Locked on Longhorns Podcast: Top 25, NFL Draft chat with Dane Brugler

SiriusXM host Ari Temkin joins to discuss the coaches poll. Plus an interview with Dane Brulger of the Athletic about the NFL Draft.

The newest edition of the Locked on Longhorns Podcast features host of the Big 12 Radio show on SiriusXM, Ari Temkin. The main topic of discussion in the shows first segment includes the newest Amway Coaches Poll. Where did Texas rank? It is too low or too high? Plus which team in the top five should be lower in the initial preseason poll. Ari discusses why he is excited about the coordinator hires for Texas.

The Athletic’s Dane Brugler joins in the second segment to discuss his thoughts on senior quarterback Sam Ehlinger. He gives some background on why he chose Ehlinger as one of his top five quarterbacks for the upcoming draft class. How high is the celing for Sam and what he highest grade he has heard. Samuel Cosmi and Derek Kerstetter were really good in 2019, where does Brugler see those players in terms of draft stock.

Defensively there are two players at this point on the draft radar. What does Joseph Ossai need to do to become a top 50 prospect in the 2021 NFL Draft if he decides to declare following his junior season. Does Caden Sterns need a monster season to get back into the conversation at safety if he declares? We also find out Dane Brugler’s thoughts on the subject of Sam Ehlinger vs Brock Purdy. Who is the better quarterback?

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Michigan State football receives zero votes in first Amway coaches poll

Clemson takes the top overall spot in this year’s preseason coaches poll

Well this isn’t surprising.

The first Amway coaches poll (powered by USA TODAY) has been released and the Michigan State Spartans are nowhere to be found. Mel Tucker’s Spartans didn’t receive a single vote from the 65-member coach panel. Tucker is one of the 65 voters this year.

Clemson leads the way at No. 1 this year. The Tigers received 38 first-place votes. They are followed by Ohio State, which received 17 first-place votes. Alabama, Georgia, and LSU round out the top five.

As for other Big Ten schools. Penn State (No. 7), Wisconsin (No.12), Michigan (No. 15), Minnesota (No. 18), and Iowa (No. 23) all made the top 25. Nebraska and Indiana both received votes.

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Initial Amway preseason Coaches Poll is out. Where is Ohio State?

The initial Amway Coaches Preseason college football poll is out. Where does Ohio State check-in at before all the fun optimistically begins?

Most years, when you see the preseason college football polls come out, you know the season is just around the corner. This year however, we’re just hoping for a season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ever the optimist here at Buckeyes Wire though, we’re grinding ahead since everything is technically still on when it comes to Ohio State football for this fall. After all, a new conference-only schedule, fall preseason camps have been given the green-light, and plans have been made.

And now, the Amway Preseason Coaches Poll is out to boot and the Buckeyes have checked in at No. 2 in the country behind — you guessed it — Clemson.

This falls in line with what most preseason experts have opined on all-along as well. Most have the Tigers as the No. 1 team followed by Ohio State, then Alabama.

The same is true here too, with those three being the top three ranked. Behind them are Georgia (4), LSU (5), Oklahoma (6), Penn State (7), Florida (8), Oregon (9), and Notre Dame (10) rounding out the top ten.

So what does the rest of the top 25 look like?

Next … The Amway Coaches Poll Complete Top 25

Pages: 12

Where Notre Dame ranks in 2020 preseason Amway Coaches poll powered by USA TODAY Sports

The preseason Amway Coaches poll is out. Where does Notre Dame and their opponents for 2020 rank? Find out here!

What a day.

First we get Notre Dame’s 2020 football schedule finally released, we have to say goodbye to the Navy game for the first time in almost a century and now we have a sure-sign of the dog days of summer and college football approaching as the Amway Coaches poll powered by USA TODAY Sports has been released.

Who gets the No. 1 ranking? Where does Notre Dame come in? And where do Notre Dame’s opponents for 2020 check-in?

It’s all below:

Preseason Amway Coaches Poll:

Clemson
2. Ohio State
3. Alabama
4. Georgia
5. LSU
6. Oklahoma
7. Penn State
8. Florida
9. Oregon
10. Notre Dame
11. Auburn
12. Wisconsin
13. Texas A&M
14. Texas
15. Michigan
16. Oklahoma State
17. USC
18. Minnesota
19. North Carolina
20. Utah
21. UCF
22. Cincinnati
23. Iowa
24. Virginia Tech
25. Iowa State

Notre Dame sneaks into the top ten and is scheduled to face two teams appearing in the preseason top 25: No.1 Clemson and No. 19 North Carolina.

If ranked No. 1 on November 7, Clemson will be the first top-ranked team in the nation to come to Notre Dame Stadium since USC in the famed 2005 “Bush Push” game.

