NCAA Football Preseason Rankings 2016: Expert Reactions to Amway Top 25

The long wait for the 2016 college football season has been made a little shorter with the release of the Top 25 in the preseason Amway Coaches Poll on Thursday.

Not surprisingly, the defending national champion Alabama Crimson Tide are atop the rankings. They are followed in order by last year's national runner-up Clemson, Oklahoma, Florida State and Ohio State in the Top Five.

Here's how the entire Top 25 shook out, via USA Today:

Rank	Team	Points	1st-Place Votes
1	Alabama	1585	55
2	Clemson	1524	7
3	Oklahoma	1398	0
4	Florida State	1351	1
5	Ohio State	1321	0
6	LSU	1241	0
7	Stanford	1149	0
8	Michigan	1062	0
9	Notre Dame	1034	0
10	Tennessee	960	1
11	Michigan State	901	0
12	Mississippi	792	0
13	Houston	668	0
14	TCU	649	0
15	Iowa	579	0
16	Georgia	525	0
17	USC	468	0
18	Washington	454	0
19	Oklahoma State	426	0
20	North Carolina	422	0
21	Baylor	383	0
22	Oregon	361	0
23	Louisville	331	0
24	UCLA	296	0
25	Florida	245	0

With Alabama going to enter this season as the favorite, ESPN Stats & Info noted head coach Nick Saban can join an exclusive club if this ends the way last year did:

In every preseason list, talking points tend to revolve around teams that did not get shown love. College football is built on a hierarchy, with programs like Alabama, Ohio State and Clemson being among those in the top tier and things trickling down from there.

Paul Myerberg of USA Today did highlight six teams that will eventually break into the Top 25, but there was one that stood out because of its marquee value and new head coach that looks particularly intriguing:

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The [Miami] Hurricanes have seemingly hit the ground running under new coach Mark Richt, which when combined with the program's inherent talent level bodes well for a strong start to the season: Miami opens with Florida A&M, Florida Atlantic, Appalachian State and Georgia Tech, so a 4-0 mark leading into a matchup with Florida State on Oct. 1 isn't out of the question.

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Even though Richt did not have a full recruiting cycle to work with since he was hired by Miami in December, he fared very well in landing quality commitments. The Hurricanes' 2016 recruiting class ranked 21st overall and had 10 4-star prospects, per 247Sports.

Richt brings an SEC pedigree with him, so he will have no problems adjusting to the ACC with Florida State and Clemson competing for similar talent.

The Ohio State-Michigan rivalry is certainly back to being must-see television now that Jim Harbaugh is helping the Wolverines bring in the kind of talent Urban Meyer has been bringing the Buckeyes since 2012.

Both teams are ranked in the Top 10, though Steve Palazzolo of Pro Football Focus actually thinks the Wolverines should be above Ohio State:

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It's all about the defense at Michigan, as they're poised to be one of the nation's best. They return the nation's top-graded cornerback in Jourdan Lewis as well as two of the top three graded interior defensive linemen in Chris Wormley and Maurice Hurst. It will be on the offense to find a way to score points, but the majority of the offense returns and the results of their wide-open quarterback race – led by Wilton Speight – will determine just how far this Michigan team will go.

"

There wasn't a huge gap between the two teams on Pro Football Focus' list, with Michigan at No. 5 and Ohio State at No. 8. It just feels like unconventional wisdom to put the Wolverines over the Buckeyes before the season starts because preseason polls tend to be informed by past results more than future expectations.

The most notable item in the Top 25 is Tennessee. The Volunteers' placement in the rankings is not a surprise on its own, but they received a completely random first-place vote.

Conspiracy theorists out there can't blame Tennessee head coach Butch Jones because George Schroeder of USA Today pointed out he is not part of the voting panel.

There has been hope for a turnaround in Knoxville for a long time. Last year, the Volunteers started the year ranked 25th in the preseason poll, but a 3-4 start dampened those expectations. They did respond by winning their last six games of the season, including a 45-6 win over Northwestern in the Outback Bowl.

Regardless of where your favorite team slots in right now, just know these things will change dramatically when the season begins. Oklahoma started last year ranked 19th and made it into the College Football Playoff.

There is hope and optimism for everyone, even those teams that didn't make the initial cut. All it takes is winning games early in the year to get on the voters' radar.