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UGA lands elite spot in CFB preseason coaches poll; Alabama opens at No. 1

At No. 4, UGA stands out as an early favorite to make the College Football Playoff's four-team tournament, similar to last year's squad.

At last month's SEC Media Days, Alabama and UGA were tabbed as prohibitive favorites to capture division titles for the SEC West and SEC East, respectively.

Consequently, it only makes sense these blue-chip programs would be bunched together in the inaugural Amway Coaches Poll, covering the 2018 preseason.

Alabama, which has claimed five national championships during Nick Saban's Tuscaloosa tenure (2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017 ), will open this season as the consensus No. 1 team (third straight year of this distinction).

Three slots down, UGA stands out as an early favorite to make the College Football Playoff's four-team tournament, similar to last year's squad, which toppled Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl and nearly knocked off the Crimson Tide in the CFB title game in Atlanta.

Rounding out the top 10 ... Clemson (No. 2 overall), Ohio State (No. 3), Oklahoma (No. 5), Washington, Wisconsin, Miami, Penn State and Auburn.

It's worth noting: Auburn will travel to UGA and Alabama during the month of November.

There are five SEC programs represented in the top 25, with Mississippi State (18th) and LSU (24th) concluding the league's representation.

The regular season kicks off the first weekend of September, with UGA hosting Austin Peay and Alabama taking on Louisville in Orlando.

The biggest matchups for opening weekend:

Michigan @ Notre Dame

Auburn vs. Washington (Atlanta)

LSU vs. Miami (Arlington, Texas)

AMWAY/COACHES TOP 25 POLL (last year's records in parentheses)

1. Alabama (13-1)

2. Clemson (12-2)

3. Ohio State (12-2)

4. Georgia (13-2)

5. Oklahoma (12-2)

6. Washington (10-3)

7. Wisconsin (13-1)

8. Miami (Fla.) (10-3)

9. Penn State (11-2)

10. Auburn (10-4)

11. Notre Dame (10-3)

12. Michigan State (10-3)

13. Stanford (9-5)

14. Michigan (8-5)

15. Southern California (11-3)

16. TCU (11-3)

17. Virginia Tech (9-4)

18. Mississippi State (9-4)

19. Florida State (7-6)

20. West Virginia (7-6)

21. Texas (7-6)

22. Boise State (11-3)

23. Central Florida (13-0)

24. LSU (9-4)

25. Oklahoma State (10-3)

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