Oklahoma begins at No. 1 in coaches poll
Oklahoma Sooners linebacker Travis Lewisyells as he dons the top half of the Red River Rivalry trophy. The Sooners defeated the Texas Longhorns, 28-20, at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. (October 2, 2010) Credit: MCT
Oklahoma is the preseason No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll.
The Sooners received 42 of 59 first-place votes to easily outpoint No. 2 Alabama, which received 13 first-place votes. Oregon, which lost last season's BCS championship game, is third and LSU is fourth.
The Ducks and Tigers will open the season against each other at Cowboys Stadium on Sept. 3 in Arlington, Texas. They each received two first-place votes in the coaches' poll.
Florida State is fifth, followed by Stanford, Boise State, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and Wisconsin.
Defending national champion Auburn starts the season ranked 19th in the coaches' poll.
After a tumultuous offseason, Ohio State is ranked 16th. Notre Dame is No. 18.
1. Oklahoma (42) -- 1,454
2. Alabama (13) -- 1,414
3. Oregon (2) -- 1,309
4. LSU (2) -- 1,296
5. Florida State -- 1,116
6. Stanford -- 1,101
7. Boise State -- 1,065
8. Oklahoma State -- 933
9. Texas A&M -- 885
10. Wisconsin -- 829
11. Nebraska -- 814
12. South Carolina -- 779
13. Virginia Tech -- 767
14. Arkansas -- 750
15. TCU -- 687
16. Ohio State -- 631
17. Michigan State -- 536
18. Notre Dame -- 440
19. Auburn -- 329
20. Mississippi State -- 301
21. Missouri -- 266
22. Georgia -- 260
23. Florida -- 240
24. Texas -- 162
25. Penn State -- 161
Others receiving votes: Arizona State 158, West Virginia 149, Utah 50, Miami 49, Iowa 41, Northwestern 30, Arizona 28, UCF 22, Michigan 19, Air Force 15, North Carolina 14, Houston 13, South Florida 9, Hawaii 8, Clemson 7, Tennessee 7, Southern Miss. 6, BYU 5, N.C. State 4, Northern Illinois 4, Oregon State 4, Pittsburgh 3, Washington 3, Georgia Tech 1, Nevada 1.