While Bryce Young and CJ Stroud are the front-runners for the Heisman, Dan Wolken and Paul Myerberg share some darkhorse contenders. USA TODAY Preseason polls aren’t necessarily reliable predictors of any particular team’s success. They should rather be considered more as general perceptions of the state of the programs. Of course, those perceptions will change as the actual college football season unfolds, but the arrival of the top seed always helps fuel anticipation for the games ahead. It’s in that spirit of anticipation that we present the USA TODAY Sports AFCA Preseason Coaches Poll. It should come as no surprise that some familiar names will be at the top heading into the 2022 season. Perennial playoff contender Alabama will open as the No. 1 seed. The Crimson Tide, who received 54 of 66 first-place votes, enter the season as the No. 1 team for the seventh time in 13 years. However, this may be unwelcome news to Bama fans, as the Crimson Tide finished as national champions in just one of those past six seasons when they opened at No. 1. Ohio State will open with the No. 2 ranking. The Buckeyes received five first-place votes and finished just ahead of defending champion Georgia. The Bulldogs collected six No. 1 votes after their long-awaited national title, but this year they will start third. Clemson and Notre Dame round out the top five. The Tigers, hoping to rebound from a 10-3 record last season, earned their lowest ranking in the preseason poll since 2017. TOP 25: The complete USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches preseason poll OUTLOOK: A closer look at each team in the college football preseason poll SNUBS: Five teams that should have been included in the preseason poll OVERRATED: Five teams in the preseason poll that were picked too high Michigan, the defending Big Ten champion and playoff participant last season, will start at No. 6, followed by another SEC challenger, Texas A&M. Utah, coming off its historic Pac-12 title campaign, starts at No. 8, its highest seed ever. The Big 12 is in contention for the next three spots, though No. 9 Oklahoma’s preseason ranking is its lowest since 2015 and No. 10 Baylor’s is its highest since 2014. Oklahoma State rounds out the Big 12 trio checking in at No. 11. The three SEC candidates in the top 10 are joined by No. 21 Kentucky, No. 23 Arkansas and No. 24 Mississippi to give the conference six total ranked members to lead the poll. The Wildcats, better known for their prowess in another sport, have their highest preseason ranking in program history. Perpetual contender LSU, on the other hand, will open the campaign outside the Top 25 for the first time since 2000. The ACC is next with five ranked teams, with No. 13 North Carolina State and No. 19 Wake Forest claiming the highest preseason rankings and defending league champion Pittsburgh getting the highest starting position at No. 16 since 2010. The Big Ten and Big 12 each have four ranked teams. The Pac-12 has three, and the American has a pair with No. 22 Cincinnati along with No. 25 Houston. Notre Dame is the only ranked independent as Brigham Young finishes fourth among others in receiving votes.