This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The preseason edition of the Coaches Poll Top 25 was released Thursday morning and half of the Pac-12 conference made the list.
Leading the way at fourth overall was Oregon, trailing only Florida State, Alabama and Oklahoma, with what should be an explosive offense under Heisman contender Marcus Mariota.
UCLA comes in at seventh overall, the only other team in the top-10 of the list. Defending Pac-12 champions Stanford fell to 11th overall, with USC and new coach Steve Sarkisian following closely behind at 15th overall.
Rounding out the group are Arizona State at 18th and Washington at 25th, a nod to what new coach Chris Petersen may do with some developing Huskies talent.
Utah will play five of the six Pac-12 teams ranked in the Top 25 this season.
Whittingham: A man of few words
College football media days have come and gone, with coaches and players talking up their team's chances all over the country in the last few weeks.
However, some coaches liked to hear themselves talk more than others.
Based on media day transcripts, USC's Steve Sarkisian led the way in a very verbose conference at Pac-12 Media Day, speaking 6,100 words, beating the next closest contender in Arkansas' Brett Bielema by 1,181 words.
As for the quietest at Pac-12 Media Day, it was Utah's Kyle Whittingham, who uttered only 3,355 words. Still, Whittingham beat the quietest coach in the land, Iowa's Kirk Ferentz, by 2,247 words.
Anderson the lone Utah player in Pac-12 Top 25
With five players remaining in the ESPN Pac-12 blog's top 25 conference player countdown, Utes receiver Dres Anderson is the only Utah player to make it.
Weighing in at No. 24, Anderson may end up the only Ute on the list.
The Pac-12's returning leading receiver with just over 87 yards per game will be a deep threat once again in the downfield passing attack and could assume the mantle of departed players like Brandin Cooks and Paul Richardson.
Twitter: @BrennanJSmith Top 25 Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Florida State
2. Alabama
3. Oklahoma
4. Oregon
5. Auburn
6. Ohio State
7. UCLA
8. Michigan State
9. South Carolina
10. Baylor
11. Stanford
12. Georgia
13. LSU
14. Wisconsin
15. USC
16. Clemson
17. Notre Dame
18. Arizona State
19. Ole Miss
20. Texas A&M
21. Kansas State
22. Nebraska
23. North Carolina
24. Texas
25. Washington