Washington State receiving votes in Amway Coaches Top 25 poll
Washington State won’t have much ground to make up to gain a Top-25 national ranking, but the Cougars were the first team left out of the Amway Coaches Poll when USA Today released its preseason rankings Thursday morning.
WSU, receiving 99 points, checked in at No. 26 immediately behind No. 25 Utah with 109 points.
Four Pac-12 teams made the cut, including USC (4th), Washington (7th), Stanford (14th) and Utah (25th). Colorado received 72 poll points, Oregon 37, Arizona two and UCLA one.
WSU’s week-two opponent, Boise State, received 49 points in the Coaches Poll.
The Cougars, who finished 8-5 last season after their loss to Minnesota in the Holiday Bowl, did receive some love from the ESPN Top 25 poll, which was also released Thursday. WSU checked in at No. 24 there.
Adam Rittenberg of ESPN said this about the Cougars: “It’s tough to scrub Washington State’s feeble finish to 2016 from memory, but the Cougars are another team to watch in the loaded Pac-12 North. Mike Leach finally has some experience, and not just with Luke Falk, who has seemingly quarterbacked on the Palouse for decades. There’s excellent pass-run balance on offense, and if Peyton Pelluer, Hercules Mata’afa and others maintain the trajectory on defense, Washington State will be tough to beat.”
Amway Coaches Top 25 Poll
The preseason Amway Top 25 football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, final 2016 records, total points based on 25 points for first place through one point for 25th, and last season’s final ranking:
Record | Pts | Pvs | |
1. Alabama (49) | 14-1 | 1603 | 2 |
2. Ohio State (5) | 11-2 | 1512 | 6 |
3. Florida State (4) | 10-3 | 1434 | 8 |
4. Southern Cal | 10-3 | 1415 | 5 |
5. Clemson (7) | 14-1 | 1367 | 1 |
6. Penn State | 11-3 | 1257 | 7 |
7. Washington | 12-2 | 1245 | 4 |
8. Oklahoma | 11-2 | 1237 | 3 |
9. Michigan | 10-3 | 959 | 10 |
10. Wisconsin | 11-3 | 936 | 9 |
11. Oklahoma State | 10-3 | 912 | 11 |
12. LSU | 8-4 | 834 | 14 |
13. Auburn | 8-5 | 819 | 22 |
14. Stanford | 10-3 | 732 | 12 |
15. Georgia | 8-5 | 701 | NR |
16. Florida | 9-4 | 681 | 13 |
17. Louisville | 9-4 | 676 | 20 |
18. Miami | 9-4 | 472 | 23 |
19. Kansas State | 9-4 | 339 | NR |
20. West Virginia | 10-3 | 319 | 17 |
21. South Florida | 11-2 | 247 | 19 |
22. Virginia Tech | 10-4 | 235 | 16 |
23. Texas | 5-7 | 193 | NR |
24. Tennessee | 9-4 | 155 | 24 |
25. Utah | 9-4 | 109 | 21 |
Others receiving votes: Washington State 99, Colorado 72, TCU 58, Boise State 49, Notre Dame 49, Texas A&M 46, Pittsburgh 45, N.C. State 39, Oregon 37, Northwestern 25, Nebraska 23, Memphis 22, Arkansas 22, Mississippi State 19, San Diego State 18, Appalachian State 11, BYU 10, Georgia Tech 10, Tulsa 10, Wyoming 9, Western Michigan 8, Temple 8, North Carolina 8, Houston 7, Troy 6, Minnesota 6, Iowa 5, Louisiana Tech 4, Syracuse 3, Arizona 2, Army 1, Colorado State 1, Michigan State 1, Maryland 1, Toledo 1, UCLA 1.
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