Alabama tops 2022 FWAA/NFF Super 16 Pre-Season Poll
Pre-Season Poll, August, 2022
| RANK | TEAM | POINTS | FIRST-PLACE VOTES | LAST WEEK’S RANK |
| 1. | Alabama | 822 | 42 | N/A |
| 2. | Ohio State | 766 | 6 | N/A |
| 3. | Georgia | 728 | 4 | N/A |
| 4. | Clemson | 622 | N/A | |
| 5. | Michigan | 530 | N/A | |
| 6. | Notre Dame | 513 | N/A | |
| 7. | Utah | 482 | N/A | |
| 8. | Texas A&M | 457 | N/A | |
| 9. | Oklahoma | 408 | N/A | |
| 10. | Baylor | 319 | N/A | |
| 11. | Oklahoma State | 228 | N/A | |
| 12. | Oregon | 219 | N/A | |
| 13. | USC | 204 | N/A | |
| 14. | NC State | 202 | N/A | |
| 15. | Michigan State | 127 | N/A | |
| 16. | Miami (FL) | 109 | N/A |
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: Pittsburgh (55), Arkansas (48), Ole Miss (36), Wisconsin (34), BYU (31), Texas (26), Cincinnati (20), Penn State (17), Florida (14), Houston (12), LSU (9), Kentucky (7), Tennessee (4), Wake Forest (4), South Carolina (4), UCF (3), Mississippi State (3), Nebraska (2), Kansas State (2), Air Force (2), West Virginia (1), Iowa (1), North Carolina (1).
NOTES:National runner-up and defending SEC Champion Alabama dominated the preseason poll with 42 of 52 first place votes. This is Alabama’s 59th appearance as the No. 1 team in this poll since 2014. The Crimson Tide leads all schools for appearances at No. 1 and is the only team to appear in each of the 105 weekly rankings since 2014.
Ohio State was second in the poll voting with six first place votes and 56 points behind Alabama with defending national champion Georgia at No. 3 with four first place votes, respectively.
No. 4 Clemson is in the poll for the first time since September 19, 2021, followed by Michigan, Notre Dame, Utah, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Baylor. Seven of the top 10 teams appeared in New Year’s Six bowl games last season. NC State is No. 14 and in the poll for the first time since October 15, 2018.
In the 2022 preseason poll, the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC had three teams each, Independents-one. All Power-Five conferences had equal representation for the first time in the history of the poll which started in 2014.
The eventual national champion has been ranked in the top six of the preseason poll six times since 2015. Alabama in 2017 is the only national champion to start the season ranked No. 1 in the preseason poll.
SCHEDULE:
ZERO WEEKNo Super 16 Teams in Action
WEEK 1 (Sept. 1-5)
Thursday, Sept. 1Central Michigan at No. 11 Oklahoma State
Friday, Sept. 2Western Michigan at No. 15 Michigan State
Saturday, Sept. 3Utah State at No. 1 AlabamaNo. 6 Notre Dame at No. 2 Ohio StateNo. 12 Oregon at No. 3 Georgia (Atlanta)Colorado State at No. 5 MichiganNo. 7 Utah at FloridaSam Houston at No. 8 Texas A&MUTEP at No. 9 OklahomaAlbany at No. 10 BaylorRice at No. 13 USCNo. 14 NC State at East CarolinaBethune-Cookman at No. 16 Miami (Fla.)
Monday, Sept. 5No. 4 Clemson at Georgia Tech
ABOUT THE FWAA-NFF SUPER 16 POLL: The FWAA-NFF Super 16 Poll was established at the conclusion of the 2013 season by long-time partners, the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and the National Football Foundation (NFF). Voters rank the top 16 teams in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision, and the results will be released every Sunday of the 2022 season; the individual votes of all members will also be made public. The first regular season poll will be released on Tuesday, Sept. 6 (to account for Labor Day games), and the final poll will be released Sunday, Dec. 4. The pollsters consist of FWAA writers and College Football Hall of Famers who were selected to create a balanced-geographical perspective. The poll utilizes a computer program designed by Sports Systems to compile the rankings.
