Yahoo Movies Clemson ranked in Top 5 of first Coaches Poll. South Carolina, CCU get some votes
The Palmetto State’s preeminent football programs received attention in the preseason USA Today Coaches poll that was released Monday.
Clemson was slotted fourth in the country behind Alabama (No. 1), Ohio State (No. 2) and Georgia (No. 3), while South Carolina received enough votes to place them 45th among those teams listed.
The Tigers enter the year off a 10-3 campaign in which the offense struggled to find its footing under quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei. Head coach Dabo Swinney replaced both his coordinators this offseason after Brent Venables (Oklahoma) and Tony Elliott (Virginia) took head coaching jobs.
South Carolina is heading into Year 2 of the Shane Beamer era following a surprising 7-6 campaign that concluded with a victory over North Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. USC brought in former Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler, among a bevy of transfers, in hopes of revitalizing an offense that ranked toward the bottom of the Southeastern Conference.
We don’t know exactly how many votes were cast for the Gamecocks, who earned five points in USA Today’s rankings. Teams are given points that correspond to the place they are slotted by voters, with first place votes counting as the most and decreasing in value down to 25th.
Coastal Carolina also received two points in the coaches poll following its second 11-win season in as many years. Head coach Jamey Chadwell is a voter in the poll.
The Associated Press preseason poll is expected to be released Aug. 15.
The Gamecocks haven’t been ranked in the AP poll since entering at No. 24 in September 2018, though that stay only lasted one week after USC lost 41-17 to then-No. 3 Georgia.
USA Today 2022 Preseason Coaches Poll
*first place votes in parentheses
Alabama - 1634 (54)
Ohio State 1564 (5)
Georgia - 1542 (6)
Clemson - 1356
Notre Dame - 1284
Michigan - 1232
Texas A&M - 1219
Utah - 1134
Oklahoma - 1027
Baylor - 891
Oklahoma State - 859
Oregon - 734
NC State - 726
Michigan State - 711
Southern California - 602
Pittsburgh - 450
Miami - 433
Texas (1) - 383
Wake Forest - 381
Wisconsin - 369
Kentucky - 353
Cincinnati - 339
Arkansas - 334
Mississippi - 327
Houston - 257
