Photo courtesy of USC Athletics
COMPLETE ASSOCIATED PRESS POLL
NEW YORK (Sports Network) - Southern California will begin the season as the highest-ranked team in the country, as the Trojans sit atop the Associated Press preseason poll.
USC received 25 of 60 first-place votes and a total of 1,445 points from a media panel. The Trojans, bowl eligible after a two-year ban, are the preseason No. 1 for the seventh time and first in five seasons.
Defending national champion Alabama is ranked second with 17 first-place votes and 1,411 points, while No. 3 LSU got 16 first-place tallies and nine fewer points. Oklahoma was fourth with a single first-place vote and followed by Oregon.
Georgia, Florida State, Michigan, South Carolina and Arkansas round out the top 10. No. 8 Michigan also received one top tally.
The second 10 consists of West Virginia, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Clemson, Texas, Virginia Tech, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oklahoma State and TCU.
Stanford, Kansas State, Florida, Boise State and Louisville are the last five teams ranked.