Coming off their 11-3 season and back-to-back SEC Eastern championships, the Missouri Tigers were picked 23rd in the Coaches Preseason Poll. Mizzou is one of eight teams from the SEC to make the poll, most of power five conferences. The Pac-12 was next with six, while the Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC each have three. Notre Dame and Boise State are also in the top 25.
Ohio State grabbed 62 of the 64 first place votes, with TCU finishing just ahead of Alabama. Baylor, and Oregon round out the top five.
I believe Auburn is getting too much credit at 7th as well as Notre Dame at 11th. Coaches also expect big things from a pair of 7-6 SEC teams in Arkansas and Tennessee.
The Hogs have a brutal stretch of four road games in a six week span during the middle of their schedule with dates at Alabama, Tennessee, Ole Miss and LSU. The Vols have a tough non-con game at home against Oklahoma in week two, plus games at Alabama and Mizzou.
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS | 1ST PLACE VOTES | PREV | CHANGE | HI/LOW |
| 1 | Ohio State | 14-1 | 1598 | 62 | NR | 0 | – |
| 2 | TCU | 12-1 | 1487 | 1 | NR | 0 | – |
| 3 | Alabama | 12-2 | 1452 | 1 | NR | 0 | – |
| 4 | Baylor | 11-2 | 1365 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
| 5 | Oregon | 13-2 | 1260 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
| 6 | Michigan State | 11-2 | 1230 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
| 7 | Auburn | 8-5 | 1103 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
| 8 | Florida State | 13-1 | 1057 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
| 9 | Georgia | 10-3 | 1026 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
| 10 | USC | 9-4 | 1014 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
| 11 | Notre Dame | 8-5 | 883 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
| 12 | Clemson | 10-3 | 838 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
| 13 | LSU | 8-5 | 727 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
| 14 | UCLA | 10-3 | 697 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
| 15 | Ole Miss | 9-4 | 668 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
| 16 | Arizona State | 10-3 | 577 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
| 17 | Georgia Tech | 11-3 | 573 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
| 18 | Wisconsin | 11-3 | 470 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
| 19 | Oklahoma | 8-5 | 407 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
| 20 | Arkansas | 7-6 | 377 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
| 21 | Stanford | 8-5 | 365 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
| 22 | Arizona | 10-4 | 299 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
| 23 | Missouri | 11-3 | 229 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
| 24 | Boise State | 12-2 | 190 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |
| 25 | Tennessee | 7-6 | 166 | 0 | NR | 0 | – |