The first Amway Coaches Poll for the 2015 College Football Season was released on Thursday, and there was no surprise who was at the top. Ohio State, the team that beat Oregon in the National Championship a year ago was a near unanimous number one choice with 62 of 62 first place votes to begin the year. The Oregon Ducks will begin the 2015 season ranked fifth behind Ohio State, TCU, Alabama and Baylor.
Oregon is joined by five other schools in the Pac-12 Conference with USC(10), UCLA(14), Arizona State(16), Stanford(20) and Arizona(21) making the first Amway Coaches Poll of the year. The Ducks will face Michigan State, Arizona State, Stanford and USC this season. The biggest game on the list is likely the game with the USC Trojans with Michigan State as a close second. It is easier to come back from a non-conference loss than a conference loss, even though the Trojans are in the Pac-12 South, these two teams could meet again for the Pac-12 Championship.
Alabama #3 @Amway USA-Today Preseason Coaches Poll pic.twitter.com/cApSWDI8M0
— InsideBamaRecruiting Alabama Football (@RTRnews) July 30, 2015
Michigan State finished second last season to Ohio State and again will be a strong contender in the Big Ten to topple Ohio State. TCU has not been in such a favorable position to begin the year in quite some time. Baylor is another team that will look to make a move with a star Quarterback in Bryce Petty. Florida State will begin the year at number 7 on the list after losing Quarterback Jameis Winston to the NFL and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The season begins with a non conference Michigan and Utah matchup on Thursday, September 3rd. The Oregon Ducks begin the 2015 season on Saturday, September 5th hosting Eastern Washington at Autzen Stadium. (5pm Pacific Time, Pac-12 Networks)