College football Top 25 preseason Coaches Poll mirrors William Hill title favorites in first 6 spots

In 2019, the Clemson Tigers were coming off a national championship and were ranked No. 1 in the Top 25 preseason Coaches Poll for the first time in school history. The Tigers of course made it back to the College Football Playoff title game but were routed by LSU. The 2020 preseason Coaches Poll was released Thursday and Dabo Swinney's crew is again No. 1. The Tigers received 38 of the 65 first-place votes.

The Coaches Poll mirrors the William Hill sportsbook odds to win the national title at the top. Clemson is the +250 favorite on the moneyline, with Ohio State No. 2 at +320, Alabama third at +500, Georgia fourth at +800, LSU fifth at +1000 and Oklahoma sixth at +1800. The Buckeyes, Tide, Dawgs, Tigers and Sooners are in those same spots in the poll.

The first difference is with Penn State at No. 7 in the poll but tied for the 11th-shortest odds to win the national championship at +4000. The Nittany Lions reportedly will lose their best returning defensive player, linebacker Micah Parsons, to an opt out of this season.

Parsons was a consensus All-American last year, first-team All-Big Ten and the first sophomore to ever win the Big Ten Linebacker of the Year Award. Parsons had 109 tackles, five sacks, five pass deflections, four forced fumbles and one recovery. Pro Football Focus had Parsons as the nation's highest-graded run defender last season.

The school with the shortest national title odds not in the Top 25 is Miami (Fla.), with the Hurricanes at +6000 on the futures odds. UM took a big hit Thursday with superstar pass-rusher Gregory Rousseau, a likely Top 10 pick in next year's draft, opt out. The only non-Power 5 schools in the Top 25 are AAC members Central Florida and Cincinnati. 

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