Arkansas did not make the Associated Press preseason top 25 poll released on Sunday, but the Razorbacks will face s̶i̶x̶ five* of the teams that did, including top-ranked Alabama.
F̶i̶v̶e̶ Four* of Arkansas 12 regular-season opponents are among the top 13 of the poll, starting with a Week 2 matchup against No. 13 TCU in Fort Worth.
In SEC games, Arkansas plays No. 1 Alabama, the defending College Football Playoff champion, No. 4 LSU and No. 11 Ole Miss from their own Western Division and defending SEC East champion and No. 25 Florida.
All four of those games are scheduled to be played at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
The Razorbacks received 14 points in the poll, placing them 35th among teams receiving votes. Texas A&M was 27th in votes with 81, while Auburn received 22 votes and was 33rd. Mississippi State was the only team from the SEC West not to receive a vote.
Arkansas, coming off an 8-5 record and a 5-3 mark in SEC play, opens the season at Reynolds Razorback Stadium on Sept. 3 against Louisiana Tech.
In at least one way, the preseason poll picks up where the 2015 season ended, with Alabama and Clemson ranking 1-2.
The Crimson Tide are No. 1 in The Associated Press preseason Top 25 for the fifth time overall and third time under coach Nick Saban.
The Tide received 33 of 61 first-place votes from the media panel and 1,469 points in the poll. No. 2 Clemson, which lost to Alabama in January in the championship game, received 16 first-place votes and 1,443 points.
It's the first time since 1992 that the teams that ended the previous season at Nos. 1 and 2 in the AP poll began the next season in the same spots. Miami and Washington did it that season.
No. 3 Oklahoma received four first-place votes. No. 4 Florida State had five first-place votes. No. 5 LSU, No. 6 Ohio State and No. 7 Michigan all received one first-place vote.
A year after Ohio State became the first unanimous preseason No. 1 in the history of the AP poll, seven teams received first-place votes, the most in the preseason since 1998.
Stanford is No. 8, followed by No. 9 Tennessee and No. 10 Notre Dame.
Alabama has won an unprecedented four national championships in the past seven seasons, but none has come when the Tide started No. 1 (2010 and 2013). The last preseason No. 1 to win the national championship was Southern California in 2004. Alabama is the fourth consecutive defending champ to start the next season No. 1.
"It's basically human condition to get satisfied with success," said Alabama Coach Nick Saban, the 64-year-old who is 105-18 at Alabama. "There's a lot of books written on how to be successful. There's not a lot of books written on how to stay successful."
The Tide must replace Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry and defensive All-Americans Reggie Ragland and A'Shawn Robinson and will be breaking in a new quarterback.
In Calvin Ridley, Alabama has one of the nation's best receivers, and linebacker Reuben Foster and pass rusher Tim Williams will anchor another potentially dominant defense.
Clemson returns quarterback Deshaun Watson, a Heisman finalist whose 2016 season essentially started with a magnificent performance against Alabama in the championship game, and nine other offensive starters. The Tigers face tough opposition in their own division with Florida State.
The Tigers and Seminoles give the Atlantic Coast Conference two top five teams in the preseason poll for the first time in the history of the conference.
Sports on 08/22/2016
*CORRECTION: Arkansas is scheduled to play five teams in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll that appeared in Monday’s editions. The Razorbacks will play four teams in the top 13. This story about the poll incorrectly listed the number of ranked opponents Arkansas will be facing.