USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll – Page 7

Penn State on door step of Week 1 USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

Penn State receives votes in the latest coaches poll after Week 1 win at Purdue

Despite coming away with a victory in week 1, Penn State will be heading into its home opener in Week 2 sitting just outside the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. The Nittany Lions are just on the outside looking in on this week’s poll as the team with the second-most votes among others receiving votes this week.

Tennessee is the only team sitting in front of Penn State and the No. 25 spot in the others receiving votes category after Week 1. BYU jumped into the No. 25 spot this week following its victory at South Florida. BYU moved up four spots in the coaches poll from the preseason poll.

Florida also skyrocketing up into the coaches poll helped block Penn State’s path to the top 25. Florida held on to defeat Utah in its season opener, and the coaches poll voters rewarded them by moving them all the way up to No. 19 in this week’s coaches poll. In a perplexing move, the coaches poll also keeps Utah four spots ahead of Florida at No. 15.

Alabama remains the top team in the coaches poll with 57 first-place votes. No. 2 Georgia moved up one spot and swapped places with No. 3 Ohio State after the Bulldogs demolished Oregon (down to No. 24) and the Buckeyes turned in a strong second half to top Notre Dame (down four spots to No. 9).

After Ohio State, the only other Big Ten teams in this week’s coaches poll are No. 5 Michigan, No. 11 Michigan State, and No. 18 Wisconsin.

A look at the full Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports:

Rank	Team	Record	Points	Change
1	Alabama	1-0	1,615 (57)	–
2	Georgia	1-0	1,542 (6)	+1
3	Ohio State	1-0	1,520 (2)	-1
4	Clemson	1-0	1,380	–
5	Michigan	1-0	1,333	+1
6	Texas A&M	1-0	1,268	+1
7	Oklahoma	1-0	1,160	+2
8	Baylor	1-0	1,103	+2
9	Notre Dame	0-1	1,077	-4
10	Oklahoma State	1-0	938	+1
11	Michigan State	1-0	860	+3
12	USC	1-0	849	+3
13	NC State	1-0	642	–
14	Pittsburgh	1-0	624	+2
15	Utah	0-1	605	-7
16	Miami (Fl)	1-0	591	+1
17	Arkansas	1-0	554	+6
18	Wisconsin	1-0	495	+2
19	Florida	1-0	469	+18
20	Kentucky	1-0	421	+1
21	Wake Forest	1-0	353	-2
22	Texas	1-0	351	-4
23	Ole Miss	1-0	292	+1
24	Oregon	0-1	206	-12
25	BYU	1-0	170	+4

Schools Dropped Out

No. 22 Cincinnati; No. 25 Houston

Others Receiving Votes

Tennessee 143; Penn State 138; Houston 137; Cincinnati 61; Iowa 44; Mississippi State 34; Florida State 33; Central Florida 23; Fresno State 21; Air Force 18; Auburn 15; Texas Christian 7; UCLA 6; South Carolina 6; Utah State 5; Minnesota 5; Syracuse 4; Oregon State 3; UL Lafayette 1; Texas Tech 1; Northwestern 1; North Carolina 1

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USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll: Vols receive votes ahead of Week 2

USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll: Tennessee receives votes ahead of Week 2

Tennessee (1-0) will play at Pittsburgh (1-0) in Week 2 (3:30 p.m. EDT, ABC).

The Vols defeated Ball State, 59-10, in Week 1.

The latest USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll was released Tuesday ahead of Week 2.

Rank	Team	Record	Points	Change
1	Alabama	1-0	1,615 (57)	–
2	Georgia	1-0	1,542 (6)	+1
3	Ohio State	1-0	1,520 (2)	-1
4	Clemson	1-0	1,380	–
5	Michigan	1-0	1,333	+1
6	Texas A&M	1-0	1,268	+1
7	Oklahoma	1-0	1,160	+2
8	Baylor	1-0	1,103	+2
9	Notre Dame	0-1	1,077	-4
10	Oklahoma State	1-0	938	+1
11	Michigan State	1-0	860	+3
12	USC	1-0	849	+3
13	NC State	1-0	642	–
14	Pittsburgh	1-0	624	+2
15	Utah	0-1	605	-7
16	Miami (Fl)	1-0	591	+1
17	Arkansas	1-0	554	+6
18	Wisconsin	1-0	495	+2
19	Florida	1-0	469	+18
20	Kentucky	1-0	421	+1
21	Wake Forest	1-0	353	-2
22	Texas	1-0	351	-4
23	Ole Miss	1-0	292	+1
24	Oregon	0-1	206	-12
25	BYU	1-0	170	+4

Schools Dropped Out

No. 22 Cincinnati; No. 25 Houston

Others Receiving Votes

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Florida moves into USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll top 25 after Week 1 win

Florida got just 17 votes in the preseason USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, but things are looking much better in the week one update.

