NCAA Football Preseason Rankings 2012: USA Today Coaches Preseason Poll Released

The 2012 USA Today Preseason Coaches Poll has been released—let the debate begin. 

As many expected, LSU tops the list as the No. 1-ranked team heading into the new season, while the defending BCS national champion, Alabama, comes in at No. 2. It was close at the top, though, as the Tigers only edged their rivals by four points.

The Top Five is rounded out by USC, Oklahoma and Oregon, respectively. The Trojans received 19 first-place votes, one more than LSU, but the SEC wins out over the Pac-12 in the end.

Boise State is the lowest one-loss team from a season ago at No. 22, while Georgia begins the new year ranked No. 6 despite dropping four games in 2011.

Urban Meyer's Ohio State Buckeyes are a notable program missing from the preseason Top 25, but there aren't too many snubs or surprises to discuss this summer.

2012 USA Today Preseason Coaches Poll Top 25

Rank	Team (first-place votes)	Record	Points
1	LSU (18)	13-1	1,403
2	Alabama (20)	12-1	1,399
3	Southern California (19)	10-2	1,388
4	Oklahoma (1)	10-3	1,276
5	Oregon	12-2	1,258
6	Georgia	10-4	1,061
7	Florida State (1)	9-4	1,055
8	Michigan	11-2	1,023
9	South Carolina	11-2	981
10	Arkansas	11-2	948
11	West Virginia	10-3	833
12	Wisconsin	11-3	743
13	Michigan State	11-3	717
14	Clemson	10-4	598
15	Texas	8-5	549
16	Nebraska	9-4	501
17	TCU	11-2	499
18	Stanford	11-2	497
19	Oklahoma State	12-1	476
20	Virginia Tech	11-3	461
21	Kansas State	10-3	398
22	Boise State	12-1	271
23	Florida	7-6	250
24	Notre Dame	8-5	166
25	Auburn	8-5	66

Click here to see the recently released USA Today Preseason Poll.

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