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No one's expecting, of course, for Virginia to appear on the preseason Coaches Poll, which was just released today, but we thought it was worth printing up here for your consumption anyway. Why? Because Virginia fans will get to see a lot of these top-25 teams this season.
Three and a half teams from the ACC make this list -- No. 8 Florida State, No. 11 Notre Dame, No. 12 Clemson, and No. 17 Georgia Tech. Notre Dame, of course, is an independent, but they still participate in most of the ACC's post season bowl games. Of this list, the Hoos will face Notre Dame and Georgia Tech this season.
Virginia's out of conference schedule also features No. 14 UCLA and No. 24 Boise State -- the first on the road, and the second on a Friday night.
Five of Virginia's opponents this season also received votes in the preseason poll: Virginia Tech (effectively No. 29), Louisville (32), Miami (37), Duke (40), and North Carolina (T-48).
In other words, nine of Virginia's 12 opponents are ranked in or received votes in the preseason Top 25. How's that for a gauntlet this season?
Here is the full USA Today Coaches Poll:
RANK | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS | 1ST PLACE VOTES | PREV | CHANGE | HI/LOW |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Ohio State | 14-1 | 1598 | 62 | NR | – | |
2 | TCU | 12-1 | 1487 | 1 | NR | – | |
3 | Alabama | 12-2 | 1452 | 1 | NR | – | |
4 | Baylor | 11-2 | 1365 | NR | – | ||
5 | Oregon | 13-2 | 1260 | NR | – | ||
6 | Michigan State | 11-2 | 1230 | NR | – | ||
7 | Auburn | 8-5 | 1103 | NR | – | ||
8 | Florida State | 13-1 | 1057 | NR | – | ||
9 | Georgia | 10-3 | 1026 | NR | – | ||
10 | USC | 9-4 | 1014 | NR | – | ||
11 | Notre Dame | 8-5 | 883 | NR | – | ||
12 | Clemson | 10-3 | 838 | NR | – | ||
13 | LSU | 8-5 | 727 | NR | – | ||
14 | UCLA | 10-3 | 697 | NR | – | ||
15 | Ole Miss | 9-4 | 668 | NR | – | ||
16 | Arizona State | 10-3 | 577 | NR | – | ||
17 | Georgia Tech | 11-3 | 573 | NR | – | ||
18 | Wisconsin | 11-3 | 470 | NR | – | ||
19 | Oklahoma | 8-5 | 407 | NR | – | ||
20 | Arkansas | 7-6 | 377 | NR | – | ||
21 | Stanford | 8-5 | 365 | NR | – | ||
22 | Arizona | 10-4 | 299 | NR | – | ||
23 | Missouri | 11-3 | 229 | NR | – | ||
24 | Boise State | 12-2 | 190 | NR | – | ||
25 | Tennessee | 7-6 | 166 | NR | – |
Others Receiving Votes:
Mississippi State 164; Texas A&M 149; Oklahoma State 89; Virginia Tech 70; Utah 40; Kansas State 37; Louisville 27; Nebraska 27; Minnesota 25; Penn State 20; South Carolina 18; Miami (Fla.) 16; Texas 8; Illinois 7; Duke 6; Air Force 5; Louisiana Tech 5; Marshall 4; Utah State 4; West Virginia 3; North Carolina State 3; Brigham Young 3; Florida 2; Georgia Southern 2; North Carolina 2; Maryland 1; Michigan 1; Kentucky 1; Central Florida 1; Cincinnati 1; Washington 1.