TerryP
Staff
Aug. 2, 2012 — preseason poll | ||||
| Rank | Team (first-place votes) | Record | Points | Final 2011 rank |
| 1. | LSU (18) | 13-1 | 1,403 | 2 |
| 2. | Alabama (20) | 12-1 | 1,399 | 1 |
| 3. | Southern California (19) | 10-2 | 1,388 | NR |
| 4. | Oklahoma (1) | 10-3 | 1,276 | 15 |
| 5. | Oregon | 12-2 | 1,258 | 4 |
| 6. | 10-4 | 1,061 | 20 | |
| 7. | Florida State (1) | 9-4 | 1,055 | 23 |
| 8. | Michigan | 11-2 | 1,023 | 9 |
| 9. | 11-2 | 981 | 8 | |
| 10. | 11-2 | 948 | 5 | |
| 11. | 10-3 | 833 | 18 | |
| 12. | Wisconsin | 11-3 | 743 | 11 |
| 13. | 11-3 | 717 | 10 | |
| 14. | Clemson | 10-4 | 598 | 22 |
| 15. | Texas | 8-5 | 549 | NR |
| 16. | Nebraska | 9-4 | 501 | 24 |
| 17. | TCU | 11-2 | 499 | 13 |
| 18. | Stanford | 11-2 | 497 | 7 |
| 19. | Oklahoma State | 12-1 | 476 | 3 |
| 20. | Virginia Tech | 11-3 | 461 | 17 |
| 21. | Kansas State | 10-3 | 398 | 16 |
| 22. | Boise State | 12-1 | 271 | 6 |
| 23. | Florida | 7-6 | 250 | NR |
| 24. | Notre Dame | 8-5 | 166 | NR |
| 25. | Auburn | 8-5 | 66 | NR |
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| Others receiving votes (with 2011 records) | ||||
| Washington (7-6) 64; Louisville (7-6) 46; Georgia Tech (8-5) 35; Cincinnati (10-3) 32; Texas A&M (7-6) 28; Baylor (10-3) 23; Utah (8-5) 22; Mississippi State (7-6) 21; South Florida (5-7) 12; N.C. State (8-5) 11; BYU (10-3) 10; Louisiana Tech (8-5) 10; Virginia (8-5) 9; Houston (13-1) 7; Southern Mississippi (12-2) 6; Central Florida (5-7) 5; Rutgers (9-4) 5; Florida International (8-5) 3; Missouri (8-5) 3; Tennessee (5-7) 3; Northern Illinois (11-3) 2; Texas Tech (5-7) 1. | ||||
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| The USA TODAY Board of Coaches is made up of 59 head coaches at Bowl Subdivision schools. All are members of the American Football Coaches Association. The board for the 2012 season: David Bailiff, Rice; Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech; Tim Beckman, Illinois; Bret Bielema, Wisconsin; Terry Bowden, Akron; Art Briles, Baylor; Troy Calhoun, Air Force; Matt Campbell, Toledo; Gene Chizik, Auburn; Dave Christensen, Wyoming; Mark Dantonio, Michigan State; Tim DeRuyter, Fresno State; Dave Doeren, Northern Illinois; Sonny Dykes, Louisiana Tech; Jimbo Fisher, Florida State; Kyle Flood, Rutgers; James Franklin, Vanderbilt; Al Golden, Miami (Fla.); Jim Grobe, Wake Forest; Darrell Hazell, Kent State; Brady Hoke, Michigan; Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia; Skip Holtz, South Florida; Mark Hudspeth, Louisiana-Lafayette; Curtis Johnson, Tulane; Ellis Johnson, Southern Miss; Butch Jones, Cincinnati; Brian Kelly, Notre Dame; Lane Kiffin, Southern California; Mike Leach, Washington State; Pete Lembo, Ball State; Tony Levine, Houston; Mike London, Virginia; Rocky Long, San Diego State; Dan McCarney, North Texas; Mike MacIntyre, San Jose State; Ruffin McNeill, East Carolina; Gus Malzahn, Arkansas State; Bronco Mendenhall, BYU; Les Miles, LSU; George O'Leary, Central Florida; Paul Pasqualoni, Connecticut; Bo Pelini, Nebraska; Chris Petersen, Boise State; Joker Phillips, Kentucky; Paul Rhoads, Iowa State; Mark Richt, Georgia; Mike Riley, Oregon State; Rich Rodriguez, Arizona; Nick Saban, Alabama; Steve Sarkisian, Washington; Frank Solich, Ohio; Steve Spurrier, South Carolina; Rick Stockstill, Middle Tennessee; Bob Stoops, Oklahoma; Dabo Swinney, Clemson; Jeff Tedford, California; Tommy Tuberville, Texas Tech; Kevin Wilson, Indiana. |
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