The Associated Press Preseason Top 25 was released at high noon on Monday, and Clemson and USC were out to lunch as far as the voters were concerned. Neither the Tigers nor the Gamecocks cracked the list, though Clemson was 26th in the voting, five points behind #25 Missouri.
South Carolina earned enough points in the voting to tie Navy for the overall #31 spot.
Clemson has been ranked 35 times in the preseason Top 25, and this marks the first time since 2011 that the Tigers have not been ranked. They finished that season ranked 22nd by the AP.
The Gamecocks have been ranked in the preseason 11 times. They started last season ranked 13th and were unranked by season’s end. Their highest preseason ranking ever was 6th in 2013.
Ohio State is #1 in the poll, the first preseason #1 designation for the Buckeyes since 2015. Oregon, Georgia, Notre Dame, and Texas complete the top five.
Clemson’s opening opponent, LSU, is ranked 11th. Seventh-ranked Miami is the only other ranked team on the Clemson schedule at this point.
South Carolina will face #3 Georgia, #8 Texas A&M, #10 Oklahoma, #13 Alabama, and #20 Tennessee.
AP Preseason Top 25
| Rank | Team | Points | First-place votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Ohio State | 1,672 | 40 |
| 2. | Oregon | 1,597 | 14 |
| 3. | Georgia | 1,513 | — |
| 4. | Notre Dame | 1,510 | 6 |
| 5. | Texas | 1,483 | — |
| 6. | Indiana | 1,440 | 8 |
| 7. | Miami | 1,379 | 1 |
| 8. | Texas A&M | 1,131 | — |
| 9. | Ole Miss | 1,102 | — |
| 10. | Oklahoma | 1,047 | — |
| 11. | LSU | 988 | — |
| 12. | Texas Tech | 983 | — |
| 13. | Alabama | 904 | — |
| 14. | BYU | 839 | — |
| 14. | USC | 839 | — |
| 16. | Michigan | 718 | — |
| 17. | Washington | 501 | — |
| 18. | Penn State | 482 | — |
| 19. | SMU | 434 | — |
| 20. | Tennessee | 394 | — |
| 21. | Utah | 304 | — |
| 22. | Iowa | 260 | — |
| 23. | Houston | 252 | — |
| 24. | Louisville | 194 | — |
| 25. | Missouri | 117 | — |
Others receiving votes: Clemson 112, Florida 51, Boise State 43, Arizona 32, TCU 11, Navy 10, South Carolina 10, Illinois 9, Oklahoma State 8, Vanderbilt 8, Pittsburgh 7, Virginia Tech 6, Minnesota 5, UNLV 4, New Mexico 4, Georgia Tech 4, Louisiana 4, James Madison 3, Auburn 3, Memphis 2, California 2, Liberty 1, Western Michigan 1, Tulane 1, Virginia 1
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