The Southeastern Conference, whose teams have won the last six Bowl Championship Series titles, has five of the top 10 teams and leads all conferences with seven teams ranked in the top 25 that was unveiled Thursday. LSU received 18 first-place votes, two fewer than second-place Alabama. Southern California, which received 19 first-place votes, is third. Oklahoma, which opened last season No. 1, and Oregon round out the top five. This the first time since USA TODAY Sports began administering the coaches' poll in 1991 that the No. 1 team in the preseason had fewer first-place votes than the runner-up. The 15-point spread between first and third is also the tightest of any preseason poll in that span.