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We have less than 2 weeks to go before Stanford football returns and the Associated Press released its preseason poll this morning with the Cardinal coming in at number 21. Stanford's ranking might suggest that despite losing five games last season, the pollsters may still have confidence in Coach Shaw and Stanford's ability to compete.
The Cardinal are one of 6 Pac-12 teams to make the preseason ranking, and Stanford comes in behind Oregon (7th), USC (8th), UCLA (13th) and Arizona State (15th). Arizona is ranked right behind Stanford at (22nd) and Utah is near the top of the others receiving votes list. The Cal Bears even had 1 vote.
Stanford like many Pac-12 teams has to get through several ranked teams, in order to win the Pac 12. The Cardinal must play at USC, Arizona, UCLA, and Oregon. Those ranked conference foes are in addition to Notre Dame (11th).
Ohio State unsurprisingly kept the top spot with TCU, Alabama, and Baylor trailing right behind.
Here's the full poll:
| Ranking | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State (61) | 1,525 |
| 2 | TCU | 1,428 |
| 3 | Alabama | 1,322 |
| 4 | Baylor | 1,263 |
| 5 | Michigan State | 1,256 |
| 6 | Auburn | 1,192 |
| 7 | Oregon | 1,156 |
| 8 | USC | 1,085 |
| 9 | Georgia | 991 |
| 10 | Florida State | 959 |
| 11 | Notre Dame | 873 |
| 12 | Clemson | 862 |
| 13 | UCLA | 698 |
| 14 | LSU | 675 |
| 15 | Arizona State | 605 |
| 16 | Georgia Tech | 588 |
| 17 | Mississippi | 563 |
| 18 | Arkansas | 410 |
| 19 | Oklahoma | 394 |
| 20 | Wisconsin | 393 |
| 21 | Stanford | 347 |
| 22 | Arizona | 311 |
| 23 | Boise State | 240 |
| 24 | Missouri | 219 |
| 25 | Tennessee | 114 |
Mississippi State 100; Texas A&M 61; Oklahoma State 46; Virginia Tech 42; Utah 36; Penn State 20; Louisville 12; Cincinnati 8; Nebraska 6; Kansas State 5; NC State 4; Florida 4; Texas 3; Michigan 2; Northern Illinois 2; Brigham Young 2; West Virginia 1; California 1; Western Kentucky 1