As we get closer and closer to the 2016 college football season, you might need to start getting used to preseason Top 25 lists that look at lot like this one.
Stewart Mandel of Fox Sports released his Top 25 on Wednesday, and to no surprise, Alabama is the No. 1 team on the list. "Alabama may be my preseason No. 1 every year until Nick Saban leaves or has a down season," Mandel says, as the Crimson Tide look for their fifth national title under Saban.
The teams that come after Alabama, though, is where you get a real sense of two conferences taking precedent over everyone else. Florida State and Clemson follow at Nos. 2 and 3, and LSU rounds out the Top 4. Both the ACC and the SEC claimed three spots in the Top 10, as both Tennessee (No. 9) and Louisville (No. 10) garnered high rankings.
This list is the latest example of pundits around college football expecting a big year from the ACC's top teams. Some have even gone as far as to predict that the ACC will become the first conference to land two teams in the College Football Playoff.
RELATED: Pro Football Focus releases an unconventional preseason Top 25
Out of Mandel's Top 25, the SEC and ACC led the way with six selections each, which includes Notre Dame as ACC since they play a five-game ACC schedule. The Pac-12 was the next conference in line with five selections, although none of theirs made the Top 10. Considering that the Pac-12 was left out of last year's Playoff, that kind of parity wouldn't speak well to their chances this season.
Houston was the only non-Power 5 team on the list, checking in at No. 20.
For the full list, click here. The Top 10 are listed below.
1. Alabama
2. Florida State
3. Clemson
4. LSU
5. Oklahoma
6. TCU
7. Ohio State
8. Michigan
9. Tennessee
10. Louisville
