Texas A&M will begin its first season since 1999 as a Top 10 team in both major college football polls. The Aggies opened at No. 8 today in The Associated Press’ rankings, with Oklahoma claiming the top spot and Texas unranked to start the season for the first time since 1998.
TCU, coming of a 13-0 season and Rose Bowl victory, will open at No. 14.
Oklahoma, a 12-2 team last season, received 36 of 60 first-place votes. The Sooners also claimed the top spot in the pre-season coaches poll, released earlier this month.
For A&M, a 9-4 finisher last season, the Aggies’ No. 8 ranking is one spot higher than the school received in the coaches poll. The last time A&M began a football season ranked in the Top 10 in both major polls was 1999, when the Aggies opened at No. 7 in the AP poll and No. 8 in the coaches poll.
Texas, coming off a 5-7 season, will begin the season unranked in the AP poll for the first time since coach Mack Brown’s inaugural season in Austin in 1998. The Longhorns, who were 24th in the coaches poll, received 114 points in balloting from pollsters _ not enough to catch No. 25 Southern California, which earned 160 points.
USC is not eligible to be ranked in the coaches poll because the Trojans are on NCAA probation.
The Big 12 landed three teams in the Top 10, including Oklahoma State at No. 9, and placed four teams in the poll. Missouri will start at No. 21.
Boise State, projected as TCU’s primary challenger for a Mountain West championship, opened at No. 5 and received two first-place votes.
Five teams divided the 60 first-place ballots and will open the season in this order: No. 1 Oklahoma (36), No. 2 Alabama (17) No. 3 Oregon (4), No. 4 LSU (1) and No. 5 Boise State (2). Rounding out the Top 10 are No. 6 Florida State, No. 7 Stanford, No. 8 A&M, No. 9 Oklahoma State and No. 10 Nebraska.
Below is a look at the pre-season AP poll:
The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press college football preseason poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, 2010 records, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and 2010 final ranking:
Record Pts Pv
1. Oklahoma (36) 12-2 1,464 6
2. Alabama (17) 10-3 1,439 10
3. Oregon (4) 12-1 1,330 3
4. LSU (1) 11-2 1,286 8
5. Boise St. (2) 12-1 1,200 9
6. Florida St. 10-4 1,168 17
7. Stanford 12-1 1,091 4
8. Texas A&M 9-4 965 19
9. Oklahoma St. 11-2 955 13
10. Nebraska 10-4 910 20
11. Wisconsin 11-2 900 7
12. South Carolina 9-5 848 22
13. Virginia Tech 11-3 821 16
14. TCU 13-0 690 2
15. Arkansas 10-3 686 12
16. Notre Dame 8-5 530 NR
17. Michigan St. 11-2 519 14
18. Ohio St. 12-1 443 5
19. Georgia 6-7 369 NR
20. Mississippi St. 9-4 361 15
21. Missouri 10-3 258 18
22. Florida 8-5 228 NR
23. Auburn 14-0 219 1
24. West Virginia 9-4 207 NR
25. Southern Cal 8-5 160 NR
Others receiving votes: Texas 114, Penn St. 75, Arizona St. 67, Miami 32, Utah 25, Southern Miss. 20, Iowa 19, BYU 15, NC State 15, Air Force 14, Houston 13, Pittsburgh 9, Michigan 7, Tennessee 5, UCF 5, Hawaii 4, N. Illinois 4, Tulsa 3, Arizona 2, Maryland 2, Nevada 1, Northwestern 1, Washington 1.
_ Jimmy Burch
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