LSU ranked No. 13 in coaches preseason poll

Defending national champion Ohio State was voted the No. 1 team in the poll.

Michigan State, Auburn, Florida State, who was No. 1 in last year’s preseason poll, is No 8, with Georgia and USC rounding out the top 10.

The Razorbacks are ranked No. 20 in the preseason USA Today/Amway Coaches Poll.

Florida State was one of three Atlantic Coast Conference teams included in the Top 25. Texas, which combined to dominate the Big 12 with OU from 2004-2010, received eight total votes and is unranked in the coaches preseason poll for the first time since 1998.

Boise State of the Mountain West and Notre Dame, a football independent, are the only schools in the Amway Poll not football affiliated with one of the power five conferences. Vanderbilt was the only SEC program not to receive a top 25 vote.

It’s still July. Not for much longer, but still, you’d think someone at the American Football Coaches Association or USA Today or Amway would’ve looked at the calendar before doing what they did Thursday.

Florida State comes in at No.8, Clemson at No. 12 with LSU at No.13. They also must contend with the psychological damage of fourth quarter struggles which saw more than one late lead slip away. Surely part of this is that Baylor has to replace Bryce Petty while TCU still has Trevone Boykin, but if we’re ranking teams based on how 2015 will play out, Baylor is the better-known quantity this season.

Tennessee has a record of 7-6 and a total of 166 points last season, according to USAToday. Alabama opens its 2015 season on September 5 in Arlington, Texas, as the Tide squares off with the 18th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers in the annual AdvoCare Classic inside AT&T Stadium.