Led by head coach Nick Saban and Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Bryce Young, the Crimson Tide received 54 of the 66 first-place votes in the USA Today Sports AFCA Coaches Poll.
Eyeing its fourth national title in eight years, Alabama is No. 1 in the preseason coaches poll released Monday.
No. 2 Ohio State received five first-place votes and No. 3 Georgia, the defending College Football Playoff national champion, received six.
No. 18 Texas, which finished 5-7 in coach Steve Sarkisian’s first season in 2021, drew the other first-place ballot.
Clemson and Notre Dame round out the top five, followed by Michigan, Texas A&M, Utah, Oklahoma and Baylor.
Alabama opens the season on Sept. 3 against Utah State in Tuscaloosa.
The rest of the top 25:
11. Oklahoma State
12. Oregon
13. North Carolina State
14. Michigan State
15. Southern California
16. Pittsburgh
17. Miami (Fla.)
18. Texas
19. Wake Forest
20. Wisconsin
21. Kentucky
22. Cincinnati
23. Arkansas
24. Mississippi
25. Houston
–Field Level Media
