other two first-place votes.
High expectations are nothing new for Alabama, which has been ranked No.3 or higher in each of the last 12 preseason coaching polls. In fact, last season was only the second time it has been ranked outside of the top two since 2010. The Tide was No.3 behind Clemson and Ohio State, but finished 13-0 after beating the Buckeyes 52. -24 in the national college football qualifying championship. . The Tide was also No.3 in the 2015 preseason coaching poll, when they beat Clemson 45-40 in the CFP National Championship.
Of course, Alabama will have to replace many of the star players who have helped them win their fifth national championship in the past 10 years. Six former Tide players were selected in the first round of the NFL Draft in April, including Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith, quarterback Mac Jones and fullback Najee Harris. Offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian has also left to become Texas head coach; Saban replaced him with former Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien.
“The penalty for success when you win a national championship is that you won because you had a lot of good players,” Saban told SEC media days last month. “They were well trained, so you had a lot of good coaches. When you lose some of those players, and we lost six first round picks and 10 guys total in the draft, and you lose some of those coaches for better opportunities. , the challenge is to rebuild with a lot of new players who will be younger, have new roles, less experience, and how do they react to those new roles? That’s why rebuilding is such a huge challenge. why it is very difficult to repeat. “
Nonetheless, the Crimson Tide is expected to bring back nine starters in defense, and projected starter Bryce Young was ranked No.1 for the double-threat quarterback in the 2020 ESPN 300. Alabama opens the season Sept. 4 against No.1. ° 16 Miami. (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC) at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Clemson and Ohio State will also have new quarterbacks, having lost Trevor Lawrence, the Jaguars ‘No.1 pick, and Justin Fields, the Bears’ No.11 pick, respectively. The Tigers might be better equipped to replace Lawrence; DJ Uiagalelei threw for 914 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions and started two games when Lawrence was sidelined with COVID-19 last season.
The Tigers open the season Sept. 4 against Georgia (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC) in Charlotte, NC. The Bulldogs, who haven’t won a national championship in 41 years, bring back quarterback JT Daniels and six other starters on offense. Much of the defense will have to be replaced, however, especially in the secondary.
Oklahoma will also try to end a national championship drought – they last won it all in 2000. The Sooners are expected to return seven starters on both sides of the ball, and coach Lincoln Riley has added several key transfers for to help.
Texas A&M is No.6 in the poll, followed by Notre Dame, Iowa State, North Carolina and Cincinnati, which is the highest-ranked team in a Group of 5 conference.
Six SEC teams were ranked in the top 25 – Florida is No. 11, LSU is No. 13 and Ole Miss is No. 25. The Tigers limped at 5-5 last season, having finished 15-0 and won a national championship a year earlier.
The Big Ten had five ranked teams, the Big 12 had four, and the Pac-12 and ACC had three each.
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