Alabama Ranked No. 3 in Preseason Amway Coaches Poll

The first preseason poll debuted on Thursday and the Alabama Crimson Tide finds itself ranked third to start the year. 

Defending champion Ohio State was a near-unanimous pick at No. 1, receiving 62 of 64 first-place votes in the Amway Coaches Poll. Alabama and No. 2 TCU each received one vote as the top-ranked team.

Nick Saban's team is the highest-ranked team from the Southeastern Conference, which once again dominates the top 25. A total of eight SEC teams will begin the 2015 season ranked in the poll and they're in this order:

3. Alabama

7. Auburn

9. Georgia

13. LSU

15. Ole Miss

20. Arkansas

23. Missouri

25. Tennessee

The Crimson Tide will open the season against No. 18 Wisconsin in the AdvoCare Classic on September 25. That will mark the first of seven games on Alabama's schedule against a team ranked in preseason top 25. The only SEC games that wouldn't feature two ranked teams are Texas A&M and Mississippi State, which are both on the road.

You can see the entire top 25 here.