Northwestern will have some work to do if they wish to climb into the AP Top 25 Poll, as they currently sit outside the rankings at No. 33.
The poll is led by the usual suspects with Alabama at No. 1, Oklahoma at No. 2, Clemson at No. 3, Ohio State at No. 4 and Georgia at No. 5.
Other Big Ten schools to make the poll were Wisconsin at No. 12, Indiana at No. 17, Iowa at No. 18 and Penn State at No. 19.
The Wildcats received eight votes in the preseason poll.
The AP Poll has been part of the game since Oct. 19, 1936, and the preseason poll started in 1950 when a national group of sports writers and broadcasters voted weekly on ranking the best teams in college football.
FOX College Football took to Twitter to ask if the Crimson Tide will have what it takes to go wire-to-wire as collegiate champions.
They wrote, “Only 3 teams ranked No. 1 in the Preseason AP Poll have won the National Championship over the last 25 years. Will @AlabamaFTBL do it again this season?”
Head coach Pat Fitzgerald said the program had the highest graduation rate in the country, and that they were excited to get the season started.
“These are exciting times in Evanston with two out of the last three years to be Big Ten West champs,” he said during Big Ten Media Day, “to have two first round draft picks last year that we are incredibly proud of and have three guys drafted.”
Fitzgerald said the key to the Wildcats’ season would hinge on getting consistent play out of the quarterback position, the school said.
“Quarterback play, just like all the 13 other head coaches here, we have to be consistent there. We weren’t in ’19 and it showed. We were in ’18 and ’20, and it gave us a chance to get here to Indianapolis (Big 10 Championship Game).”
Hunter Johnson will be the starting quarterback for the Wildcats as Northwestern looks to build on its 7-2 overall record last season, along with going 6-1 in the Big 10.
The Wildcats will start the season Sept. 3 at home against Michigan State.
| RANK | TEAM |
| 1 | Alabama |
| 2 | Oklahoma |
| 3 | Clemson |
| 4 | Ohio State |
| 5 | Georgia |
| 6 | Texas A&M |
| 7 | Iowa State |
| 8 | Cincinnati |
| 9 | Norte Dame |
| 10 | North Carolina |
| 11 | Oregon |
| 12 | Wisconsin |
| 13 | Florida |
| 14 | Miami |
| 15 | USC |
| 16 | LSU |
| 17 | Indiana |
| 18 | Iowa |
| 19 | Penn State |
| 20 | Washington |
| 21 | Texas |
| 22 | Costal Carolina |
| 23 | Louisiana-Lafayette |
| 24 | Utah |
| 25 | Arizona State |
| SOURCE: Associated Press | |
