Alabama debuts at No. 11 in preseason coaches poll, Auburn just outside Top 25

The 2026 college football season officially kicks off this month which means its time for everybody to put out their preseason rankings and predictions (which will inevitably be wrong).

On Tuesday, USA Today released the preseason coaches poll and to no surprise, SEC teams dominated the top 25. The conference had nine teams in the rankings including Alabama taking the No. 11 spot.

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13 SEC teams receive votes in preseason Coaches Poll

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Ohio State topped the preseason rankings while defending champion Indiana sits at No. 6 after losing a majority of the contributors from the title-winning squad.

While the Big Ten takes up the top two spots and half of the top six, it’s still the SEC showing off its depth in the preseason rankings.

SEC teams in the top 25 include:

3. Georgia
4. Texas
8. Texas A&M
9. Oklahoma
10. Ole Miss
11. Alabama
13. LSU
18. Tennessee
25. Missouri

Auburn was one of four SEC programs to receive votes but not make the top 25. The Tigers officially came in at No. 34 ahead of Alex Golesh’s first season on The Plains.

The coaches poll is built from a panel of 72 coaches including: