Alabama opens 2020 season at No. 3 in Amway Coaches Poll
Alabama will open the season at No. 3 in the Amway Coaches Poll, it was announced Thursday. The Crimson Tide received four first-place votes and followed No. 1 Clemson (38 first-place votes) and No. 2 Ohio Stae (17). Georgia came in at No. 4 with no first-place votes, while defending champion is at No. 5 with six first-place votes.
Alabama was the No. 2 team in last year's preseason Coaches Poll before ultimately finishing the season at No. 8 with an 11-2 record and a win over Michigan in the Citrus Bowl. The No. 3 ranking marks the lowest the Crimson Tide has started the season since 2015 when it was also ranked third. Alabama went on to win the national championship that year.
With the SEC moving to a conference-only schedule, Alabama's full list of opponents has yet to be released. The ranked opponents on the Tide's previously scheduled SEC slate include No. 4 Georgia, No. 5 LSU, No. 11 Auburn and No. 13 Texas A&M. Alabama could also end up playing No. 8 Florida depending on how the new SEC schedule shakes out.
Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Clemson (38 first-place votes)
2. Ohio State (17)
3. Alabama (4)
4. Georgia
5. LSU (6)
6. Oklahoma
7. Penn State
8. Florida
9. Oregon
10. Notre Dame
11. Auburn
12. Wisconsin
13. Texas A&M
14. Texas
15. Michigan
16. Oklahoma State
17. Southern California
18. Minnesota
19. North Carolina
20. Utah
21. Central Florida
22. Cincinnati
23. Iowa
24. Virginia Tech
25. Iowa State
