FAYETTEVILLE — Alabama will open the 2013 season in the same position the Crimson Tide closed out their second consecutive national championship year in 2012, atop The Associated Press poll.
Alabama, which won its third BCS championship in four years, pulled down 58 of 60 first-place votes in the nationwide poll of media members. Ohio State, which went 12-0 while on NCAA probation last season under first-year coach Urban Meyer, picked up one first-place vote and is No. 2 in the poll. Georgia, which lost a classic SEC Championship Game to Alabama last December, received the other firs tplace vote and will open the season at No. 5.
Pacific-12 members Oregon and Stanford are ranked No. 3 and 4, respectively, in the poll.
Arkansas, coming off a 4-8 season, received no points in the poll after earning one point in the USA Today coaches poll.
The Razorbacks will get plenty familiar with teams in the poll. Arkansas is scheduled to play five teams ranked among the top 12. Arkansas’ schedule, ranked as the second-most difficult in the country based on opponents’ win-loss records from last season, features games against the No. 1 Crimson Tide, No. 6 South Carolina, No. 7 Texas A&M, No. 10 Florida and No. 12 LSU.
The first four of those ranked opponents will come in succession for the Razorbacks: Sept. 28 vs. Texas A&M in the Hogs’ conference opener in Fayetteville, Oct. 5 at Florida, Oct. 12 vs. South Carolina and Oct. 19 at Alabama.
For the sixth consecutive season, Arkansas will play the defending BCS national champion.
Coach Bret Bielema has been up front with his players about the opportunity Arkansas’ schedule presents for making waves in the upper crust of the rankings.
“We had a little session about dealing with the media, and one of them was that we play four top-10 teams in a row,” Bielema said on the Razorbacks’ media day. “Well, hello, we’ve known that for a long time. We’re not running from it. Embrace it, love it, and make it what it is.”
Notre Dame, which lost 42-14 to Alabama in the BCS championship game in Miami, opens the season at No. 14.
The SEC, which has won the past seven BCS titles, is coming off a 6-3 bowl season that was highlighted by Alabama’s title game rout of the Fighting Irish, Texas A& M’s41-13 victory over former Big 12 opponent Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl, and a 2-1 record against Big Ten teams.
Tom Murphy’s ballot
Tom Murphy of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette is a voter in The Associated Press Top 25 poll.
Here is his ballot:
- Alabama
- Georgia
- Oregon
- Stanford
- Ohio State
- South Carolina
- Clemson
- Louisville
- Florida
- LSU
- Oklahoma
- Florida State
- Texas A&M
- Notre Dame
- Wisconsin
- Michigan
- Oklahoma State
- Boise State
- Texas
- Nebraska
- Miami
- UCLA
- Baylor
- Kansas State
- Northwestern
Sports, Pages 23 on 08/18/2013