Wolverines Ranked Fifth in Preseason Associated Press Poll
8/15/1998 12:00:00 AM | Football
Michigan received 1,475 points and four first-place votes from the panel of 70 voters. The Wolverines finished No. 1 in the final 1997 Associated Press poll (Jan. 2) after defeating Washington State (20-16) in the Rose Bowl to complete the year with a 12-0 record.
Big Ten foe Ohio State begins the 1998 season as the consenus preseason No. 1 ranked team. The Buckeyes received 1,668 points and 30 first place votes to edge out No. 2 Florida State by five points. The voting was the second closest in the 48-year history of the AP preseason poll (Florida beat out Notre Dame by two points in 1994). The Seminoles received 1,663 points and 22 first-place votes. Rounding out the Top 5 are No. 3 Florida (1,547 points, five first place) and Nebraska (1,534, four).
The Big Ten Conference is tied with the SEC with five teams ranked in the preseason Top 25. Besides Michigan and Ohio State, the Big Ten is represented by Penn State (13th), Wisconsin (20th) and Michigan State (23rd). The SEC has Florida, Louisiana State, Tennessee, Georgia and Auburn ranked in the Top 25.
Michigan opens its season at No. 22 Notre Dame (Sept. 5) before returning to Ann Arbor for the home opener against No. 17 Syracuse (Sept. 12). They conclude the non-conference schedule versus Eastern Michigan (Sept. 17).
Following is the Associated Press Preseason Top 25.
| School | Points | |
| 1. | Ohio State (30) | 1,668 |
| 2. | Florida State (22) | 1,663 |
| 3. | Florida (5) | 1,547 |
| 4. | Nebraska (4) | 1,534 |
| 5. | Michigan (4) | 1,475 |
| 6. | Kansas State (2) | 1,335 |
| 7. | UCLA (1) | 1,331 |
| 8. | Arizona State (2) | 1,256 |
| 9. | Louisiana State | 1,237 |
| 10. | Tennessee | 1,094 |
| 11. | West Virginia | 985 |
| 12. | North Carolina | 864 |
| 13. | Penn State | 804 |
| 14. | Texas A&M | 760 |
| 15. | Colorado State | 631 |
| 16. | Virginia | 620 |
| 17. | Syracuse | 608 |
| 18. | Washington | 494 |
| 19. | Georgia | 480 |
| 20. | Wisconsin | 444 |
| 21. | Southern Mississippi | 341 |
| 22. | Notre Dame | 291 |
| 23. | Michigan State | 211 |
| 24. | Arizona | 208 |
| 25. | Auburn | 201 |
Contact: David Ablauf (734) 763-4423
