There's a familiar look to the preseason Coaches Poll, as Clemson sits No. 2, one spot behind Alabama -- the team the Tigers lost to in the national championship game -- with Thursday's release of the preliminary rankings.
The Tigers received 1,524 points to come in 61 points behind the Crimson Tide in the rankings, and were one of four ACC teams to make the top 25. Florida State is fourth, North Carolina is 20th and Louisville 23rd.
Miami, Pitt and Duke were among the teams also receiving votes.
Clemson returns 12 starters rom last year's conference championship team, headlined, of course, by quarterback Deshaun Watson. The junior was the first players in NCAA history to throw for 4,000 yards and run for 1,000 yards in the same season and finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting.
The remainder of the top 10 includes Oklahoma at No. 3, Ohio State at No. 5, LSU at sixth, Stanford seventh, Michigan eighth, Notre Dame ninth and Tennessee 10th.
While the SEC leads all conferences with six teams in the Top 25 and the Pac-12 have five teams, the ACC is tied with the Big Ten and Big 12 with four teams each. The ACC, though, is the only conference to have two teams within the top five.
Follow Cory McCartney on Twitter @coryjmccartney and Facebook. His book, 'Tales from the Atlanta Braves Dugout: A Collection of the Greatest Braves Stories Ever Told,' is out now, and 'The Heisman Trophy: The Story of an American Icon and Its Winners' will be released Nov. 1, 2016.
