STARKVILLE — Embracing expectations has been a common theme since Joe Moorhead took over as Mississippi State’s head coach.

Those expectations just got a whole lot bigger.

Mississippi State is ranked No. 18 in the preseason Amway Coaches Top 25 poll released Thursday. It’s the program’s highest preseason ranking since it was No. 15 in 1981.

It’s only the fifth time since 1975, and first since 2011, that the Bulldogs are ranked entering the season.
The Bulldogs garnered 407 points and were the fourth-highest ranked Southeastern Conference team behind No. 1 Alabama, No. 4 Georgia and No. 10 Auburn.

LSU, at No. 24, was the only other ranked SEC team, although South Carolina and Florida were the top two teams just outside the Top 25. In all, nine SEC schools received votes.

Dating back to last season, it’s the eighth straight week that Mississippi State has been ranked. It finished the 2017 campaign at No. 20 in the coaches poll and returns 18 starters from that squad, which finished 9-4.

The Associated Press Preseason Top 25 will be released on Aug. 20.
Defending national champion Alabama is a unanimous No. 1 in the coaches’ poll, with Clemson No. 2 and Ohio State No. 3.

The Crimson Tide received 61 first-place votes. This marks the ninth consecutive year it is ranked in the top three heading in the preseason.

Alabama won its fifth national championship under coach Nick Saban last season, beating Georgia in overtime of the College Football Playoff national title game.

Georgia is ranked fourth by the coaches and Oklahoma is fifth. Rounding out the top 10 are Washington, Wisconsin, Miami, Penn State and Auburn.

Amway Top 25 Coaches Poll
The preseason Amway Top 25 football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, 2017 records, total points based on 25 points for first place through one point for 25th, and final ranking:
Record Pts Pvs
1. Alabama (61) 13-1 1621 1
2. Clemson (3) 12-2 1547 4
3. Ohio St. (1) 12-2 1458 5
4. Georgia 13-2 1452 2
5. Oklahoma 12-2 1288 3
6. Washington 10-3 1245 15
7. Wisconsin 13-1 1243 6
8. Miami (Fla.) 10-3 1091 13
9. Penn St. 11-2 1050 8
10. Auburn 10-4 1004 12
11. Notre Dame 10-3 892 11
12. Michigan St. 10-3 870 16
13. Stanford 9-5 768 19
14. Michigan 8-5 752 NR
15. Southern Cal 11-3 691 10
16. TCU 11-3 530 9
17. Va. Tech 9-4 524 25
18. Mississippi St. 9-4 407 20
19. Florida St. 7-6 328 NR
20. W. Virginia 7-6 310 NR
21. Texas 7-6 265 NR
22. Boise St. 11-3 261 22
23. Central Florida 13-0 259 7
24. LSU 9-4 254 18
25. Oklahoma St. 10-3 168 14
Others receiving votes: South Carolina 138; Florida 135; Oregon 105; Utah 81; Northwestern 67; Texas A&M 67; Kansas St. 35; Florida Atlantic 27; Boston College 23; Memphis 23; North Carolina St. 22