CBSSpor Alab No. 1.

Coach Nick Saban has the Tide rolling the way Bear Bryant did in his day, in the top spot of the Associated Press preseason poll for the first time since 1978.

Alabama received 54 of 60 first-place votes from the media panel and 1,491 points to easily outdistance No. 2 Ohio State in the Top 25 released Saturday.

The Buckeyes, who have been ranked no lower than 11th in the last eight preseason polls, received three first-place votes.

Boise State is No. 3, its best preseason ranking, following another undefeated season. Underdogs no more, the Broncos even received one first-place vote.

Florida, Alabamas Southeastern Conference rival, is No. 4. No. 5 Texas received a first-place vote.

The rest of the top 10 has TCU at No. 6, followed by Oklahoma, which received a first-place vote, Nebraska, Iowa and Virginia Tech.

The 10th-ranked Hokies face Boise State at FedEx Field, home of the Washington Redskins, on Labor Day night in the seasons first huge game.

As for Alabama, Bryant was coach the last time the Crimson Tide was the APs preseason No. 1. The Tide started and finished that 1978 season on top of the rankings, the first of two straight national championships for Alabama. The only other time Alabama was preseason No. 1 was 1966, when Bears boys were coming off back-to-back national championships.

Sabans Tide, led by Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram, will try to make Alabama the first program to win back-to-back AP titles three times. Oklahoma and Nebraska also have done it twice.

But at least not in front of its coach.

“What was accomplished by last years team has nothing to do with this years team. The players have to understand that,” said Saban, who in three seasons has fully restored Alabamas status as an elite program. “This team has to develop an image, an identity of its own by its performance. What was accomplished last year is just a standard for somebody else to top.

“Complacency is why the mighty fall.”

Saban has been trying to downplay this teams No. 1 worthiness since the morning after the Tide beat Texas 37-21 at the Rose Bowl to win the BCS championship.

Back in January he practically was lamenting the fact that his team likely would be preseason No. 1 in 2010, quick to point out that while the Tides offense would be returning most of its stars, its dominant defense was facing major turnover.

Gone are All-Americans Terrence Cody, Rolando McClain, Javier Arenas and six other starters from last season.

Stepping in will be a cast of former five-star recruits and talented players who will be asked to expand their roles.

“We have confidence in our defensive players. I think its more a matter of knowledge and experience and maturity that the defense is going to have to develop,” Saban said.

Donta Hightower returns from a knee injury to fill McClains spot at middle linebacker and defensive end Marcell Dareus, the star of the BCS title game, becomes the headliner up front – as long as an NCAA investigation doesnt sideline him.

“You cant really promote guys into leadership roles,” Saban said. “I think that its something that sort of grows, develops and happens because of personality types and respect that other players have.”

Saban has little to worry about on the offensive side. Ingram and sidekick Trent Richardson will run behind an experienced line, so the ground game should continue to churn out big yards.

Greg McElroy returns for his second season as starting quarterback and he has plenty of enticing receivers, led by NFL prototype wideout Julio Jones.

“We played early on last season and at times during the season to protect the quarterback a little bit,” Saban said. “We thought we had a really good defense and we could run the ball well, we could afford to do that. But I dont think thats going to be the case this year. We have too many good skill players on offense.”

Theres no doubting Alabama has the credentials to be No. 1, but poll history suggests the odds are against the Tide finishing on top again.

Only 10 of the 60 previous preseason No. 1 teams have won the national championship. And only two (Florida State in 99 and Southern California in 04) have held the top spot for the entire season.

The second 10 in the preseason Top 25 starts with Oregon. The defending Pac-10 champion Ducks are No. 11.

No. 12 is Wisconsin and Miami is 13th.

Southern California is No. 14. The last time the Trojans started a season outside the top 10 was 2002, Pete Carrolls second season as coach. Carroll is gone and USC is dealing with NCAA sanctions under new coach Lane Kiffin that prevent the Trojans from playing in the postseason this season.

Pittsburgh, the highest-ranked Big East team, is No. 15.

Georgia Tech, Arkansas, North Carolina, Penn State and Florida State round out the top 20.

No. 21 LSU is followed by Auburn and Georgia, giving the SEC six teams in the preseason rankings, the most of any conference. The Atlantic Coast Conference is second with five ranked teams.

Oregon State is No. 24 and West Virginia is 25.

Posted on August 21st, 2010 by admin
Filed under: College football news, NCAA college football