The Florida Gators received just 17 votes in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, but they have vaulted up to No. 19 after a week one win over preseason No. 7 (and now No. 15) Utah.

The upset win validated the idea that Florida was underrated coming into the season, and it has the Gators inside the top 20 and on the climb. No. 20 Kentucky is Florida’s opponent next week, so a win should move the Gators up a few spots. Miami is ranked No. 16 and Arkansas is No. 17, and those are two schools Florida would like to pass.

As far as the rest of the SEC, Alabama still holds the top spot in the poll, and Georgia moved past Ohio State into second after the Buckeyes struggled to overcome Notre Dame. Texas A&M moved up to No. 6 despite coming out of the gates a bit slow, and Ole Miss is the only other SEC school to crack the top 25.

Tennessee, Florida’s opponent in week four, earned 143 votes and is next in line to crack the top 25. Florida State got 33 votes after upsetting Louisiana State, UCF has 23 votes, Auburn got 15, South Carolina got six and UL Lafayette (Billy Napier’s old stomping grounds) also received a vote.

A look at the full Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports:

Rank	Team	Record	Points	Change
1	Alabama	1-0	1,615 (57)	–
2	Georgia	1-0	1,542 (6)	+1
3	Ohio State	1-0	1,520 (2)	-1
4	Clemson	1-0	1,380	–
5	Michigan	1-0	1,333	+1
6	Texas A&M	1-0	1,268	+1
7	Oklahoma	1-0	1,160	+2
8	Baylor	1-0	1,103	+2
9	Notre Dame	0-1	1,077	-4
10	Oklahoma State	1-0	938	+1
11	Michigan State	1-0	860	+3
12	USC	1-0	849	+3
13	NC State	1-0	642	–
14	Pittsburgh	1-0	624	+2
15	Utah	0-1	605	-7
16	Miami (Fl)	1-0	591	+1
17	Arkansas	1-0	554	+6
18	Wisconsin	1-0	495	+2
19	Florida	1-0	469	+18
20	Kentucky	1-0	421	+1
21	Wake Forest	1-0	353	-2
22	Texas	1-0	351	-4
23	Ole Miss	1-0	292	+1
24	Oregon	0-1	206	-12
25	BYU	1-0	170	+4

Schools Dropped Out

No. 22 Cincinnati; No. 25 Houston

Others Receiving Votes

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USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll released: Movement near the top

New Coaches Poll released…

The USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll has been released following an exciting Week 1 of college football.

Week 1 was everything fans wanted it to be.

In thrillers, Pitt beat WVU, Florida beat Utah, NC State survived vs. ECU and FSU escaped over LSU.

College football’s top teams all took care of business. In the big-time matchups, Georgia had a 49-3 win over Oregon and Ohio State’s win over Notre Dame.

Here is the top-25:

25) BYU

24) Oregon

23) Ole Miss

22) Texas

21) Wake Forest

20) Kentucky

19) Florida

18) Wisconsin

17) Arkansas

16) Miami

15) Utah

14) Pitt

13) NC State

12) USC

11) Michigan State

And the top-ten…

Week 1 College football scoreboard: Georgia routs top-15 Oregon

What game is the biggest chance to be an upset this weekend?

Will there be a major upset in week one of this college football season? The first full slate of the season opened Thursday with a thriller between Pitt and West Virginia that made us all collectively ask why we continue to do things that keep rivals like those from playing annually.

Week 1 sees some marquee matchups with No. 5 Notre Dame traveling to No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Georgia taking on No. 12 Oregon in Atlanta, but there are several compelling contests beyond that as well.

Will there be a major upset along the way today? One top 15 team survived a scare as a missed PAT coupled with a missed field goal allowed them to hang onto victory. Check out the results of all the top 25 games below.

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Please note – all games are scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 3 unless otherwise noted

Iowa Hawkeyes excluded from 2022 preseason Associated Press top 25 poll

The AP top 25 media poll released today and the Iowa Hawkeyes are on the outside looking in. Here is a look at the rankings.

The Associated Press has just released their preseason top 25 media poll for the 2022 college football season. One team not included within that poll is the Iowa Hawkeyes. They are on the outside looking in, albeit one of the top teams that received top 25 votes.

The Tennessee Volunteers, Texas Longhorns, and Iowa Hawkeyes make up the top three teams outside of the rankings that received votes. This is the second recent poll Iowa has been snubbed from as they were also excluded from the USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll.

The Big Ten makes up just four teams within the AP top 25 right now as the Ohio State Buckeyes come in at No. 2, the Michigan Wolverines sit at No. 8, the Michigan State Spartans are at No. 15, and the Wisconsin Badgers round out the Big Ten at No. 18.

