The Knights came in unofficially ranked at no. 28 with 102 votes in the preseason Amway Coaches Poll.
George O’Leary’s Knights finished last season with a 12-1 record, beating Baylor in the Fiesta Bowl to win their first BCS Championship. They also received the most votes out of any American Athletic Conference team, with Cincinnati receiving six votes and Houston receiving two votes.
Among Florida teams, UCF was ranked third. Defending national champions, the Florida State Seminoles, were ranked no. 1 overall, while the Florida Gators were ranked unofficially just ahead of the Knights at no. 27 with 122 votes.
The Miami Hurricanes were the only other Florida team receiving votes in the poll with 45.
Full Rankings:
1. Florida State Seminoles: 14-0, 1543 votes, 56 first-place votes
2. Alabama Crimson Tide: 11-2, 1455 votes
3. Oklahoma Sooners: 11-2, 1382 votes, 3 first-place votes
4. Oregon Ducks: 11-2, 1314 votes, 1 first-place vote
5. Auburn Tigers: 12-2, 1271 votes
6. Ohio State Buckeyes: 12-2, 1267 votes, 1 first-place vote
7. UCLA Bruins: 10-3, 1085 votes
8. Michigan State Spartans: 13-1, 1050 votes
9. South Carolina Gamecocks: 11-2, 1009 votes, 1 first-place vote
10. Baylor Bears: 11-2, 965 votes
11. Stanford Cardinal: 11-3, 955 votes
12. Georgia Bulldogs: 8-5, 905 votes
13. LSU Tigers: 10-3, 833 votes
14. Wisconsin Badgers: 9-4, 654 votes
15. USC Trojans: 10-4, 627 votes
16. Clemson Tigers: 11-2, 535 votes
17. Notre Dame Fighting Irish: 9-4, 509 votes
18. Arizona State Sun Devils: 10-4, 358 votes
19. Mississippi Rebels: 8-5, 346 votes
20. Texas A&M Aggies: 9-4, 266 votes
21. Kansas State Wildcats: 8-5, 257 votes
22. Nebraska Cornhuskers: 9-4, 228 votes
23. North Carolina Tar Heels: 7-6, 175 votes
24. Texas Longhorns: 8-5, 143 votes
25. Washington Huskies: 9-4, 142 votes
Others receiving votes:
Missouri (12-2) 126; Florida (4-8) 122; Central Florida (12-1) 102; Mississippi State (7-6) 74; Oklahoma State (10-3) 56; TCU (4-8) 54; Michigan (7-6) 53; Iowa (8-5) 49; Miami (Fla.) (9-4) 45; Duke (10-4) 41; Louisville (12-1) 32; Marshall (10-4) 27; Brigham Young (8-5) 18; Boise State (8-5) 13; Louisiana-Lafayette (9-4) 12; Virginia Tech (8-5) 12; Texas Tech (8-5) 8; Cincinnati (9-4) 6; Minnesota (8-5) 6; Northwestern (5-7) 5; Fresno State (11-2) 4; Oregon State (7-6) 4; Georgia Tech (7-6) 2; Houston (8-5) 2; Arizona (8-5) 1; Arkansas (3-9) 1; Northern Illinois (12-2) 1.
The preseason poll is made up of 62 head coaches at Bowl Subdivision schools in college football. All are members of the American Football Coaches Association.
