About two weeks ago, the initial 2017 Amway Coaches Poll was released. No MAC teams were ranked, but Western Michigan and Toledo combined to receive nine votes. This time writers, rather than coaches, assigned numbers to various college football programs.
The AP Poll somehow gave the MAC less respect: zero votes.
The AP Top 25 table is as follows:
| Rank | School (First place votes) | 2016 record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama (53) | 14-1 |
| 2 | Ohio State (3) | 11-2 |
| 3 | Florida State (4) | 10-3 |
| 4 | Southern California (2) | 10-3 |
| 5 | Clemson | 14-1 |
| 6 | Penn State | 11-3 |
| 7 | Oklahoma | 11-2 |
| 8 | Washington | 12-2 |
| 9 | Wisconsin | 11-3 |
| 10 | Oklahoma State | 10-3 |
| 11 | Michigan | 10-3 |
| 12 | Auburn | 8-5 |
| 13 | LSU | 8-4 |
| 14 | Stanford | 10-3 |
| 15 | Georgia | 8-5 |
| 16 | Louisville | 9-4 |
| 17 | Florida | 9-4 |
| 18 | Miami (FL) | 9-4 |
| 19 | South Florida | 11-2 |
| 20 | Kansas State | 9-4 |
| 21 | Virginia Tech | 10-4 |
| 22 | West Virginia | 10-3 |
| 23 | Texas | 5-7 |
| 24 | Washington State | 8-5 |
| 25 | Tennessee | 9-4 |
The others considered include TCU (98), Utah (85), Notre Dame (65), Boise State (37, NC State (26), Northwestern (25), Pittsburgh (23), Oregon (21), Houston (19), Colorado (18), UCLA (9), San Diego State (9), BYU (5), Appalachian State (4), Nebraska (4), Tulsa (4), Kentucky (3), Texas A&M (3) and Michigan State (1).