2021 preseason Coaches Poll released

By Kevin Kelley -

The 2021 preseason Coaches Poll has been released and the Alabama Crimson Tide top the rankings. Alabama received 63 of the 65 first place votes and 1,621 total points.

Alabama is followed by Clemson in second, Oklahoma in third, Ohio State in fourth, and Georgia in fifth. Rounding out the top ten are Texas A&M (6th), Notre Dame (7th), Iowa State (8th), North Carolina (9th), and Cincinnati (10th).

Oklahoma is the only other team besides Alabama that received first place votes (2).

The SEC leads all conferences with six teams in the Top 25 poll. The Big Ten follows with five ranked teams. Listed below is the full conference breakdown:

  • SEC – 6
  • Big Ten – 5
  • Big 12 – 4
  • ACC – 3
  • Pac-12 – 3
  • SBC – 2
  • AAC – 1
  • IND – 1

The complete 2021 Preseason Coaches Poll is listed below (first place votes in parentheses):

1. Alabama (63)
2. Clemson
3. Oklahoma (2)
4. Ohio State
5. Georgia
6. Texas A&M
7. Notre Dame
8. Iowa State
9. North Carolina
10. Cincinnati
11. Florida
12. Oregon
13. LSU
14. USC
15. Wisconsin
16. Miami FL
17. Indiana
18. Iowa
19. Texas
20. Penn State
21. Washington
22. Oklahoma State
23. Louisiana
24. Coastal Carolina
25. Ole Miss

Others receiving votes: Utah 145, Northwestern 120, Arizona State 90, Auburn 84, Liberty 68, Brigham Young 53, Texas Christian 48, Michigan 30, Central Florida 29, NC State 27, Boise State 27, Kentucky 20, San Jose State 18, Army 13, Virginia Tech 9, Missouri 8, UCLA 7, Tulsa 6, Pittsburgh 6, Boston College 6, Houston 5, Ball State 5, West Virginia 4, Southern Methodist 4, Appalachian State 4, UAB 3, Arkansas 3, Nevada 2, Mississippi State 2, Air Force 2, Stanford 1, Marshall 1, Florida State 1, California 1

Comments (5)

Has the Sun Belt ever had teams ranked this early? That’s a huge deal and I know App State has something to say about it not being them.

Thanks, that’s what I thought. The top teams of the SBC are turning into perennial threats.

Is there any data out there showing how many teams in the preseason poll are in the final polls for each year? Would be interesting to see.

New Year’s Six and Playoff Semifinals based on this poll are:
Cotton Bowl (CFP Semifinal) = #1 Alabama vs. #4 Ohio State
Orange Bowl (CFP Semifinal) = #2 Clemson vs. #3 Oklahoma
Fiesta Bowl = #6 Texas A&M vs. #10 Cincinnati
Peach Bowl = #7 Notre Dame vs. #9 North Carolina
Rose Bowl Game = #12 Oregon vs. #15 Wisconsin
Sugar Bowl = #5 Georgia vs. #8 Iowa State
#newyearssix #cfbplayoff :)