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I'm not a believer in preseason polls at all. How can you rank any team before they actually play a game? I'm a firm believer that the polls shouldn't come out until around the beginning of October. By then every team has played four or five games, and are about to enter conference play. Preseason polls can really hurt teams that have stellar seasons but started out the season ranked too low to make a move to the top of the rankings. At the same time it can both help and hurt those teams that get top rankings. It can help them in the way that as long as the teams don't lose, they don't drop, even if teams below them are undefeated and beating better teams. But it can also hurt them. If a top ranked team loses, especially early in the season, they could slide pretty far down the rankings and have to fight their way back to the top, hoping to get a lot of help along the way.

With all that said, today the USA Today Coaches' Poll was released. It counts for 1/3 of the overall BCS rankings at the end of the season. Its no surprise that last year's BCS champ, Alabama, sits atop the rankings with 55 of the 59 first place votes. They are returning 10 of 11 starters on offense from last year and are definitely considered to be the favorites to take the title again this year. Behind them sits the the Ohio State Buckeyes, who received four place votes. With Heisman hopeful, Terrelle Pryor leading the charge, the Buckeyes could see themselves back in a national title game come January. Rounding out the top five is Florida, Texas, and the surprise to the party, Boise State. This is the highest the Broncos of the "Smurf Turf" have ever been ranked in preseason polls. While Boise State isn't in a BCS conference, its a very good possibility that they could crash the party this year. Their fate could very well be decided after their first game this year when they take on No. 6 Virginia Tech.

A complete listing of the USA Today Coaches' Poll is listed below:

1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Florida
4. Texas
5. Boise State
6. Virginia Tech
7. TCU
8. Oklahoma
9. Nebraska
10. Iowa
11. Oregon
12. Wisconsin
13. Miami (FL)
14. Penn State
15. Pittsburgh
16. LSU
17. Georgia Tech
18. North Carolina
19. Arkansas
20. Florida State
21. Georgia
22. Oregon State
23. Auburn
24. Utah
25. West Virginia

*For those of us here in Cincy, the Bearcats are on the outside looking in at No. 26. Odds are they will be in the top 25 at some point this season, most likely after the first week if they beat Fresno State and one of the lower rank teams get upset and fall out.

College Football usa today coaches' poll, alabama, ohio state, terrelle pryor, florida, texas, boise state, virginia tech