Texas claims top spot in preseason coaches poll, season-opening opponent Ohio State at No. 2
AUSTIN (KXAN) — In the eyes of college football coaches across the country, a Week 1 game will feature the two best teams in the country.
Texas topped the preseason USA Today/US LBM coaches poll released Monday, with Ohio State at No. 2. The Longhorns received 28 first-place votes and accumulated 1,606 points, and the Buckeyes grabbed 20 first-place votes and 1,565 points. Penn State checked in at No. 3 with 14 first-place votes, Georgia is No. 4 with three first-place votes and Notre Dame rounds out the top five. Clemson received two first-place votes and is No. 6.
Oregon, Alabama, Louisiana State and Miami round out the top 10. The Associated Press will release its preseason top 25 poll Aug. 11.
The Longhorns finished No. 3 in the final coaches poll last season following their loss to Ohio State in the College Football Playoff semifinals at the Cotton Bowl Classic.
Four teams from the Southeastern Conference are in the top 10 and seven are in the top 25, including Texas A&M at No. 21. Southern Methodist is No. 16 and Texas Tech is No. 24. Oklahoma received the most votes of teams outside of the top 25.
The Longhorns and the Buckeyes face off at 11 a.m. CT, Aug. 30, from Columbus. Ohio, in the season opener for both teams. The game will be broadcast on FOX.
USA Today/US LBM Coaches Poll, preseason
| Rank | School (last year's record) | Points | Last Rank | First-place votes |
| 1 | Texas (13-3) | 1,606 | 3 | 28 |
| 2 | Ohio State (14-2) | 1,565 | 1 | 20 |
| 3 | Penn State (13-3) | 1,525 | 5 | 14 |
| 4 | Georgia (11-3) | 1,466 | 6 | 3 |
| 5 | Notre Dame (14-2) | 1,360 | 2 | 0 |
| 6 | Clemson (10-4) | 1,324 | 11 | 2 |
| 7 | Oregon (13-1) | 1,307 | 4 | 0 |
| 8 | Alabama (9-4) | 1,210 | 17 | 0 |
| 9 | LSU (9-4) | 1,056 | NR | 0 |
| 10 | Miami (Fla.) (10-3) | 823 | 18 | 0 |
| 11 | Arizona State (11-3) | 806 | 7 | 0 |
| 12 | Illinois (10-3) | 734 | 16 | 0 |
| 13 | South Carolina (9-4) | 665 | 19 | 0 |
| 14 | Michigan (8-5) | 580 | NR | 0 |
| 15 | Mississippi (10-3) | 573 | 13 | 0 |
| 16 | SMU (11-3) | 555 | 11 | 0 |
| 17 | Florida (8-5) | 498 | NR | 0 |
| 18 | Tennessee (10-3) | 492 | 8 | 0 |
| 19 | Indiana (11-2) | 460 | 10 | 0 |
| 20 | Kansas State (9-4) | 438 | NR | 0 |
| 21 | Iowa State (11-3) | 392 | 15 | 0 |
| 21 | Texas A&M (8-5) | 392 | NR | 0 |
| 23 | Brigham Young (11-2) | 287 | 14 | 0 |
| 24 | Texas Tech (8-5) | 261 | NR | 0 |
| 25 | Boise State (12-2) | 246 | 9 | 0 |
Others receiving votes: Oklahoma 221; Missouri 142; Louisville 126; USC 116; Utah 86; Baylor 76; Auburn 50; Iowa 49; Memphis 34; Army West Point 33; Tulane 31; Georgia Tech 27; TCU 24; Nebraska 19; Syracuse 16; Washington 15; Navy 14; Arkansas 14; Duke 12; Colorado 12; Minnesota 11; UNLV 8; Florida State 8; Kansas 6; Vanderbilt 3; Buffalo 1
Who votes in the coaches poll?
- Tim Albin, Charlotte
- Dave Aranda, Baylor
- Tim Beck, Coastal Carolina
- David Braun, Northwestern
- Jeff Brohm, Louisville
- Fran Brown, Syracuse
- Troy Calhoun, Air Force
- Jason Candle, Toledo
- Ryan Carty, Delaware
- Jamey Chadwell, Liberty
- Bob Chesney, James Madison
- Curt Cignetti, Indiana
- Chris Creighton, Eastern Michigan
- Spencer Danielson, Boise State
- Ryan Day, Ohio State
- Kalen DeBoer, Alabama
- Manny Diaz, Duke
- Dave Doeren, North Carolina State
- Eliah Drinkwitz, Missouri
- Sonny Dykes, TCU
- Jason Eck, New Mexico
- Mike Elko, Texas A&M
- Luke Fickell, Wisconsin
- Jedd Fisch, Washington
- James Franklin, Penn State
- Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame
- Hugh Freeze, Auburn
- Willie Fritz, Houston
- Alex Golesh, South Florida
- Thomas Hammock, Northern Illinois
- Blake Harrell, East Carolina
- Tyson Helton, Western Kentucky
- Charles Huff, Southern Mississippi
- Brent Key, Georgia Tech
- GJ Kinne, Texas State
- Zach Kittley, Florida Atlantic
- Tre Lamb, Tulsa
- Dan Lanning, Oregon
- Rhett Lashlee, SMU
- Clark Lea, Vanderbilt
- Lance Leipold, Kansas
- Pete Lembo, Buffalo
- Sean Lewis, San Diego State
- Mike Locksley, Maryland
- Chuck Martin, Miami (Ohio)
- Joey McGuire, Texas Tech
- Bronco Mendenhall, Utah State
- Jeff Monken, Army
- Jim Mora, Connecticut
- Eric Morris, North Texas
- Billy Napier, Florida
- Pat Narduzzi, Pittsburgh
- Brian Newberry, Navy
- Ken Niumatalolo, San Jose State
- Jay Norvell, Colorado State
- Gerad Parker, Troy
- Brent Pry, Virginia Tech
- Matt Rhule, Nebraska
- Rich Rodriguez, West Virginia
- Jay Sawvel, Wyoming
- Willie Simmons, Florida International
- Kirby Smart, Georgia
- Mark Stoops, Kentucky
- Jon Sumrall, Tulane
- Lance Taylor, Western Michigan;
- Jeff Traylor, Texas-San Antonio
- Scotty Walden, Texas-El Paso.