Coaches poll out for college football, Ohio State grabs top spot, Texas, Notre Dame and USC follow

Receiving 28 of the 63 first-place votes from Division I-A coaches Ohio State enters the 2006 football season as the number one team in the country. The Buckeyes have had to replace most of their defense from last year but the squad that went 10-2 with Fiesta Bowl victory over Notre Dame returns most of their high-powered offense. With two Heisman Trophy candidates in quarterback Troy Smith and wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. Ohio State tallied 1,487 points in the coach’s poll.

The Longhorns of Texas secured the number two spot with 11 first place votes and 1,378 points despite losing their team leader Vince Young to the NFL’s Tennessee Titans. The national championship season from a year ago will seem like a distant memory if Texas can’t replace the man who led them to a Rose Bowl victory over USC.

Under second year coach Charlie Weis the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame share the number three ranking with the USC Trojans. Notre Dame will be led by Brady Quinn and a strong cast of returning starters that aim to better their 9-3 record of a year ago. Quinn has received Heisman hype after much training under quarterback guru and head coach Weiss. The Trojans equaled the 1,348 points of Notre Dame to hold the three spot. Without the one-two punch of quarterback Matt Leinart and running back Reggie Bush the Trojans will have to have some new blood step in for a team that went 12-1 last year, just falling short of another national title.

For Oklahoma the number five ranking might be attributed to early votes because the loss of starting quarterback Rhett Bomar has many people questioning the Sooners chances without their best player. The dismissal of the sophomore quarterback for NCAA violations has put Oklahoma in a precarious situation heading into a Big 12 conference that features some of the best teams in the country.

The Coaches Top Twenty-Five, first place votes in ()

1. Ohio State (28) 0-0 1,487
2. Texas (11) 0-0 1,378
3. USC (1) 0-0 1,348
3. Notre Dame (9) 0-0 1,348
5. Oklahoma (13) 0-0 1,320
6. Auburn (1) 0-0 1,206
7. West Virginia 0-0 1,202
8. Florida 0-0 1,054
9. LSU 0-0 1,037
10. Florida State 0-0 874
11. Miami (FL) 0-0 839
12. California 0-0 798
13. Louisville 0-0 785
14. Georgia 0-0 784
15. Michigan 0-0 778
16. Virginia Tech 0-0 591
17. Iowa 0-0 519
18. Clemson 0-0 493
19. Penn State 0-0 406
20. Oregon 0-0 373
21. TCU 0-0 270
22. Nebraska 0-0 261
23. Tennessee 0-0 216
24. Alabama 0-0 210
25. Texas Tech 0-0 198