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Another poll, another No. 6 preseason ranking for Penn State.A feew weeks after cracking the top 10 in the coaches poll, the Nittany Lions have done the same in the AP preseason Top 25.It&#8217;s the first time since 2010 that the program has been ranked heading into a campaign. By checking in at No. 6, it&#8217;s the highest the Lions have been in August since opening at No. 3 back in 1999.Two of Penn State&#8217;s 2017 opponents also made the poll in Ohio State (No. 2) and Michigan (No. 11). Four others &#8212; Northwestern, Pitt, Nebraska and Michigan State &#8212; received at least one vote. Big Ten West favorite Wisconsin opened at No. 9.Not surprisingly, Alabama was once again at the top.The Crimson Tide became the first program in 12 years to take the top spot in The Associated Press preseason media poll two straight years, and will start the season ranked in the top five for the ninth consecutive time.Coach Nick Saban&#8217;s program has become the surest thing in sports these days. The Tide does not always win the national championship &#8212; just half the time over the last eight years &#8212; but is always in contention. Since 2008, only once has Alabama lost more than one game before bowl season.The Crimson Tide received 52 of 61 first-place votes from media members in the poll released Monday. Ohio State was No. 2, edging No. 3 Florida State and preventing the first 1 vs. 2 opening game since the preseason poll began in 1950. Alabama opens the season against the Seminoles in Atlanta on Sept. 2, just the fourth opener involving top-five teams and the first pitting teams ranked in the preseason top three.Southern California, which finished last season on a nine-game winning streak and No. 3 in the country, starts at No. 4. Defending national champion Clemson begins the post-Deshaun Watson era at No. 5. Florida State received four first-place votes, Ohio State got three and USC two.The one bit of bad news for Alabama? The Tide has failed to win the national championship the three previous times it was preseason No. 1 under Saban. The last team to start and finish No. 1 was USC in 2004, and the Trojans were ranked No. 1 the following season &#8212; the last team to do it before this year.TIDE WAVEAlabama&#8217;s remarkable run under Saban has the Crimson Tide climbing toward all sorts of AP poll milestones. This is the sixth time the Tide has been preseason No. 1, tied for fifth most.10 &#8212; Oklahoma (1956, 1957, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1985, 1986, 1987, 2003, 2011)8 &#8212; Ohio State (1958, 1966, 1969, 1970, 1980, 1998, 2006, 2015)7 &#8212; Southern California (1963, 1973, 1979, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2012)6 &#8212; Alabama (1966, 1978, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2017)6 &#8212; Florida State (1988, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1999, 2014)6 &#8212; Nebraska (1965, 1972, 1976, 1983, 1996, 2000)Alabama&#8217;s streak of nine straight top-five preseason rankings is second only to Florida State, which had a run of 11 straight seasons starting in the top-five under former coach Bobby Bowden.WE&#8217;RE NO. 2!Ohio State is No. 2 in the preseason poll for the eighth time, one behind Oklahoma for most times starting the season second. The Buckeyes also extended the longest current streak of years appearing in the preseason Top 25 to 29. Penn State has the record at 34 from 1968-2002.BEST SINCE &#8230;Penn State isn&#8217;t the ony program to record its best ranking in recent years.&#8226; No. 8 Washington has its best preseason ranking since it was No. 4 in 1997.&#8226; No. 9 Wisconsin has its best preseason ranking since it was No. 7 in 2007.&#8226; No. 19 South Florida is ranked in preseason for second time. The Bulls started No. 19 in 2008.&#8226; No. 24 Washington State is ranked in preseason for fifth time. The last time was 2002 when the Cougars were No. 11.CONFERENCE CALLAlabama is the only Southeastern Conference team in the top 10, but the SEC still leads the way with six teams in the Top 25. Auburn is No. 12 and LSU is right behind at 13. SEC East rivals Georgia (No. 15) and Florida (No. 17) follow and Tennessee is No. 25.The standings:SEC &#8212; 6ACC &#8212; 5Big 12 &#8212; 5Big Ten &#8212; 4Pac-12 &#8212; 4American &#8212; 1SUNSHINE STATEWith Miami at No. 18 and South Florida at No. 19, the state of Florida has four teams ranked in the preseason poll for the first time.WHERE IS THIS GOING?The goal of the preseason Top 25 is not necessarily to predict the outcome of the season as much as it is to give a snapshot of consensus heading into it. The voters take an educated guess and then go where results take them. Still, comparing the preseason poll with the final rankings in previous years can give some idea of how much change to expect. The AP analyzed the last 10 seasons of polls (2007-16), comparing the preseason rankings with the final Top 25. On average:&#8226; 15.4 teams (61.6 percent total) started the season ranked and finished the season ranked. Those teams finished an average of 6.34 places (higher or lower) from where they were ranked in the preseason.&#8226; 8.0 teams (80 percent total) that started the season ranked in the top 10 finished the season in the Top 25.&#8226; 5.4 teams (54 percent total) that started the season ranked in the top 10 finished ranked in the top 10.&#8226; 1.9 teams that started the season unranked finished ranked in the top 10.<style>
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<div class="neCaption">Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley talks to teammates during preseason practice for the No. 6-ranked Nittany Lions. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_AP17217850846813201782114214527.jpg</photo0><caption0>Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley talks to teammates during preseason practice for the No. 6-ranked Nittany Lions. </caption0><photoCredit0>Joe Hermitt | AP photo, PennLive.com </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>Staff and wire reports</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta>The Top 25The 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:Team`Record`Pts`Prv1. Alabama (52)`14-1`1513`22. Ohio State (3)`11-2`1414`63. Florida State (4)`10-3`1396`84. Southern Cal (2)`10-3`1325`35. Clemson`14-1`1201`16. Penn State`11-3`1196`77. Oklahoma`11-2`1170`58. Washington`12-2`1150`49. Wisconsin`11-3`926`910. Oklahoma St.`10-3`889`1111. Michigan`10-3`881`1012. Auburn`8-5`880`2413. LSU`8-4`784`1314. Stanford`10-3`695`1215. Georgia`8-5`690`-16. Louisville`9-4`629`2117. Florida`9-4`624`1418. Miami`9-4`492`2019. South Florida`11-2`327`1920. Kansas State`9-4`317`-21. Virginia Tech`10-4`240`1622. West Virginia`10-3`207`1823. Texas`5-7`173`-24. Washington St.`8-5`133`-25. Tennessee`9-4`114`22Others 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&amp;M 3, Michigan St. 1.</factboxMeta></div>

Penn State debuts at No. 6 in preseason Associated Press poll