Veteran North Carolina aims to end where it starts: at No. 1

Two years ago at Heinz Field, Switzer, the West Virginia native, returned two punts for touchdowns in a 34-27 victory for the Tar Heels. Duke is next with seven preseason No. 1s. The Tar Heels have twice turned a preseason No. 1 ranking into a national championship, first in 1982 and again in 2009.

Mississippi State advanced in the national football polls on Sunday, climbing to No. 24 in the Associated Press Top 25 and moving into the Amway Coaches poll at No. 25.
The Bulldogs, who had a bye on Saturday, moved up one spot in the Associated Press Top 25 and are one of five Southeastern Conference Western Division teams ranked.

UCLA is No. 1 among No. 1s with 134 weeks atop the poll. UNC outplayed the Gamecocks for pretty much the entire game and had three red zone turnovers, including two in the end zone, and lost by four points. Baylor is No. 5 and Louisville is No. 8 as well in the USA Today Coaches Poll. The Blue Devils started their streak with the preseason poll of 2007-08.

No. 12 Arizona moves into third with 60 straight appearances. This is the fourth time his teams have opened the season No. 1 in the AP poll. “We felt like that from the beginning of the season”, Fedora said. The last to do it was Duke in 1991-92.

Seventeen of the 26 teams in last year’s preseason poll (there was a tie for 25th) were in the final rankings, which are released on Selection Sunday. There are so many good teams, I don’t see how anybody could pick just one to be No. 1 at this point in the season. Maryland has spent 23 previous weeks as the nation’s second-ranked team, by far the most for a team that has never been No. 1. Kentucky is ranked second with 10 first-place votes, followed by Maryland, which had 14 first-place votes, and Kansas, which was No. 1 on five ballots. UNC has a 185-30 record as the AP’s top team. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish will start the year ranked 19.