The preseason Amway Coaches Poll was released Thursday, placing Ohio State as the No. 3 team in the country behind No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Clemson.
Last season, Ohio State was the No. 2 team in the preseason coaches poll behind the Crimson Tide. The Buckeyes finished as Big Ten champions, but were the No. 5 team in the nation at the end of the season, defeating No. 10 USC in the 2018 Cotton Bowl.
Ohio State is one of five teams from the Big Ten in the 2018 preseason poll and one of three teams in the Top 10 with Wisconsin being placed at No. 7 and Penn State being placed at No. 9.
Also, TCU, who will play the Buckeyes on Sept. 15 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, was ranked at No. 16 team in the nation in the preseason poll.
This poll was released one day after Ohio State announced that it has put its head coach, Urban Meyer, on paid administrative leave as the school investigates allegations made that he knew about domestic violence cases involving former wide receiver coach and recruiting coordinator Zach Smith.
Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Ryan Day has been named as the acting head coach as the investigation continues.
2018 Preseason Amway Coaches Poll
No. 1 Alabama
No. 2 Clemson
No. 3 Ohio State
No. 4 Georgia
No. 5 Oklahoma
No. 6 Washington
No. 7 Wisconsin
No. 8 Miami
No. 9 Penn State
No. 10 Auburn
No. 11 Notre Dame
No. 12 Michigan State
No. 13 Stanford
No. 14 Michigan
No. 15 USC
No. 16 TCU
No. 17 Virginia Tech
No. 18 Mississippi State
No. 19 Florida State
No. 20 West Virginia
No. 21 Texas
No. 22 Boise State
No. 23 Central Florida
No. 24 LSU
No. 25 Oklahoma State