AP Top 25 poll rankings: Key differences from US LBM Coaches Poll

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The AP Top 25 Poll released on Monday, Aug. 17, representing another benchmark in the offseason before the college football season starts. How does it differ from the US LBM Coaches Poll?

While the two preseason polls are similar, there are a few differences.

Preseason polls are important for expectation purposes, representing which teams are the consensus top contenders each season. However, they almost never predict how good each team will actually be, especially as there were 12 teams from last season's preseason AP Top 25 poll that finished the season unranked.

The US LBM Coaches Poll released on Aug. 4, and was led by Ohio State at No. 1, followed by Oregon, Georgia, Texas and Notre Dame, respectively, to round out the top five.

Here's a look at the preseason AP Top 25 poll, along with the key differences from the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll:

Preseason AP Top 25

First-place votes in parentheses

  1. Ohio State (40)
  2. Oregon (14)
  3. Georgia
  4. Notre Dame (6)
  5. Texas
  6. Indiana (8)
  7. Miami (1)
  8. Texas A&M
  9. Mississippi
  10. Oklahoma
  11. LSU
  12. Texas Tech
  13. Alabama
  14. BYU
  15. Southern California
  16. Michigan
  17. Washington
  18. Penn State
  19. SMU
  20. Tennessee
  21. Utah
  22. Iowa
  23. Houston
  24. Louisville
  25. Missouri

Others receiving votes:Clemson 112; Florida 51; Boise State 43; Arizona 32; TCU 11; Navy 10; South Carolina 10; Illinois 9; Oklahoma State 8; Vanderbilt 8; Pittsburgh 7; Virginia Tech 6; Minnesota 5; UNLV 4; New Mexico 4; Georgia Tech 4; Louisiana 4; James Madison 3; Auburn 3; Memphis 2; California 2; Liberty 1; Western Michigan 1; Tulane 1; Virginia 1

Preseason US LBM Coaches Poll

First-place votes in parentheses

  1. Ohio State (38)
  2. Oregon (6)
  3. Georgia (7)
  4. Texas (2)
  5. Notre Dame (5)
  6. Indiana (14)
  7. Miami
  8. Texas A&M
  9. Oklahoma
  10. Ole Miss
  11. Alabama
  12. Texas Tech
  13. LSU
  14. USC
  15. BYU
  16. Michigan
  17. Penn State
  18. Tennessee
  19. Washington
  20. SMU
  21. Utah
  22. Iowa
  23. Clemson
  24. Houston
  25. Missouri

Others receiving votes: Louisville 153; Florida 147; TCU 63; Illinois 62; South Carolina 50; Arizona 50; Virginia 40; Vanderbilt 37; Auburn 29; Georgia Tech 26; Boise State 24; Oklahoma State 22; UNLV 17; North Carolina State 13; Florida State 13; Virginia Tech 12; Nebraska 12; Memphis 9; Arizona State 8; James Madison 6; Duke 6; Pittsburgh 4; New Mexico 4; Western Michigan 3; Navy 3; San Diego State 2; Kansas State 1; Jacksonville State 1; Hawaii 1; California 1;

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: AP Top 25 poll rankings: Key differences from US LBM Coaches Poll

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