Defending national champion Alabama was named as the top team in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll with 1,548 points. Oklahoma (1,462 points) is starting the season at No. 2. Last year’s preseason No. 1 Clemson follows close behind at No. 3 with 1,447 points. Ohio State and Georgia fill out the top five while 2020 College Football Playoff semifinalist Notre Dame comes in at No. 9.
Either Alabama or Clemson has topped the AP preseason poll ahead of every season for the last six years, dating back to 2016. Both teams will enter the season with new quarterbacks after Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence and Alabama’s Mac Jones were taken in the first round of April’s NFL draft.
The 2021 season will return to normalcy after the Pac-12 and Big Ten canceled their respective fall sports seasons just before the preseason rankings last year. The two leagues reversed course in mid-September and Alabama went on to win its sixth national title in a 52–24 win over Ohio State in the national championship game in January.
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