The preseason coaches poll was released today, and the Arizona Wildcats check in at No. 22 in the country. There are a total of six Pac-12 schools in the top 25, with Arizona being the lowest-ranked of the six.
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 | – |
It's a bit of a surprise to see the Pac-12 South Champs fall outside the top 20, especially when you see Stanford ranked one spot ahead of the Wildcats. Arizona brings back six starters on offense, and six starters on defense. Of those 12 returning include Anu Solomon, Nick Wilson, Cayleb Jones, Samajie Grant, Jacob Alsadek, William Parks, Reggie Gilbert, and of course, Scooby Wright III.
Arizona was also selected to finish fourth in the Pac-12 South by the media, behind USC, UCLA and Arizona State, with USC beating Oregon in the Pac-12 Championship Game. Surprisingly, the media has Arizona with 155 total points, and California with 179 points.