The Stanford Cardinal ranked 14th in the 2017 edition of the preseason Coaches Poll released on Thursday. Alabama Crimson Tide came in first place, getting 49 first-place votes. Rounding out the Top 5 are Ohio State at No. 2, Florida State at No. 3, USC at No. 4 and the reigning national champs, Clemson, at No. 5.
Stanford of course heads down to Los Angeles for their second game of the season with a chance to knock off early playoff contender USC. The Washington Huskies came in at number seven and the Cardinal will host the Huskies on Friday, November 10th in what could be a top 10 showdown and possibly the de facto Pac-12 North division championship game.