As if Alabama's football opener against Florida State needed any more hype, the Associated Press poll released Monday reflected the magnitude of the Sept. 2 showdown inside Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The Crimson Tide will start this season at No. 1 and FSU's Seminoles at No. 3, making this the biggest opening game since AP rankings started serving as a barometer in 1936.
"It's almost overwhelming how much of an opportunity this is, playing a team like Florida State in a brand-new stadium," Alabama junior outside linebacker Christian Miller said in a recent news conference. "It will be history, and it is a very special thing. I'm so excited to just go out there and play."
This is the sixth time Alabama has been ranked No. 1 in the AP preseason poll, and it's the fourth occasion under 11th-year coach Nick Saban. The Crimson Tide were picked at the top before the 2010, 2013 and 2016 seasons but didn't claim the national championship in any of those years, with Auburn, Florida State and Clemson winning instead.
Alabama won national championships under Saban in 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2015, beginning each of those seasons in the top five.
Clemson upset the top-ranked Tide 35-31 in January's title game of the four-team playoff, preventing Alabama the opportunity of going wire-to-wire at No. 1. Saban said after the release of the Amway coaches' poll earlier this month that preseason rankings are meaningless, and he revisited that topic in a news conference last Wednesday without any prompting.
"You guys make all these predictions about everything - about guys who are going to be great players who have been here for two years and who's going to win all the games," Saban said. "I don't even know why we play. Why do we even have practice? Why do we compete? Why do we coach guys? Why do we even need to improve?
"You guys have all the answers to how guys are going to be and what they're going to do."
The last AP preseason No. 1 to win the national championship that same year was Southern California in 2004.
Alabama received a whopping 52 of a possible 61 first-place votes to easily outdistance Ohio State, Florida State, USC and Clemson, which comprise the rest of the top five. The Southeastern Conference has six ranked teams, with Auburn (No. 12), LSU (No. 13), Georgia (No. 15), Florida (No. 17) and Tennessee (No. 25) joining the top-ranked Tide.
That Alabama was an overwhelming pick could be considered somewhat of a surprise given that the Crimson Tide had 10 players drafted by NFL teams in the spring, including four players in the first round and nine in the first three. The key offensive components of quarterback Jalen Hurts, running backs Damien Harris and Bo Scarbrough and receiver Calvin Ridley are back from last season's 14-1 team.
"We did lose some guys, but we do that year in and year out around here," Miller said. "Our defense is known for its intensity and relentlessness, and we seem to be relentless and playing with good intensity. I hope we can keep building off that.
"We have a big challenge on our hands, and I think we're ready for that challenge. I think the fans will be in for a good one."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.
AP Top 25 Poll
The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press preseason college football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, 2016 records, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and 2016 final ranking:College - Record - Pts - Pv 1. Alabama (52) - 14-1 - 1513 - 2 2. Ohio St. (3 - 11-2 - 1414 - 6 3. Florida St. (4) - 10-3 - 1396 - 8 4. Southern Cal (2) - 10-3 - 1325 - 3 5. Clemson - 14-1 - 1201 - 1 6. Penn St. - 11-3 - 1196 - 7 7. Oklahoma - 11-2 - 1170 - 5 8. Washington - 12-2 - 1150 - 4 9. Wisconsin - 11-3 - 926 - 9 10. Oklahoma St. - 10-3 - 889 - 11 11. Michigan - 10-3 - 881 - 10 12. Auburn - 8-5 - 880 - 24 13. LSU - 8-4 - 784 - 13 14. Stanford - 10-3 - 695 - 12 15. Georgia - 8-5 - 690 - NR 16. Louisville - 9-4 - 629 - 21 17. Florida - 9-4 - 624 - 14 18. Miami - 9-4 - 492 - 20 19. South Florida - 11-2 - 327 - 19 20. Kansas St. - 9-4 317 - NR 21. Virginia Tech - 10-4 - 240 - 16 22. West Virginia - 10-3 - 207 - 18 23. Texas - 5-7 - 173 - NR 24. Washington St. - 8-5 - 133 - NR 25. Tennessee - 9-4 - 114 - 22 Others receiving votes: TCU 98, Utah 85, Notre Dame 65, Boise St. 37, NC State 26, Northwestern 25, Pittsburgh 23, Oregon 21, Houston 19, Colorado 18, UCLA 9, San Diego St. 9, BYU 5, Appalachian St. 4, Nebraska 4, Tulsa 4, Kentucky 3, Texas A&M 3, Michigan St. 1.