Alabama Tops AP College Football Poll for Second Consecutive Year

Sports fans who have already tired of the 162-game baseball season slog need not worry: football—both fantasy and real—is right around the corner. And fans are already taking sides, at least when it comes to college football.

That’s because the Associated Press yesterday released its top 25 preseason college football poll, making the Alabama Crimson Tide king for the second year in a row. Per the AP, Alabama, coached by Nick Saban, is the first team in 12 years to be bestowed with the honor in consecutive years. (They won the 2016 national championship.) The team’s also landed in the top five for the ninth consecutive time, second only to Florida State, who did it 11 times in a row.

Of course, when you get name-checked in a Steely Dan song, that means you’ve had prior successes. Alabama was also ranked No. 1 in AP’s preseason poll in 1966, 1978, 2010, and 2013.

Here’s the rest of the top 10:

(2) Ohio State
(3) Florida State
(4) USC
(5) Clemson
(6) Penn State
(7) Oklahoma
(8) Washington
(9) Wisconsin
(10) Oklahoma State

The college football season officially kicks off on Saturday, August 26, at 2:30 p.m. ET, when Colorado State takes on Oregon State. For a full schedule of games, click here.