Coaches Rank Wolverines Fifth Heading Into 1998 Season
8/6/1998 12:00:00 AM | Football
Ohio State snagged the top spot in the coaches' poll with 1,465 points and 31 first place votes. They out-distanced preseason No. 2 Florida State who collected 1,447 points and 10 first place votes. The Wolverines enter the season No. 5 in the minds of the coaches' voting panel. U-M received four first-place votes and 1,309 points, also trailing No. 3 Nebraska (1,372) and No. 4 Florida (1,346).
Five Big Ten teams (Ohio State, Michigan, No. 13 Penn State, No. 20 Wisconsin and No. 23 Michigan State) made the coaches' poll top 25. Two of the Wolverines other non-conference opponents (No. 14 Syracuse and No. 24 Notre Dame) also rank among the Top 25.
Following is the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Preseason Poll.
| | Team | Points |
| 1. | Ohio State | 1,465 (31) |
| 2. | Florida State | 1,447 (10) |
| 3. | Nebraska | 1,372 (12) |
| 4. | Florida | 1,346 (1) |
| 5. | Michigan | 1,309 (4) |
| 6. | Kansas State | 1,205 (1) |
| 7. | UCLA | 1,139 (3) |
| 8. | Louisiana State | 1,062 |
| 9. | Arizona State | 993 |
| 10. | Tennessee | 934 |
| 11. | North Carolina | 778 |
| 12. | West Virginia | 738 |
| 13. | Penn State | 725 |
| 14. | Syracuse | 662 |
| 15. | Texas A&M | 600 |
| 16. | Colorado State | 543 |
| 17. | Washington | 506 |
| 18. | Georgia | 448 |
| 19. | Virginia | 427 |
| 20. | Wisconsin | 344 |
| 21. | Southern Mississippi | 271 |
| 22. | Auburn | 222 |
| 23. | Michigan State | 211 |
| 24. | Notre Dame | 206 |
| 25. | Arizona | 180 |
( ) denotes first place votes received
Contact: David Ablauf, Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423
