Assuming games are played this season, Ohio State is bound to make history.
The Buckeyes will become the first--and only--team in AP poll history to fall from No. 2 to out of the rankings... without losing a game.
Facing an unprecedented season, the Associated Press made an unprecedented decision to release its traditional preseason Top 25, including all FBS teams as if they were playing this fall. Moving forward, the AP will only consider teams playing games in the fall.
Just like the Coaches Poll, Ohio State checked in just behind preseason No. 1 Clemson. That confirmed a consensus that the season would build toward a rematch of a classic 2019 Fiesta Bowl that saw undefeated Clemson stage a comeback past undefeated Ohio State with a trip to the national championship on the line.
Turns out, the coronavirus and Big Ten presidents had other plans.
Elsewhere, Penn State checked in at No. 7, Oregon at No. 9, Wisconsin at No. 12, Michigan at No. 16, USC at No. 17, Minnesota at No. 19, Utah at No. 22 and Iowa at No. 24.
For haters of preseason polls, this means 2020 stands alone as the most pointless edition of an already pointless exercise.
Dabo Swinney's team enters the season as the AP No. 1 for the second straight year, which comes on the heels of Alabama earning three straight preseason AP No. 1s from 2016-18.
The last team before that to earn repeat preseason AP No. 1s was USC in 2004-05. This marks Clemson's fifth straight AP Top 5 start.
That streak pales in comparison to Alabama's ongoing run of 12 straight preseason AP Top 5s, a run that includes five No. 1s and surpasses the 11 straight preseason AP Top 5s posted by Bobby Bowden's Florida State dynasty from 1990-00. Alabama saw its streak of five straight AP Top 5 finishes end with a No. 8 ranking to close the 2019 season.
Here is the full poll:
1. Clemson -- 1,520 total points (38 first-place votes)
2. Ohio State -- 1,504 (21)
3. Alabama -- 1,422 (2)
4. Georgia -- 1,270
5. Oklahoma -- 1,269
6. LSU -- 1,186 (1)
7. Penn State -- 1,147
8. Florida -- 1,125
9. Oregon -- 1,119
10. Notre Dame -- 995
11. Auburn -- 852
12. Wisconsin -- 840
13. Texas A&M -- 764
14. Texas -- 703
15. Oklahoma State -- 672
16. Michigan -- 611
17. USC -- 534
18. North Carolina -- 496
19. Minnesota -- 451
20. Cincinnati -- 234
21. UCF -- 229
22. Utah -- 211
23. Iowa State -- 199
24. Iowa -- 134
25. Tennessee -- 133
The next planned release date for the AP poll is Sept. 14.
Until then, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.