ADA, Mich., Aug. 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- On the heels of the recent release of the preseason Amway Coaches Poll, college football fans by and large agreed with the coaches that Florida State should hold the top spot, according to voting results in the first-ever Amway Fan Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.
The top five fan picks closely resembled those of the coaches, with Florida State and Oklahoma ranking 1-2 in both, and Oklahoma (No. 3) and Oregon (No. 4) exchanging spots among the fans. Both polls had Auburn at No. 5.
Other interesting notes from fan voting included Washington at No. 19, six spots higher than the coaches had them at No. 25, and Clemson moving up three spots to a tie with Wisconsin at No.14. Nebraska and Texas tied for No. 17, according to fans.
The Amway Fan Poll, conducted weekly throughout the regular season, gives fans a chance to cast their own ballot for which four teams should compete in the College Football Playoff. Fans will have 48 hours after the release of each week's Amway Coaches Poll to submit their choices. The new format tabulates results and displays side-by-side analysis showing how fans rank against the coaches' picks.
"One of the reasons we entered college football is to connect with fans so it was critical that we offered an ongoing forum for them to voice their opinions on the top four," said Jim Ayres, Managing Director of Amway North America.
The Amway Coaches Poll is conducted weekly throughout the regular season using a panel of 60+ head coaches at Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools. The panel is chosen by random draw, conference by conference plus independents, from a pool of coaches who have indicated to the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) their willingness to participate. Each coach submits a Top 25 with a first-place vote worth 25 points, second place 24, and so on down to one point for 25th.
"College football fans closely watch what the coaches think in the Amway Coaches Poll," said John von Stade, Senior Vice President, Properties & Partnerships at USA Today Sports Media Group. "Thanks to Amway, fans now have the opportunity to cast their vote and be heard on who belongs in the playoff."
About Amway
Based in Ada, Mich., Amway is part of the Alticor group of companies, founded by the DeVos and Van Andel families. Alticor is the parent company of Amway Corp., Access Business Group LLC and Alticor Corporate Enterprises. The company offers people the opportunity to own their business selling consumer products, as well as product development, manufacturing and logistics services in more than 100 countries and territories worldwide. Amway and its parent reported annual global sales of more than $11.8 billion for the year ending December 31, 2013.
About USA TODAY Sports Media Group:
The USA TODAY Sports Media Group encompasses all sports initiatives across USA TODAY Sports and Gannett's more than 100 well-known local media brands. It also includes the sports photography wire service USA TODAY Sports Images, leading high school sports destination USA TODAY High School Sports; For The Win, the first mainstream sports media property focused exclusively on "social news," and designed specifically to resonate on social networks and non-traditional media channels and platforms; and the hundreds of sites within USA TODAY Sports Digital Properties, including The Big Lead, Hoopshype.com and mixed martial arts site MMAjunkie.com, among others. USA TODAY is owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (GCI).
About the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA)
The AFCA was founded in 1922 and currently has more than 11,000 members around the world ranging from the high school level to the professional ranks. According to its constitution, the AFCA was formed, in part, to "maintain the highest possible standards in football and in the coaching profession" and to "provide a forum for the discussion and study of all matters pertaining to football."
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SOURCE Amway North America
