Seminoles ranked fourth in AP preseason poll

Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma top Florida State in first poll of 2016 season

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. – Florida State is ranked fourth behind Alabama, Clemson and Oklahoma in The Associated Press preseason college football poll released Sunday.

The Seminoles, who finished 10-3 last season, will open the 2016 season Labor Day evening against No. 11 Mississippi with redshirt freshman Deondre Francois starting at quarterback.

Alabama and Clemson finished first and second, respectively, in last season's final AP poll after the Crimson Tide defeated the Tigers to win the national championship. Alabama loses 2015 Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry, while Clemson returns junior quarterback Deshaun Watson, who finished third in Heisman voting.

Oklahoma, which lost to Clemson in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Orange Bowl, is ranked one spot ahead of Florida State at No. 3.

Rounding out the top 10 are Louisiana State, Ohio State, Michigan, Stanford, Tennessee and Notre Dame.

Michigan State, which qualified for the College Football Playoff last season, is ranked No. 12 behind Mississippi.

Florida is ranked No. 25. The Gators won 10 games a year ago and played for the Southeastern Conference championship but lost three in a row to conclude the 2015 season.

The SEC has the most teams in the top 25. No. 18 Georgia joins Alabama, LSU, Tennessee, Mississippi and Florida.

Stanford is the highest-ranked Pacific 12 Conference team at No. 8. No. 14 Washington, No. 16 UCLA, No. 20 Southern California and No. 24 Oregon join Stanford from the Pac-12.

In addition to Clemson and Florida State, other Atlantic Coast Conference teams in the poll are No. 19 Louisville and No. 22 North Carolina.

Florida State received five first-place votes, the most behind Alabama (33) and Clemson (16). Oklahoma had four first-place votes, while LSU, Ohio State and Michigan each had one first-place vote.

1. Alabama (33) 14-1 1469         1
2. Clemson (16) 14-1 1443         2
3. Oklahoma (4) 11-2 1352         5
4. Florida St. (5) 10-3 1325       14
5. LSU (1) 9-3 1269       16
6. Ohio St. (1) 12-1 1224         4
7. Michigan (1) 10-3 1147       12
8. Stanford 12-2 1029         3
9. Tennessee 9-4 1021       22
10. Notre Dame 10-3 1006       11
11. Mississippi 10-3 718       10
12. Michigan St. 12-2 710         6
13. TCU 11-2 707         7
14. Washington 7-6 651          -
15. Houston 13-1 644         8
16. UCLA 8-5 496          -
17. Iowa 12-2 484         9
18. Georgia 10-3 448          -
19. Louisville 8-5 447          -
20. Southern Cal 8-6 344          -
21. Oklahoma St. 10-3 316       20
22. North Carolina 11-3 283       15
23. Baylor 10-3 280       13
24. Oregon 9-4 218       19
25. Florida 10-4 180       25

Others receiving votes: Miami 159, Texas A&M 81, Utah 74, Washington St. 68, Boise St. 49, San Diego St. 46, Wisconsin 42, Auburn 22, Pittsburgh 15, Arkansas 14, Texas 12, Nebraska 11, Navy 8, Northwestern 5, W. Kentucky 4, South Florida 2, Toledo 2.


About the Author:

Peter Burke returned for a second stint of duty at Local 10 News in February 2014.