The full top 10 of the preseason AP Poll looks like this: Alabama at No. 1, Ohio State at No. 2, Georgia at No. 3, Clemson at No. 4, Notre Dame at No. 5, Texas A&M at No. 6, Utah at No. 7, Michigan at No. 8, Oklahoma at No. 9 and Baylor at No. 10.

Here’s a look at the full preseason Associated Press Poll.

Rank	Team	Points	1st Place Votes
1	Alabama	1,566	54
2	Ohio State	1,506	6
3	Georgia	1,455	3
4	Clemson	1,292	–
5	Notre Dame	1,242	–
6	Texas A&M	1,212	–
7	Utah	1,209	–
8	Michigan	1,203	–
9	Oklahoma	956	–
10	Baylor	884	–
11	Oregon	831	–
12	Oklahoma State	814	–
13	North Carolina State	752	–
14	Southern California	711	–
15	Michigan State	631	–
16	Miami (FL)	476	–
17	Pittsburgh	383	–
18	Wisconsin	365	–
19	Arkansas	348	–
20	Kentucky	332	–
21	Ole Miss	324	–
22	Wake Forest	303	–
23	Cincinnati	265	–
24	Houston	263	–
25	BYU	234	–

Others Receiving Votes:

Tennessee 180, Texas 164, Iowa 163, Penn State 160, LSU 55, Fresno State 32, Minnesota 31, UCF 27, Purdue 17, Mississippi State 15, Auburn 15, Kansas State 14, Florida 14, North Carolina 9, Boise State 5, Air Force 4, Appalachian State 4, UCLA 2, San Diego State 2, South Carolina 2, Utah State 2, Nebraska 1

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How USA TODAY Sports sees the Sooners heading into 2022

USA TODAY Sports analyst shared his thoughts on the Oklahoma Sooners’ seasonal outlook after coming in at No. 9 in the Coaches Poll.

The Oklahoma Sooners came in at No. 9 in the first USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll. It’s a spot that feels about right for a team coming off a two-loss season and dealing with an offseason of turnover and change.

The Sooners were the highest-ranked team in the Big 12 as voted on by the coaches but Baylor (10) and Oklahoma State (11) are right behind them. The gap between the Sooners and the rest of the Big 12 narrowed in 2021, and the race for the conference title will be tightly contested again in 2022.

Looking at each team ranked in the top 25, Erick Smith of USA TODAY Sports had this to say about the Oklahoma Sooners.

Applying conventional wisdom, there would be an expectation that the Sooners would take a step back after losing coach Lincoln Riley and having several key players, including quarterback Caleb Williams, transfer. Don’t tell that to Brent Venables. The former Clemson defensive coordinator bringing a fresh approach and intensity after being hired that has been embraced by the holdovers. A Central Florida transfer, Dillon Gabriel steps in at quarterback with former Mississippi coordinator Jeff Lebby leading the offense. WR Marvin Mims should have a breakout season, but the running game must improve. DL Jalen Redmond, LB DaShaun White and DB Woodi Washington are key pieces on a defense capable of pushing for a run at the College Football Playoff. – Smith, USA TODAY Sports

Oklahoma’s coaching change was anything but conventional. The Sooners won 10 games under Lincoln Riley before he set off for the west coast (Bob Stoops gets credited with the Alamo Bowl win). OU, like Notre Dame and Oregon, are elite Power Five programs that lost their head coaches to another Power Five program. That’s not something you see every day.

While many might think the Sooners will take a step back, the reality is the Oklahoma Sooners were in pretty good shape when Venables arrived.

This team was still pretty good on offense when he arrived, they just needed a quarterback. Venables and offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby found that in [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag]. But they made sure to address other potential needs in the transfer portal as well with the additions of Jeffery Johnson, LV Bunkley-Shelton, and McKade Mettauer.

Smith mentions the running game needs to improve, but the offense as a whole has to be more consistent. Removing defensive and special teams’ scores, they averaged just 19.67 points a game against Baylor, Iowa State, and Oklahoma State to close out the season. In all other games, aside from their 76 points performance against Western Carolina, the Sooners averaged 38.75 points per game.

The three defenses they faced were good, but to be held in check like that at the most critical juncture of the season was the difference in playing for the Big 12 championship and not.

Jeff Lebby hopes to provide another in a long line of great Oklahoma Sooners offenses but will be tested by Nebraska, Baylor, and Oklahoma State again in 2022. The Sooners’ offensive coordinator will be tasked with creating a game plan that can find success against the top defenses in the Big 12.

The turnover does leave some question as to what Oklahoma will look like in 2022, there’s little doubt that Brent Venables and his coaching staff will have this team ready to play come September 3. The Oklahoma Sooners

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Two of Colorado’s 2022 nonconference opponents receive votes in USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

More than half of Colorado’s 2022 opponents were featured in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

The preseason USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll was released on Monday and while it was no surprise that Colorado was left out, two of the Buffs’ nonconference opponents were just outside the top 25.