Notre Dame will kickoff the 2020 season when they play host to unranked Duke on September 12.

Where Wisconsin ranks in the 2020 Amway Coaches Poll

The 2020 college football season is already setting up to be one unlike any other with the elimination of out-of-conference play, a…

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The 2020 college football season is already setting up to be one unlike any other with the elimination of out-of-conference play, a likely fan-less atmosphere and some of the nation’s top players electing to opt-out of the season.

How the weekly rankings will shake out is yet to be seen, though one thing that is a guarantee is the weekly debate surrounding which conference deserves the title of the best in the nation, as there are no longer big time out-of-conference games to help settle the debate.

Well, the annual Amway Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports was released today and landing at No. 12 are the Wisconsin Badgers.

The poll is updated weekly as FBS coaches are chosen randomly and asked to rank the nation’s top 25 teams, with a No. 1 ranking being worth 25 points.

The Badgers are the No. 3-ranked team in the Big Ten with Ohio State landing at No. 2 and Penn State at No. 7. Their 887 total points are just nine fewer than No. 11 Auburn and 80 more than No. 13 Texas A&M.

Other Big Ten teams in the rankings are Michigan at No. 15 with 687 points, Minnesota at 18 with 494 points and Iowa at No. 23 with 204 points. Michigan State did not receive any votes.

Check back in weekly as the rankings are updated and (hopefully) the season continues without interruption.

Vols not ranked in 2020 preseason Amway Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports

2020 preseason Amway Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.

The 2020 preseason Amway Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports has been released.

The Vols are not ranked in the preseason top 25. Tennessee did receive 111 votes, tying Boise State for the No. 26 position, just outside of the rankings, entering the season.

Tennessee Football: COVID-19 Status Tracker

The Southeastern Conference announced July 30 that member institutions, including Tennessee, will play a 10-game schedule. The 10-game schedule will consist of conference-only contests.

The start of the season is slated for Sept. 26 and the SEC championship game is scheduled for Dec. 19. A revised schedule for the 2020 SEC football season will be announced at a later date following approval by the conference’s athletics directors.

USA TODAY releases Amway Coaches Poll, where does Alabama rank?

On Thursday, the initial rankings for the Amway Coaches Poll, through USA TODAY, was released for the 2020 season. Where did the Tide rank?

The Amway Coaches Poll, which is powered by USA TODAY Sports, for the 2020 season went live on Thursday morning. And while there wasn’t anything overly shocking with the poll, there is still plenty to talk about.

To start, Alabama checked in at No. 3 in the initial rankings behind Clemson and Ohio State at No. 1 and 2, respectively. That’s actually down one spot from where they began prior to the 2019 season when the Crimson Tide came in a No. 2 overall.

Six SEC teams were included in the top 25, and all were ranked in the top 13 with Georgia (No. 4), LSU (No. 5), Florida (No. 8), Auburn (No. 11) and Texas A&M (No. 13) all joining Alabama.

Here is how the rest of the top 25 shook out:

1. Clemson

2. Ohio Sate

3. Alabama

4. Georgia

5. LSU

6. Oklahoma

7. Penn State

8. Florida

9. Oregon

10. Notre Dame

11. Auburn

12. Wisconsin

13. Texas A&M

14. Texas

15. Michigan

16. Oklahoma State

17. USC

18. Minnesota

19. North Carolina

20. Utah

21. UCF

22. Cincinnati

23. Iowa

24. Virginia Tech

25. Iowa State

Alabama is heading into the 2020 season needing to replace arguably the best quarterback in school history in Tua Tagovailoa, The good news, however, is that newly extended offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian may already have a head start after redshirt junior Mac Jones saw four starts last season.

If it isn’t Jones, the likely candidate to be the starting quarterback will be five-star prospect Bryce Young, a high school phenom out of California, who many are projecting will push Jones.

With star defenders Dylan Moses and LaBryan Ray, as well as backup running back Trey Sanders, all returning, many football pundits believe another national title run is in the cards for Alabama this season — and rightfully so.

The SEC has announced that it will be going to a 10-game, conference only schedule this season, but we have yet to see who the Crimson Tide will play in Week 1. But either way, it should make for an exciting game with it being only conference opponents.

Stay tuned for more updates from Roll Tide Wire, part of the USA TODAY Sports College Wire network!

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USC is ranked No. 17 in preseason Amway Coaches Poll

The Trojans, on sheer talent, crack the preseason top 20.

If we are lucky enough to have a college football season this fall, the USC Trojans will know that the nation’s FBS coaches hold them in high regard.

USC, despite a tenuous and uncertain coaching situation plus numerous positional question marks flowing from a combination of injuries and uneven recruiting, is probably a year away from having a legitimate chance to contend for the biggest prizes in college football. Yet, for all of the Trojans’ flaws, and despite the skepticism of the fan base that Clay Helton can put the pieces together in 2020, USC still checked in at No. 17 in the preseason edition of the Amway Coaches Poll, released on Thursday by USA TODAY.

The usual suspects — Clemson, Ohio State and Alabama — occupied the top three in the polls, with Georgia coming in at No. 4. Three of the top five teams are from the SEC (LSU is No. 5), so with Ohio State and Clemson representing two other conferences, the No. 6 Oklahoma Sooners would seem to be (yet again) the No. 4 playoff team, just as they were last year. Oregon is the highest-rated Pac-12 team at No. 9.

USC landed just below Michigan. Jim Harbaugh’s group is rated No. 15 in the preseason coaches poll. That might be more of a commentary on Michigan’s inability to rise to a higher level of quality under Harbaugh, or it could be seen as an indication that the floor remains high in Ann Arbor, despite an unrelenting parade of losses to Ohio State.

Enough about Michigan, though. The fact that USC could be a preseason top-20 team despite everything which cuts against it (chiefly the head coach) is an indication of how much raw talent exists among the starters on the roster. Depth is a question mark, but coaches certainly believe in USC’s talent. That’s why the Trojans are where they are.

Now, the question becomes: Will we have a season in which USC can measure itself against this ranking?

Preseason Amway Coaches Poll: Texas cracks top 15

Texas ranks No. 14 in the preseason Amway Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports. It is UT’s second-lowest rating in the Tom Herman era.

College football preseason polls are finally here. In years past, Texas has been built up with expectations and ranked too highly in preseason polls. This season, the Longhorns are in a comfortable spot, not dawning them as one of the top teams in the country.

Texas ranks at No. 14 in the preseason Amway Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports. For the past two seasons, Tom Herman’s squad was a preseason top 10 team, only to finish with multiple losses.

As for the Big 12, Oklahoma is the only other top 15 team, coming in at No. 6. Oklahoma State (No. 16) and Iowa State (No. 25) are the only other teams from the conference to make the top 25.

Here is the full Amway Coaches Poll top 25:

1) Clemson

2) Ohio State

3) Alabama

4) Georgia

5) Louisiana State

6) Oklahoma

7) Penn State

8) Florida

9) Oregon

10) Notre Dame

11) Auburn

12) Wisconsin

13) Texas A&M

14) Texas

15) Michigan

16) Oklahoma State

17) Southern California

18) Minnesota

19) North Carolina

20) Utah

21) Central Florida

22) Cincinnati

23) Iowa

24) Virginia Tech

25) Iowa State

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.

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Auburn debuts at No. 11 in preseason Amway Coaches Poll

The Tigers will face four ranked teams in the newly released poll.

Auburn will start the 2020 college football season on the cusp of the top ten in the newly released Amway Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.

The Tigers are ranked No. 11 with 898 points.

Per usual, the SEC is well represented in the poll with six teams being in the top 25 including No. 3 Alabama, No. 4 Georgia, No. 5 LSU, No. 8 Florida and No. 13 Texas A&M. The Tigers are scheduled to face all of those teams except the Gators.

Here is the complete poll:

2020 Preseason Coaches Poll

1	Clemson	0-0	1589	38	NR	—	1/1
2	Ohio State	0-0	1555	17	NR	—	2/2
3	Alabama	0-0	1495	4	NR	—	3/3
4	Georgia	0-0	1345	0	NR	—	4/4
5	Louisiana State	0-0	1330	6	NR	—	5/5
6	Oklahoma	0-0	1315	0	NR	—	6/6
7	Penn State	0-0	1199	0	NR	—	7/7
8	Florida	0-0	1176	0	NR	—	8/8
9	Oregon	0-0	1164	0	NR	—	9/9
10	Notre Dame	0-0	1012	0	NR	—	10/10
11	Auburn	0-0	898	0	NR	—	11/11
12	Wisconsin	0-0	887	0	NR	—	12/12
13	Texas A&M	0-0	807	0	NR	—	13/13
14	Texas	0-0	703	0	NR	—	14/14
15	Michigan	0-0	687	0	NR	—	15/15
16	Oklahoma State	0-0	524	0	NR	—	16/16
17	Southern California	0-0	521	0	NR	—	17/17
18	Minnesota	0-0	494	0	NR	—	18/18
19	North Carolina	0-0	415	0	NR	—	19/19
20	Utah	0-0	241	0	NR	—	20/20
21	Central Florida	0-0	232	0	NR	—	21/21
22	Cincinnati	0-0	229	0	NR	—	22/22
23	Iowa	0-0	204	0	NR	—	23/23
24	Virginia Tech	0-0	143	0	NR	—	24/24
25	Iowa State	0-0	135	0	NR	—	25/25