Preseason College Football Rankings 2016: Release Time for Top 25 Standings

The Associated Press is set to release its preseason college football poll Sunday with the regular season now less than a week away. Reigning College Football Playoff finalists Alabama and Clemson are among the teams expected to land inside the Top Five.

USA Today previously released the season's first edition of the Amway Coaches Poll. The defending champion Crimson Tide held the No. 1 spot, followed by the Tigers, Oklahoma, Florida State and Ohio State. Now fans will see how the media views the landscape compared to the head coaches.

Let's check out all of the important information for the AP poll release. That's followed by a prediction for how the top three will look heading into the new campaign.

AP Poll Release Details

Date: Sunday, Aug. 21

Time: 2 p.m. ET

Official Site: AP Top 25

Predicted Top Three

1. Alabama

It seems like the same questions hover over the Tide before the start of every season: quarterback concerns, staff changes and a difficult schedule. Yet, more often than not, they are firmly in the championship mix heading into the final weeks of the season.

There's no reason to believe 2016 will be any different. Whoever wins the QB battle between Cooper Bateman, Blake Barnett and Jalen Hurts will be protected by a strong rushing attack. And new defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt has a lot of experience to help guide a talent-laden group.

Yes, the schedule is tricky with road trips to Ole Miss, Tennessee and LSU, but that's life in the SEC. It does make Bama's opener against USC at AT&T Stadium even more important. A quick loss would make the challenge that lies ahead even more daunting.

Head coach Nick Saban isn't sure his side should be considered the favorites, though. Brett McMurphy of ESPN passed along his comments after the Crimson Tide were listed as the top title choice by the oddsmakers.

“How can they not pick Clemson? Deshaun Watson is most dominant player in college football since Cam Newton," Saban said.

Of course, that's probably an attempt by the longtime coach to deflect some pressure away from his own team and place it on the Tigers' shoulders, at least for the time being. Saban has set the bar so high at Alabama that anything less than national championship contention is a major disappointment.

2. Clemson

Saban is right about Watson. He's a special talent capable of carrying Clemson a long way this season, especially if he can reduce his interceptions into the single digits. Make no mistake, however, the Tigers are far more than a one-man show, though.

The offense features a handful of different weapons at Watson's disposal, including Artavis Scott, Mike Williams, Hunter Renfrow and Jordan Leggett. Meanwhile, Wayne Gallman returns to lead the ground game after racking up over 1,700 yards of offense last season.

There are a couple question marks defensively, starting with trying to replace the pass-rushing production of Shaq Lawson and Kevin Dodd. But the Tigers are strong up the middle with Carlos Watkins and Christian Wilkins, and their veteran secondary should clean up any mistakes.

The entire package is why they continue to rate highly in all preseason rankings, including ESPN College Football's power rankings:

Clemson also has the advantage of the ACC, which doesn't look quite as strong as the other top conferences on paper. In turn, a road game against Florida State in late October figures to loom large for both teams as they attempt to build a playoff resume.

3. Ohio State

It's no surprise Alabama and Clemson are both generating plenty of hype based on last season's results and their current rosters. But the competition between the next six or seven teams is extremely fierce, which should make for a highly entertaining season.

The Buckeyes ranked fifth in the coaches poll. It wouldn't be a shock to see them rise into the top three, as projected here, or slide to seventh or eighth in the AP poll. The difference between that next wave of playoff contenders is minimal heading into the campaign.

Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer believes the development of players on his team could create parallels to the 2014 championship squad, per Tim Shoemaker of Eleven Warriors.

"I see that potential," Meyer said. "I see, I think 2014 was the template that everybody wants. J.T. Barrett was buried on the depth chart. Darron Lee, Eli Apple, Zeke Elliott, Mike Thomas—those guys were no-names and they became very good throughout the course of 2014."

It's a fair comparison. The current team has its fair share of star power in the likes of Barrett, Curtis Samuel and Raekwon McMillan. But the Buckeyes are going to need some off-the-radar players to thrive in more involved roles in order to challenge for the title.

Whether it's Mike Weber emerging as an elite backfield threat, Chris Worley becoming an eraser at the linebacker level or Gareon Conley becoming a shutdown cornerback, there's a lot of potential. The question is whether that will translate into on-field success in 2016. If so, watch out for Ohio State.