With TCU having only moderate expectations in the Big 12, the Buffs’ more daunting nonconference games come against Air Force and Minnesota, both of which received votes in the poll. The Falcons had 12 votes — the same total they had at the end of last season — and Minnesota had six votes, a few less than its 23 to end 2021-22.

In the Pac-12, as we previously examined, Utah, Oregon and USC all made the top 25. UCLA (10) and Oregon State (2) also received votes. The Buffs will play all five of those conference foes this season.

Plenty of difficult games are on deck for CU and on the bright side, a few early-season wins could get the Buffs getting some of their own national attention.

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What the USA TODAY Sports AFCAA Coaches Poll got wrong in the preseason poll

What teams are overhyped in the preseason USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll?

You know college football is just around the corner when we are overreacting to the release of the preseason USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll. That’s exactly what went down on Monday as we started our week with the first look at how the coaches cast their collective ballots for the start of the 2022 college football season. Alabama, to the surprise of absolutely nobody, took the top spot in the ranking and few would care to argue that placement. But Penn State being left entirely out of the top 25 may have caused some commotion around these parts.

Over the years, I have had some personal gripes with the coaches poll on a nearly weekly basis, and I do not see myself getting over it too soon. But perhaps the season will prove the coaches to be more accurate than I care to give credit when all is said and done. But there are some minor issues to be addressed with the release of this year’s preseason USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll.

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Starting with a look inside the top 10, the coaches are definitely high on defending Big Ten champion Michigan (No. 6) and Notre Dame (No. 5). A preseason top 10 ranking for Michigan was to be expected as the Wolverines are fresh off a Big Ten title and an appearance in the College Football Playoff. And Michigan should be a pretty darn good team once again in 2022! But the biggest reason why Michigan may finish the season in the top 10 will be heavily reliant on the schedule that features no stiff challenges in non-conference replay but does include road trips to Iowa and Ohio State. And considering the talent that is lost from last season’s roster, especially on defense, navigating through that schedule and getting some close games going their way as often last year feels rather unlikely.

Notre Dame could struggle to get out of September without two losses with tricky road games at Ohio State and North Carolina helping to start off the season. And considering the Irish will still have to play Clemson and USC, a four-loss season is not at all out of the question. And that won’t be close to a No. 5 ranking at the end of the season.

The preseason polls can sometimes follow the momentum of the previous season a little too strongly as well. Case in point, Michigan State (No. 14), and Pittsburgh (No. 16). The Spartans had a great thing going last season but whether or not that can carry on for another season remains to be seen. And Pitt lost its Heisman Trophy-finalist quarterback to the NFL and its Biletnikoff Award wide receiver to USC. And the schedule? Well, the Panthers could be off to an 0-2 start just as likely as they could be 2-0 with games against West Virginia and Tennessee to start the season. Both games are at home, but the Panthers will have to show the offensive firepower can keep going without two monsters from the offense in 2021 available.

A team ranked too low? Ole Miss feels like a good bet. The Rebels could be a fun team to watch this season. Ole Miss coming in at No. 24 to start the season feels like a mild low-balling of what Ole Miss could do this season. With the schedule Ole Miss has, the Rebels could potentially be walking into LSU in late October with a record of 7-0.

It probably shouldn’t come as a surprise that a couple of other teams are generating some preseason buzz. Miami, with a new head coach in former Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal (former Canes coach Manny Diaz is now Penn State’s defensive coordinator, of course), is ranked No. 17 by the coaches after a 7-5 season in 2021. And Texas, coming off a 5-7 season last fall, is ranked No. 18. The Longhorns even received one first-place vote. Let’s chalk that up to the Manning influence, even though Arch Manning won’t be playing for the Longhorns until 2023.

You can review the full USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll here and weigh in on what teams are overranked or underranked.

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Where Wisconsin lands in the first USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll

Wisconsin football lands in the top 25 of the first USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll:

On Tuesday morning, the first USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll was released and the Wisconsin Badgers landed at No. 20 in the initial poll.

The Badgers did not finish in the AFCA Coaches Poll at the end of the 2021 season but began last year at No. 15. There are several other Big Ten teams that made the 2022 preseason poll including Michigan State, Michigan and Ohio State.

The USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll top 10 for this consists of Alabama(1), Ohio State(2), Georgia(3), Clemson(4), Notre Dame(5), Michigan(6), Texas A&M(7), Utah(8), Oklahoma(9) and Baylor(10).

The Badgers are just starting to get into fall camp, but they will open their season at home on Sep. 3 against the Illinois State Redbirds.

Below are the Big Ten teams featured in the latest USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll.