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Stanford football ranked No. 4 in Preseason Coaches' Poll

The Cardinal are well-regarded by the coaches, but they have a tough schedule too

By Jack Blanchat
US PRESSWIRE

People always like to say that preseason ranking mean nothing - but they do set expectations.

After winning the Rose Bowl last year, it's no surprise that the Cardinal are highly regarded this season - but it's maybe a little surprising that they ended up being ranked 4th in the country.

The Cardinal finished behind Georgia and Texas A&M in the rankings last year, but leapfrogged the two SEC schools to launch into the top 5 this year.

The rankings system also seems to think that the Cardinal will have a tough schedule this year, with five opponents in the top 25 - No. 3 Oregon, No. 11 Notre Dame, No. 21 UCLA, No. 24 USC and No. 25 Oregon State. On top of that, San Jose State and Arizona State also received votes.

Here's the Top 25 poll in full (click any column to sort):

More: Bama-Oregon title game, plus projections for every other bowl
RANK TEAM 2012 RECORD POINTS PREVIOUS RANK
1 Alabama (58) 13-1 1545 1
2 Ohio St. (3) 12-0 1427 NR
3 Oregon 12-1 1397 2
4 Stanford 12-2 1262 6
5 Georgia 12-2 1250 4
6 Texas A&M (1) 11-2 1215 5
7 South Carolina 11-2 1136 7
8 Clemson 11-2 1047 9
9 Louisville 11-2 1010 13
10 Florida 11-2 930 10
11 Notre Dame 12-1 872 3
12 Florida St. 12-2 844 8
13 LSU 10-3 797 12
14 Oklahoma St. 8-5 726 NR
15 Texas 9-4 622 18
16 Oklahoma 10-3 620 15
17 Michigan 8-5 589 NR
18 Nebraska 10-4 426 23
19 Boise St. 11-2 420 14
20 TCU 7-6 400 NR
21 UCLA 9-5 202 NR
22 Northwestern 10-3 186 16
23 Wisconsin 8-6 172 NR
24 USC 7-6 165 NR
25 Oregon St. 9-4 135 19
Schools Dropped Out
No. 11 Kansas State (11-2), No. 17 Utah State (11-2), No. 20 Vanderbilt (9-4), No. 21 San Jose State (11-2), No. 22 Cincinnati (10-3), No. 24 Northern Illinois (12-2), No. 25 Tulsa (11-3).
Others Receiving Votes
Kansas State (11-2) 113; Miami (Fla.) 101; Michigan State 89; Baylor 80; Virginia Tech 65; Fresno State 62; Arizona State 51; Mississippi 32; Vanderbilt (9-4) 29; Utah State (11-2) 23; Brigham Young 20; North Carolina 19; Northern Illinois (12-2) 19; Tulsa (11-3) 9; Ohio 8; San Jose State (11-2) 8; Arizona 5; Cincinnati (10-3) 3; East Carolina 3; Kent State 3; Mississippi State 3; Washington 3; Central Florida 2; Arkansas 1; Arkansas State 1; Rutgers 1; Tennessee 1; Toledo 1.