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The West Virginia Mountaineers will start the Neal Brown era off ranked just outside the top 25 teams in the country, according to the preseason Amway Coaches Poll. The Mountaineers come in at No. 39, receiving 24 votes. Early predictions and projections from different outlets have West Virginia winning anywhere from 3 to 7 games in 2019, so the fact that the Mountaineers have even landed in the Others Receiving Votes category comes as a surprise to many fans.
The Big 12 Conference will have three teams inside the Top 25 when the season kicks off in 30 days, with the Oklahoma Sooners leading the way at No. 4. The Texas Longhorns come in at No. 10, while the Iowa State Cyclones slide their way in at No. 24. West Virginia is joined in receiving votes by the TCU Horned Frogs (63), Oklahoma State (20) and the Baylor Bears (4).
West Virginia’s week 2 opponent, the N.C. State Wolfpack, received 12 votes.
2019 Amway Preseason Coaches Poll
| Rank | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Rank | Team | Points |
| 1 | Clemson (59) | 1619 |
| 2 | Alabama (6) | 1566 |
| 3 | Georgia | 1447 |
| 4 | Oklahoma | 1415 |
| 5 | Ohio State | 1368 |
| 6 | Louisiana State | 1218 |
| 7 | Michigan | 1155 |
| 8 | Florida | 1103 |
| 9 | Notre Dame | 1100 |
| 10 | Texas | 1038 |
| 11 | Texas A&M | 893 |
| 12 | Washington | 834 |
| 13 | Oregon | 787 |
| 14 | Penn State | 699 |
| 15 | Utah | 642 |
| 16 | Auburn | 606 |
| 17 | Wisconsin | 436 |
| 17 | Central Florida | 436 |
| 19 | Iowa | 343 |
| 20 | Michigan State | 313 |
| 21 | Washington State | 274 |
| 22 | Syracuse | 227 |
| 23 | Stanford | 200 |
| 24 | Iowa State | 169 |
| 25 | Northwestern | 161 |
Others Receiving Votes: Nebraska 152; Boise State 118; Mississippi State 111; Miami 94; Army 91; Kentucky 79; Virginia Tech 64; Texas Christian 63; Southern California 47; Utah State 32; Fresno State 32; Virginia 30; Cincinnati 25; West Virginia 24; Memphis 24; Oklahoma State 20; South Carolina 15; NC State 12; Duke 10; Boston College 5; Florida State 4; Baylor 4; Appalachian State 4; North Texas 3; Houston 3; UCLA 2; Temple 2; Arizona State 2; Troy 1; Tennessee 1; Mississippi 1; Minnesota 1.