On the heels of a 12-1 season and its first BCS Bowl victory in school history, the Kansas football team is ranked 13th in the nation in the preseason USA Today Coaches’ Poll released Friday.
Kansas returns 15 starters from last year’s team, which defeated Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl and finished the season ranked No. 7 nationally.
Georgia earned the No. 1 spot in Friday’s poll, followed by Southern California, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Florida.
KU will also face five teams also ranked in the poll, including Oklahoma (fourth), Missouri (seventh), Texas (10th), Texas Tech (14th) and South Florida (21). Two teams on the Jayhawks’ schedule – Nebraska and Colorado – also received votes.
This year’s preseason ranking is the fifth in the program’s history and first since 1996, when the Jayhawks were picked 25th.
USA Today Top 25 Preseason Coaches’ Poll
1. Georgia (22)
2. Southern California (14)
3. Ohio State (14)
4. Oklahoma (3)
5. Florida (5)
6. LSU (3)
7. Missouri
8. West Virginia
9. Clemson
10. Texas
11. Auburn
12. Wisconsin
13. Kansas
14. Texas Tech
15. Virginia Tech
16. Arizona State
17. Brigham Young
18. Tennessee
19. Illinois
20. Oregon
21. South Florida
22. Penn State
23. Wake Forest
24. Michigan
25. Fresno State
* First-place votes in parentheses
