Poll position: Ohio State voted unanimous No. 1 in AP top 25

With the college football season beginning in less than two weeks, the Associated Press poll was released for the first time on Sunday, with the Ohio State Buckeyes voted as the unanimous No. 1 team in the country.

The Buckeyes are the first team ever to be named the unanimous preseason No. 1 selection by the AP. Since 1950, when the preseason rankings were released for the first time, no team had received more than 97 percent of the first-place votes. That all changed on Sunday.

The defending national champions received all 61 first-place votes, while TCU, Alabama, Baylor, and Michigan State rounded out the top five. Besides Ohio State and Michigan State, the only other Big Ten team ranked in the top 25 was Wisconsin at No. 20.

There may be a quarterback competition, but the AP voters indicated that they consider the scarlet and gray the best team in the country no matter who starts behind center.

This is the 27th straight year the Buckeyes have been ranked in the preseason AP top 25; they have been voted in the top 10 in 10 of the last 13 years. This is the first time since 2006 that OSU was voted No. 1 in the preseason, and the eighth time overall.

Ohio State was No. 5 in the polls before last season, though that was before Braxton Miller, who has since changed position from quarterback to wide receiver, went down with a season-ending shoulder injury on August 18.

Faced with four suspensions for the season opener at Virginia Tech on Labor Day, the top ranked Buckeyes carry high expectations into the 2015 season, including being double-digit favorites in every regular season game.