AUBURN AUTHORITY

Auburn, Alabama ranked in top five of preseason Amway Coaches Poll

James Crepea
Montgomery Advertiser
Auburn coach Gus Malzahn's squad opens the season No. 5 in the Amway Coaches Poll.

AUBURN -- Auburn and Alabama will both open the season in the top five of the Amway Coaches Poll, which was released Thursday.

Auburn, the reigning SEC Champions, came in at No. 5 and received 1,271 points in the preseason poll, just ahead of No. 6 Ohio State (1,267) and not far behind No. 4 Oregon (1,314).

Defending champion Florida State (1,543), who defeated Auburn 34-31 in the BCS National Championship, received 56 of 62 First Place votes, with No. 3 Oklahoma (1,382) receiving three votes and Oregon, Ohio State and No. 9 South Carolina each receiving one.

Alabama opens at No. 2 with 1,455 points, but did not receive any First Place votes in the poll.

The in-state rivals are two of seven SEC teams represented in the poll, with South Carolina, Georgia (12), LSU (13), Ole Miss (19) and Texas A&M (20) also ranked. Missouri (26), Florida (27) and Mississippi State (29) came in just outside the top 25.

Auburn is coming off a 12-2 season and opens the season against Arkansas on Aug. 30.

Alabama went 11-2 last season and lost to Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl. The Crimson Tide open against West Virginia in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff game at the Georgia Dome.

The Tigers brings back starting quarterback Nick Marshall, who is the first returning signal caller in coach Gus Malzahn's eight-year tenure as a college coach.

Marshall, widely considered a Heisman Trophy candidate and a preseason First Team All-SEC selection, threw for 1,976 yards and 14 touchdown with 1,068 rushing yards and 12 scores last season.

He is facing an uncertain punishment from Malzahn stemming from his citation for possession of marijuana earlier this month. The case closed last week after Marshall's mother paid his roughly $1,100 fine.