Preseason College Football Rankings 2017: Date and Predictions for Amway Poll

The first preseason Amway Coaches' Poll is slated to be released on Thursday, the first indication that the college football season is quickly approaching.

In just four weeks, Saturdays will once again come alive with collegiate competition, but before we get to that point, it's helpful to know which NCAA teams are expected to outperform the rest this season. 

Per USA Today Sports, which partners with Amway on the poll, voting for the Amway Coaches' Poll works as follows: "Each coach submits a Top 25 with a first-place vote worth 25 points, second place 24, and so on down to one point for 25th."

In 2016, the coaches predicted in the preseason poll that Alabama and Clemson would be the top-two ranked teams in the nation, with 14-1 records. 

Lo and behold, the Crimson Tide and the Tigers did indeed meet in the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship, so the 64 head coaches who took part in the poll deserve a hat tip for that one. 

On the other hand, the top two teams in the nation may be the easiest to predict. 

What gets tricky is pinpointing which programs will round out the back end of the poll.

For example, San Diego State did not earn a spot in the top 25 of the preseason poll but came in at No. 25 in the final rankings of the year. 

On the other hand, UCLA slotted in at No. 24 in the preseason poll but did not crack the top 25 by the end of the 2016-17 season. 

For the upcoming season, once again it seems safe to pencil Alabama into the top spot. 

Per OddsShark, the Crimson Tide has the best chance of winning the national championship in 2018, with 5-2 odds. 

The team with the next highest odds is USC, with 6-1 odds, followed by Florida State at 8-1. 

Those odds factored heavily into the preseason top 25 prediction below. 

Clemson ceded the No. 2 spot in early odds partly because the Tigers lost Deshaun Watson, Wayne Gallman and Mike Williams to the NFL, leaving gaping holes on its offense. 

Thus, the Trojans (who boast the country's top passer in Sam Darnold), the Seminoles or even the Ohio State Buckeyes are all in line to challenge Alabama for the national title. 

Below is a full prediction for the top 25 teams in the country ahead of the release of the Amway Coaches' Poll on Thursday at 12 p.m. ET. 

Projected Amway Preseason Top 25

1. Alabama

2. USC

3. Florida State

4. Ohio State

5. Oklahoma

6. Louisville

7. Michigan

8. Clemson

9. Georgia

10. Penn State

11. Oklahoma State

12. Louisiana State

13. Washington

14. LSU

15. Auburn

16. Florida

17. Wisconsin

18. Texas

19. Miami

20. Kansas State

21. Stanford

22. Notre Dame

23. West Virginia

24. Virginia Tech

25. Tennessee