COLUMBUS – The Buckeyes are ranked No. 6 in the Associated Press preseason Top 25 poll, just behind one of their 2016 opponents and ahead of two others.
This is the 28th straight year that Ohio State is in the preseason AP poll. They Buckeyes have been in the top 10 of the preseason poll in 11 of the last 14 years.
Defending national champion Alabama is No. 1 as the Crimson Tide attempts to win a fifth title in eight seasons.
Coach Nick Saban’s Tide received 33 of 61 first-place votes from the media panel and 1,469 points. Alabama is the preseason number 1 for the fifth time overall (2013, 2010, 1978, 1966).
2016 AP Preseason Top 25
1. Alabama 14-1
2. Clemson 14-1
3. Oklahoma 11-2
4. Florida St. 10-3
5. LSU 9-3
6. Ohio St. 12-1
7. Michigan 10-3
8. Stanford 12-2
9. Tennessee 9-4
10. Notre Dame 10-3
11. Mississippi 10-3
12. Michigan St.12-2
13. TCU 11-214. Washington 7-6
15. Houston 13-1 644 8
16. UCLA 8-5 496 NR
17. Iowa 12-2 484 9
18. Georgia 10-3 448 NR
19. Louisville 8-5 447 NR
20. Southern Cal 8-6 344 NR
21. Oklahoma St. 10-3 316 20
22. North Carolina 11-3 283 15
23. Baylor 10-3 280 13
24. Oregon 9-4 218 19
25. Florida 10-4 180 25
Clemson, which lost to the Tide in the national championship game, is second. It’s the first time since 1992 that Numbers 1 and 2 in the preseason rankings are the same as they were in the final poll of the previous season.
The Buckeyes’ Sept. 17 opponent, Oklahoma, is No. 3, followed by Florida State and LSU.
Right on the Buckeyes’ heels are the No. 7 Michigan Wolverines, who visit Ohio Stadium on Nov. 26 for their annual regular season-ending grudge match against the Buckeyes.
Michigan State, which handed the Buckeyes their only loss of the 2015 season, is No. 12. Ohio State visits East Lansing on Nov. 19.