AP Preseason College Football 2014 Poll Revealed: Florida State Holds Down Top Spot, SEC Dominates Otherwise
ByThe Auburn Tigers can add another chip to their shoulder this season, as they have been left out of the top five in the Associated Press preseason college football poll.
Released this weekend, the AP rankings are the first of 16 weekly rankings meant to determine bowl game placement at season's end. As defending National Champions, the Florida State Seminoles received 57 first-place votes to claim the number one spot.
Alabama, Oregon and Oklahoma went second, third and fourth, and each received one first-place vote, with Ohio State finishing up the top five. Despite winning the SEC Championship game in thrilling fashion over Alabama and losing in the National Championship game, Auburn will come into the season ranked sixth overall.
Rounding out the top 10, in order, are UCLA, Michigan State, South Carolina and Baylor. UCLA finished the season ranked 16th and their jump to seventh was one of the biggest leaps.
However, Georgia finished their season unranked, but found themselves ranked 14th in the AP preseason poll. Florida State (1), Stanford (11) and Washington (25) are the only teams that stayed in one place from the end of last season to the preseason.
Missouri took the largest fall, dropping 19 places from fifth at season's end to 24th in the preseason poll. The Tigers went 12-2 last year, but missed out on playing in the SEC Championship, though they beat Oklahoma State in the AT&T Cotton Bowl.
The top five in this year's preseason poll had one representative from each of the Power Five conferences, fitting with their new model of autonomy, courtesy of the NCAA. The SEC placed eight teams in the top 25, the Pac-12 had six and the Big Ten had four, while both the ACC and Big 12 had three.
Notre Dame was the only FBS Independent team in the preseason poll, ranking 17th.