There has been a coaches poll for major college football since 1950. USA TODAY Sports became the administrator of the poll starting with the 1991 season.
Unlike The Associated Press poll of writers and broadcasters, the coaches poll does not allow votes for teams under major NCAA or conference sanctions. Last year, that meant Ohio State finished unranked despite a 12-0 record. The Buckeyes are eligible again in 2013.
The voting panel, this year consisting of 62 Football Bowl Subdivision coaches, is chosen, conference by conference, by the American Football Coaches Association via a random draw. A coach must indicate to the AFCA his willingness to participate before his name is included in the pool.
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS | FIRST PLACE VOTES | PREVIOUS RANK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Alabama |
13-1 | 1545 | 58 | 1 |
| 2 |
Ohio St. |
12-0 | 1427 | 3 | NR |
| 3 |
Oregon |
12-1 | 1397 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 |
Stanford |
12-2 | 1262 | 0 | 6 |
| 5 |
Georgia |
12-2 | 1250 | 0 | 4 |
| 6 |
Texas A&M |
11-2 | 1215 | 1 | 5 |
| 7 |
South Carolina |
11-2 | 1136 | 0 | 7 |
| 8 |
Clemson |
11-2 | 1047 | 0 | 9 |
| 9 |
Louisville |
11-2 | 1010 | 0 | 13 |
| 10 |
Florida |
11-2 | 930 | 0 | 10 |
| 11 |
Notre Dame |
12-1 | 872 | 0 | 3 |
| 12 |
Florida St. |
12-2 | 844 | 0 | 8 |
| 13 |
LSU |
10-3 | 797 | 0 | 12 |
| 14 |
Oklahoma St. |
8-5 | 726 | 0 | NR |
| 15 |
Texas |
9-4 | 622 | 0 | 18 |
| 16 |
Oklahoma |
10-3 | 620 | 0 | 15 |
| 17 |
Michigan |
8-5 | 589 | 0 | NR |
| 18 |
Nebraska |
10-4 | 426 | 0 | 23 |
| 19 |
Boise St. |
11-2 | 420 | 0 | 14 |
| 20 |
TCU |
7-6 | 400 | 0 | NR |
| 21 |
UCLA |
9-5 | 202 | 0 | NR |
| 22 |
Northwestern |
10-3 | 186 | 0 | 16 |
| 23 |
Wisconsin |
8-0 | 172 | 0 | NR |
| 24 |
USC |
7-6 | 165 | 0 | NR |
| 25 |
Oregon St. |
9-4 | 135 | 0 | 19 |
Schools Dropped Out
No. 11 Kansas State (11-2), No. 17 Utah State (11-2), No. 20 Vanderbilt (9-4), No. 21 San Jose State (11-2), No. 22 Cincinnati (10-3), No. 24 Northern Illinois (12-2), No. 25 Tulsa (11-3).
Others Receiving Votes
Kansas State (11-2) 113; Miami (Fla.) 101; Michigan State 89; Baylor 80; Virginia Tech 65; Fresno State 62; Arizona State 51; Mississippi 32; Vanderbilt (9-4) 29; Utah State (11-2) 23; Brigham Young 20; North Carolina 19; Northern Illinois (12-2) 19; Tulsa (11-3) 9; Ohio 8; San Jose State (11-2) 8; Arizona 5; Cincinnati (10-3) 3; East Carolina 3; Kent State 3; Mississippi State 3; Washington 3; Central Florida 2; Arkansas 1; Arkansas State 1; Rutgers 1; Tennessee 1; Toledo 1.
List of Voters
The USA TODAY Sports Board of Coaches is made up of 62 head coaches at Bowl Subdivision schools. All are members of the American Football Coaches Association. The board for the 2013 season: David Bailiff, Rice; Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech; Tim Beckman, Illinois; Bret Bielema, Arkansas; Bill Blankenship, Tulsa; Terry Bowden, Akron; Art Briles, Baylor; Troy Calhoun, Air Force; Matt Campbell, Toledo; Rod Carey, Northern Illinois; Dave Christensen, Wyoming; Dave Clawson, Bowling Green; Larry Coker, Texas-San Antonio; David Cutcliffe, Duke; Mark Dantonio, Michigan State; Tim DeRuyter, Fresno State; Ron English, Eastern Michigan; Larry Fedora, North Carolina; Jimbo Fisher, Florida State; Kyle Flood, Rutgers; Dennis Franchione, Texas State; James Franklin, Vanderbilt; Al Golden, Miami (Fla.); Todd Graham, Arizona State; Jim Grobe, Wake Forest; Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State; Bryan Harsin, Arkansas State; Bobby Hauck, UNLV; Mark Helfrich, Oregon; Brady Hoke, Michigan; Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia; Doc Holliday, Marshall; Mark Hudspeth, Louisiana-Lafayette; Curtis Johnson, Tulane; Joey Jones, South Alabama; June Jones, Southern Methodist; Brian Kelly, Notre Dame; Jerry Kill, Minnesota; Kliff Kingsbury, Texas Tech; Mike Leach, Washington State; Rocky Long, San Diego State; Dan McCarney, North Texas; Bronco Mendenhall, Brigham Young; Urban Meyer, Ohio State; Les Miles, LSU; Ken Niumatalolo, Navy; George OLeary, Central Florida; Bo Pelini, Nebraska; Chris Petersen, Boise State; Mark Richt, Georgia; Mike Riley, Oregon State; Rich Rodriguez, Arizona; Nick Saban, Alabama; Steve Spurrier, South Carolina; Rick Stockstill, Middle Tennessee; Bob Stoops, Oklahoma; Charlie Strong, Louisville; Dabo Swinney, Clemson; Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M; Don Treadwell, Miami (Ohio); Tommy Tuberville, Cincinnati; Kyle Whittingham, Utah. AFCA policy bars schools under major NCAA or conference sanctions from receiving votes.
Source: USA Today, Craig Bennett-Detroit Free Press
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