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The Tide Enters 2010 on Top

There's no doubt that all the pollsters have Alabama as the No. 1 pick for start of the 2010 season. There's good reason for this since coach Nick Saban has many returning guns and one of the best recruiting classes in the program's history. Saban has his team rolling in at first in all pre-season Associated Press polls – the first time since going back to 1978. Bama received 54 first-place votes out of a possible 60 outdistancing runner up Ohio State by 1,491 points. The Buckeyes received only three first-place votes and Boise State came in third. Perennial SEC for Florida garnered a fourth starting position.

Legendary Coach Bryant was at the Tide helm when last they rolled to a pre-season slot as the AP's No. 1 choice in 1978. Bama finished atop the ratings that year earning the first of two consecutive National Championships. Good reason for the high ranking are returning personnel such as Heisman Trophy winner RB Mark Ingram who seeks to carry a great deal of the ball-moving duties on his shoulders heading toward winning a back-ti-back AO title for the third consecutive year – a first in college football history.

Although gone are All-Americans Rondo McClain, Javier Arenas and Terrence Cody, plus an additional six starters from last year's championship team, Saban does have four other highly touted former recruits playing starring roles in QB Greg McElroy with plenty of first-class receivers including Julio Jones along with Trent Richardson joining Ingram in the backfield with both running behind a well-experienced offensive line. On the other side of the ball, Dont'a Hightower fills the vacancy left by McClain.

Look for some high expectations this year since the Tide easily earns that reputation coming off the Rose Bowl win beating Texas 37-21 earning the BCS National Championship.