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The West Virginia Mountaineers will enter the 2018 season in similar fashion to that of 2017 - ranked No. 20 in the country in the preseason Amway Coaches Poll. The Mountaineers appear as the third ranked Big 12 Conference squad, behind the No. 5 Oklahoma Sooners and No. 16 TCU Horned Frogs. They’re joined by the No. 21 Texas Longhorns and No. 25 Oklahoma State Cowboys to round out the poll, which means West Virginia’s entire November schedule is ranked heading into the season - or as we’ll now refer to it: Deathvember.
Unlike 2017, the Mountaineers will have to wait at least until the third week of the season before they run up on a ranked foe, as the Tennessee Volunteers fail to appear in the “others receiving votes” category. The N.C. State Wolfpack fall in at No. 36 with 22 votes.
2018 Preseason Amway Coaches Poll
| Ranking | Team | 2017 Record | Points | Previous Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranking | Team | 2017 Record | Points | Previous Ranking |
| 1 | Alabama Crimson Tide | 13-1 | 1621 (61) | 1 |
| 2 | Clemson Tigers | 12-2 | 1557 (3) | 4 |
| 3 | Ohio State Buckeyes | 12-2 | 1458 (1) | 5 |
| 4 | Georgia Bulldogs | 13-2 | 1452 | 3 |
| 5 | Oklahoma Sooners | 12-2 | 1288 | 3 |
| 6 | Washington Huskies | 10-3 | 1245 | 15 |
| 7 | Wisconsin Badgers | 13-1 | 1243 | 6 |
| 8 | Miami Hurricanes | 10-3 | 1091 | 13 |
| 9 | Penn Sate Nittany Lions | 11-2 | 1050 | 8 |
| 10 | Auburn Tigers | 10-4 | 1004 | 12 |
| 11 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | 10-3 | 892 | 11 |
| 12 | Michigan State Spartans | 10-3 | 870 | 16 |
| 13 | Stanford Cardinal | 9-5 | 768 | 19 |
| 14 | Michigan Wolverines | 8-5 | 752 | NR |
| 15 | USC Trojans | 11-3 | 691 | 10 |
| 16 | TCU Horned Frogs | 11-3 | 530 | 9 |
| 17 | Virginia Tech Hokies | 9-4 | 524 | 25 |
| 18 | Mississippi State Bulldogs | 9-4 | 407 | 20 |
| 19 | Florida State Seminoles | 7-6 | 328 | NR |
| 20 | West Virginia Mountaineers | 7-6 | 310 | NR |
| 21 | Texas Longhorns | 7-6 | 265 | NR |
| 22 | Boise State Broncos | 11-3 | 261 | 22 |
| 23 | UCF Golden Knights | 13-0 | 259 | 7 |
| 24 | LSU Tigers | 9-4 | 254 | 18 |
| 25 | Oklahoma State Cowboys | 10-3 | 168 | 14 |
Other receiving votes: South Carolina (9-4) 138; Florida (4-7) 135; Oregon (7-6) 105; Utah (7-6) 81; Northwestern (10-3) 67; Texas A&M (7-6) 67; Kansas State (8-5) 35; Florida Atlantic (11-3) 27; Boston College (7-6) 23; Memphis (10-3) 23; North Carolina State (9-4) 22; Arkansas State (7-5) 19; Troy (11-2) 19; Appalachian State (9-4) 16; San Diego State (10-3) 15; Iowa (8-5) 8; Iowa State (8-5) 8; Kentucky (7-6) 8; Washington State (9-4) 7; South Florida (10-2) 6; Duke (7-6) 5; Fresno State (10-4) 4; Louisville (8-5) 3; Arizona (7-6) 2; Houston (7-5) 2; Army (10-3) 1; Northern Illinois (8-5) 1.