OU eighth, OSU 11th in preseason coaches poll; Tulsa receives votes

The Irish did receive some votes, but will open the 2017 campaign in the “others receiving votes” category. The Seminoles have now been ranked in nine straight preseason Coaches Polls, with their last No. 1 ranking coming in 2014.

This has prompted USA TODAY’s Dan Wolken to call the Big Ten the country’s most “overrated” conference.

Ed Orgeron’s first LSU football team will begin the season in the top 15.

Led by 22nd-year head coach George Gelnovatch, Virginia will play 14 games at Klöckner Stadium this year including the season opener against Villanova on August 25.

Notable by its absence from the poll is Notre Dame.

Stanford is ranked 14th. Alabama opens its 2017 season with the third-ranked Seminoles on September 2 at the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga., in the annual Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game. Kansas State came in at No. 19, West Virginia at No. 20 and Texas at No. 23. With 1,257 points, Penn State is one spot ahead of Washington (1,245) and one behind defending national champion Clemson (1,367) in the rankings.

The first preseason Top 25 college football poll was released on Thursday, and it reflects the gulf between the game’s haves and have nots.

Four teams from the conference that face-planted during the most recent bowl season, going 3-7. Miami meanwhile comes in at #18 and will host the Irish the second weekend in November.

FSU trailed Ohio State by 78 points and got four first-place votes.

No. 15 Georgia has stepped forward as the latest Power 5 team doomed to a white-knuckle season opener against Appalachian State (11 votes), which took Tennessee to overtime on opening night previous year.