For the second straight year, Alabama is the No. 1 team in the Associated Press preseason poll.
Released Monday morning, the Crimson Tide received 52 of the 61 first place votes.
Florida State, Alabama's first opponent on Sept. 2, was No. 3 in the AP poll behind Ohio State.
Alabama was already ranked No. 1 by the coaches poll released earlier in August.
Nick Saban has railed against preseason expectations from the media a few times already this August.
"You guys make all these predictions about everything," Saban said last Wednesday, "about guys who are going to be great players who have been here for two years, who's going to win all the games. I don't even know why we play. Why do we even play? Why do we even have practice? Why do we compete. Why do we coach guys? Why do we even need to improve? You guys have all the answers to how guys are going to be, what they're going to do."
A year ago, Alabama received 33 first-place votes nose out eventual national champion Clemson in the AP preseason poll.
AP poll
1. Alabama (52) 1,513
2. Ohio State (3) 1,414
3. Florida State (4) 1,396
4. USC (2) 1,325
5. Clemson 1,201
6. Penn State 1,196
7. Oklahoma 1,170
8. Washington 1,150
9. Wisconsin 926
10. Oklahoma State
11. Michigan 881
12. Auburn 880
13. LSU 784
14. Stanford 695
15. Georgia 690
16. Louisville 629
17. Florida 624
18. Miami 492
19. South Florida 327
20 Kansas State 317
21. Virginia 240
22. West Virginia 18
23. Texas 173
24. Washington State 133
25. Tennessee 114