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For the third consecutive year, the West Virginia Mountaineers will begin their upcoming season unranked.
Although West Virginia was left out of the AP Top 25, which was released earlier this afternoon, the Mountaineers still received one vote in the poll. Ryan Pritt of the Charleston Gazette-Mail selected the Mountaineers as the 23rd best team in the country in his preseason ballot, landing West Virginia near the end of the “others receiving votes” category at No. 41 overall.
There are just three Big 12 teams ranked in the preseason top 25. Oklahoma is ranked second in the nation, followed by Iowa State at No. 7 and the Texas Longhorns at No. 21. Oklahoma State and TCU landed just outside of the top 25 at No. 26 and No. 28, respectively.
The Mountaineers are unlikely to face a ranked team until their September 25th matchup with the aforementioned No. 2 ranked Sooners. Non-conference opponents Maryland and Virginia Tech did not receive a vote in the poll.
AP Top 25 — College Football 2021 (Preseason)
| Rank | School | Conference | Previous | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | School | Conference | Previous | Previous |
| 1 | Alabama | SEC | 1 | 1548 (47) |
| 2 | Oklahoma | Big 12 | 6 | 1462 (6) |
| 3 | Clemson | ACC | 3 | 1447 (6) |
| 4 | Ohio State | Big Ten | 2 | 1393 (1) |
| 5 | Georgia | SEC | 7 | 1364 (3) |
| 6 | Texas A&M | SEC | 4 | 1223 |
| 7 | Iowa State | Big 12 | 9 | 1160 |
| 8 | Cincinnati | AAC | 8 | 1014 |
| 9 | Notre Dame | Independent | 5 | 1009 |
| 10 | North Carolina | ACC | 18 | 999 |
| 11 | Oregon | Pac-12 | UR | 968 |
| 12 | Wisconsin | Big Ten | UR | 743 |
| 13 | Florida | SEC | 13 | 728 |
| 14 | Miami | ACC | 22 | 663 |
| 15 | USC | Pac-12 | 21 | 660 |
| 16 | LSU | SEC | UR | 631 |
| 17 | Indiana | Big Ten | 12 | 549 |
| 18 | Iowa | Big Ten | 16 | 513 |
| 19 | Penn State | Big Ten | UR | 456 |
| 20 | Washington | Pac-12 | UR | 449 |
| 21 | Texas | Big 12 | 19 | 350 |
| 22 | Coastal Carolina | Sun Belt | 14 | 232 |
| 23 | Louisiana-Lafayette | Sun Belt | 15 | 208 |
| 24 | Utah | Pac-12 | UR | 176 |
| 25 | Arizona State | Pac-12 | UR | 125 |
Others receiving votes:
Oklahoma State 107, Ole Miss 106, TCU 40, Liberty 36, Auburn 32, North Carolina State 14, Michigan 12, Northwestern 8, Boise State 7, Nevada 7, Brigham Young 6, Ball State 6, Houston 5, Boston College 5, UCF 5, West Virginia 3, UAB 2, Army 2, UCLA 2