Florida State ranked third in Coaches Poll

College football is right around the corner, and the preseason Amway Coaches Poll that was released Thursday gives fans a glimpse into how teams are supposed to stack up this season.

Alabama, which lost in the national title game to Clemson last season, is ranked No. 1 with 49 of a possible 65 first-place votes and 1,603 overall points.

The Crimson Tide’s opening week opponent, Florida State, is ranked third. USA Today reported in early July that tickets for the Alabama-FSU game are already sold out.

Alabama-FSU kicks off at 8 p.m. from Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, while the Seminoles’ in-state rival, Florida, plays Michigan at 3:30 p.m. in Arlington, Texas. Both games air on ABC on Saturday, Sept. 2.

ESPN College GameDay is planning to kick off the season from Atlanta on September 2 ahead of the Bama-FSU tilt, the Orlando Sentinel reported Wednesday.

It’s quite the red carpet treatment for four programs with national title aspirations. A loss doesn’t mean elimination from the playoff race so early into the season, but there’s the potential for signature victories for FSU and UF.

The Gators, who are ranked No. 16, take on a Wolverines team ranked No. 9.

Meanwhile, Miami (No. 18) and South Florida (No. 21) are also ranked in the preseason coaches poll.

The Bulls open on August 26 at San Jose State before playing Stony Brook in their home opener September 2 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

USF’s Top 25 preseason ranking is its first since 2008, and it equals the highest preseason ranking in program history.

The Bulls are the early favorites to win the American Athletic Conference with senior quarterback Quinton Flowers, who is on the Maxwell, Walter Camp, O’Brien and Unitas award watch lists, leading the offense.

Former Manatee High punter Jonathan Hernandez is on the Ray Guy Award watch list. No other American Athletic Conference programs cracked the Top 25.

The top 10 is filled with the usual suspects with Ohio State (No. 2), Southern Cal (No. 4), Clemson (No. 5), Penn State (No. 6), Washington (No. 7), Oklahoma (No. 8) and Wisconsin (No. 10) rounding out the group that sees Alabama and Florida State stealing the headlines with their opening week showdown.

This story was originally published August 3, 2017 at 4:58 PM with the headline "Florida State ranked third in Coaches Poll."