Nick Saban’s, Hugh Freeze’s final top 25 ballots revealed; Gus Malzahn has Alabama No. 8
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Nick Saban’s, Hugh Freeze’s final top 25 ballots revealed; Gus Malzahn has Alabama No. 8

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Alabama’s Nick Saban and Auburn’s Hugh Freeze were among the college football coaches who had their ballots for the final Coaches Poll revealed Wednesday.

It’s an interesting look at how coaches across the country navigated the controversy of the College Football Playoff’s final four teams. One-loss Alabama, who fell to eventual champion Michigan in the Rose Bowl, was selected over undefeated Florida State.

Conventional wisdom might have the Tide ranked anywhere from 3-5, depending on one’s opinion of the Tide’s inclusion in the CFP, strength of the conferences and other factors.

The final coaches poll had Alabama No. 5: Michigan, Washington, Georgia, Texas, Alabama, Florida State.

Arkansas State coach Butch Jones ranked Alabama No. 2. Central Florida coach Gus Malzahn ranked the Tide No. 8, which was the lowest of any of the 63 coaches who took part in the poll.

Here is a sampling of where some of the coaches had the Crimson Tide. Included is a coach’s top seven for context. See the full ballots.

Nick Saban, Alabama

  1. Michigan
  2. Washington
  3. Texas
  4. Alabama
  5. Georgia
  6. Oregon
  7. Missouri

Hugh Freeze, Auburn

  1. Michigan
  2. Washington
  3. Texas
  4. Alabama
  5. Georgia
  6. Florida State
  7. Oregon

Kirby Smart, Georgia

  1. Michigan
  2. Washington
  3. Texas
  4. Alabama
  5. Georgia
  6. Florida State
  7. Oregon

Terry Bowden, Louisiana-Monroe

  1. Michigan
  2. Washington
  3. Georgia
  4. Oregon
  5. Missouri
  6. Mississippi
  7. Alabama

Dino Babers, Syracuse

  1. Michigan
  2. Washington
  3. Georgia
  4. Florida State
  5. Oregon
  6. Texas
  7. Alabama

Eliah Drinkwitz, Missouri

  1. Michigan
  2. Washington
  3. Georgia
  4. Texas
  5. Alabama
  6. Florida State
  7. Missouri

Butch Jones, Arkansas State

  1. Michigan
  2. Alabama
  3. Washington
  4. Texas
  5. Georgia
  6. Oregon
  7. Florida State

Gus Malzahn, Central Florida

  1. Michigan
  2. Washington
  3. Georgia
  4. Florida State
  5. Texas
  6. Missouri
  7. Oregon
  8. Alabama

Mark Stoops, Kentucky

  1. Michigan
  2. Washington
  3. Georgia
  4. Texas
  5. Alabama
  6. Oregon
  7. Missouri

Jon Sumrall, Troy

  1. Michigan
  2. Washington
  3. Texas
  4. Alabama
  5. Georgia
  6. Florida State
  7. Missouri