NCAA Coaches Poll: Clemson edges Ohio State for No. 1 in college football's preseason top 25 rankings

Bill Bender

NCAA Coaches Poll: Clemson edges Ohio State for No. 1 in college football's preseason top 25 rankings image

The 2020 college football season might be in doubt, but that won't stop the preseason polls. 

USA Today released the Amway Coaches Preseason Top 25 on Thursday , and Clemson is ranked No. 1 for the second straight season. 

MORE: SN bowl predictions for 2020

The Tigers, which have made the College Football Playoff each of the last five seasons, led all schools with 1,589 points. Clemson returns quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who is ranked No. 1 in Sporting News Top 40 players for 2020

Ohio State, which lost to Clemson in the College Football Playoff semifinals last season, is ranked No. 2. The Buckeyes have won the last three Big Ten championships. Three SEC schools round out the top five in Alabama, Georgia and LSU. Those schools have combined to win the SEC championship the last three seasons. 

NCAA Coaches Poll: Top 25 rankings for 2020 preseason

RANK SCHOOL POINTS
1 Clemson (38) 1,589
2 Ohio State (17) 1,555
3 Alabama (4) 1,495
4 Georgia 1,345
5 LSU (6) 1,330
6 Oklahoma 1,315
7 Penn State 1,199
8 Florida 1,176
9 Oregon 1,164
10 Notre Dame 1,012
11 Auburn 898
12 Wisconsin 887
13 Texas A&M 807
14 Texas 703
15 Michigan 687
16 Oklahoma State 524
17 USC 521
18 Minnesota 494
19 North Carolina 415
20 Utah 241
21 UCF 232
22 Cincinnati 229
23 Iowa 204
24 Virginia Tech 143
25 Iowa State 135

Others receiving votes:  Tennessee 111; Boise State 111; Arizona State 88; Kentucky 73; Memphis 71; Baylor 66; Washington 65; Louisville 62; Miami 58; Appalachian State 31; Navy 17; Virginia 13; Air Force 12; Mississippi State 9; Texas Christian 7; Washington State 6; Tulane 5; California 5; UL Lafayette 3; Southern Methodist 3; Nebraska 3; Stanford 2; Pittsburgh 1; Kansas State 1; Indiana 1; Duke 1.

Bill Bender

Bill Bender Photo

Bill Bender graduated from Ohio University in 2002 and started at The Sporting News as a fantasy football writer in 2007. He has covered the College Football Playoff, NBA Finals and World Series for SN. Bender enjoys story-telling, awesomely-bad 80s movies and coaching youth sports.