Defending national champion Florida State is ranked No. 1 in the preseason Amway coaches' poll.
UCF was in the receiving votes column, checking in at No. 28 overall.
Florida State received 1,543 overall points and earned 56 of a possible 62 first-place votes in the poll, which was released Thursday. Alabama was second in the poll despite not receiving any first-place votes. Rounding out the top five were Oklahoma, Oregon and Auburn with the first-ever playoff looming at the end season.
Ohio State was sixth, UCLA seventh, Michigan State eighth, South Carolina ninth and Baylor 10th.
The Southeastern Conference had five of the top 13 teams in the poll, with No. 12 Georgia and No. 13 LSU joining Alabama, Auburn and South Carolina.
Oklahoma received three first-place votes. Oregon, Ohio State and South Carolina received one first-place vote each.
UCF has received votes in the USA Today Preseason Amway Coaches Poll every year since 2011. Its highest placement in the preseason poll before this season was in 2011 when it was 33rd.
In 2013, the Knights were ranked every week starting on Oct. 20 when they entered the rankings at No. 21 in the Associated Press Top 25 and No. 25 in the Coaches Poll.
The Black and Gold went on to finish the year No. 10/12, marking its highest rankings in both polls in program history. UCF boasted a 12-1 overall record, won the American Athletic Conference title and defeated Big 12 champion Baylor in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.
Last year in the preseason polls, UCF, Auburn, Baylor and Michigan State were all unranked before eventually reaching BCS bowl games.