AP top 25 poll: Ole Miss ranked 11th, Alabama No. 1 in preseason poll

Published 9:56 am Sunday, August 21, 2016

Ole Miss came in at No. 11 in the Associated Press preseason top 25 released Sunday.

The Rebels tallied 718 total points from the panel of voters, eight more than No. 12 Michigan State. Ole Miss is one of four Southeastern Conference teams ranked in the top 11, joining No. 9 Tennessee, No. 5 LSU and top-ranked Alabama, the defending national champion.

Rounding out the top 10 are No. 2 Clemson, No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 4 Florida State, No. 6 Ohio State, No. 7 Michigan, No. 8 Stanford and 10th-ranked Notre Dame. Click here to see the complete poll.

Email newsletter signup

It’s the second top-12 preseason ranking for Ole Miss, which was ranked 12th in the Amway Coaches Poll released earlier this month. The Rebels will open the season in Orlando, Florida, with a Labor Day showdown against Florida State (7 p.m., ESPN).

Ole Miss joins Auburn as the only teams that will play three of the AP’s preseason top 5 this season. The Rebels host Alabama on Sept. 17 and travel to LSU on Oct. 22. Their home opener is Sept. 10 against Wofford.

The Rebels were picked to finish behind Alabama and LSU in the Western Division by media members at SEC Media Days last month coming off their first 10-win season since 2003. Quarterback Chad Kelly returns to lead the offense after breaking or tying 14 single-season school records in his first season as the starter, but Ole Miss has to replace first-round draft picks Laremy Tunsil, Robert Nkemdiche and Laquon Treadwell.