Tide ranked No. 2 as Clemson tops Amway Coaches Poll

The Alabama Crimson Tide celebrates winning the SEC Championship, a victory that sends the No. 1 Tide to face the Oklahoma Sooners in the Capital One Orange Bowl playoff semifinal game. (Robert Sutton/University of Alabama Athletics)

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Amway Coaches Poll was released today, ranking the top 25 teams in the FBS before the season begins in just a few weeks.

The defending national champion Clemson Tigers sit atop the poll voted on by 65 college coaches across the country. Last season, Clemson finished the year as the first team ever to complete a 15-0 perfect season. The Crimson Tide, which was blown out by Clemson in the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship 44-16, are ranked No. 2.

Alabama received six first place votes while Clemson routed the field with 59 first place votes.

Clemson’s road to the College Football Playoff and a potential rematch with Alabama for the fifth consecutive will be much easier than the Tide’s. Clemson will face two opponents from the preseason top 25, Texas A&M and Syracuse. Alabama will be forced to run the usual SEC West gauntlet and then defeat a top-10 SEC East team in Atlanta to guarantee a spot in its sixth straight CFP appearance.

Overall, six of the 14 SEC teams are ranked in the coaches poll.

Auburn is ranked 16th and will start the season in a highly anticipated contest vs. No. 13 Oregon.

*The Amway Coaches Poll is not affiliated with – and does not affect – the CFP rankings.