Where Alabama football, Nick Saban are ranked in preseason AP Top 25 poll

Alabama football is ranked No. 4 in the preseason AP Top 25 poll released Monday.

Georgia holds the No. 1 spot while Michigan, Ohio State and LSU (No. 5) round out the top five. The Crimson Tide did not get any first-place votes.

Alabama is one of six SEC schools ranked with Georgia, LSU, No. 12 Tennessee, No. 22 Ole Miss and No. 23 Texas A&M. South Carolina was the second team out.

A season ago, the Crimson Tide and Nick Saban were ranked No. 1 in the preseason poll. Alabama finished the 2022 season in the No. 5 spot.

The Crimson Tide was ranked No. 3 in the preseason USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll Top 25 that was released a week ago.

Saban is entering his 17th season coaching the Crimson Tide, fresh off a season in which Alabama missed the College Football Playoff for only the second time in its history. The Crimson Tide won the Sugar Bowl, though.

Alabama will have to replace quarterback Bryce Young and edge rusher Will Anderson Jr., two of the top three picks in the 2023 NFL Draft. Dallas Turner and Chris Braswell figure to be at the front of the line to fill in the spot for Anderson, but the quarterback who will take over from Young is being decided over the final weeks of preseason practices.

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Nick Kelly covers Alabama football and men's basketball for The Tuscaloosa News/USA TODAY Network. Reach him via email: nkelly@gannett.com. Follow him on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter: @_NickKelly.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: AP Top 25: Where Alabama football, Nick Saban are ranked in preseason