Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

The Bruins have earned a little more respect from AP voters than they did in the USA Today Coaches Poll. Unfortunately, it’s all meaningless until any games are actually played.

This morning, the Associated Press released its preseason poll.

UCLA is ranked #16 is the AP Preseason Poll which is substantially better than the team’s #24 ranking in the USA Today Coaches Preseason Poll. With 496 points, the Bruins are ranked behind Houston with 644 points and ahead of Iowa which received 486 points.

Four other Pac-12 teams appear in the AP Top 25. Stanford leads the way at #8, Washington is #14, USC is at #20, and Oregon is #24.

Two more Pac-12 schools also received votes. Utah received 74 votes and Washington State received 68 votes.

But, much like theĀ USA Today Coaches Preseason Poll, this one is also meaningless because no games have been played.

The good news is that the college football season kicks off Friday night when UC Berkeley plays Hawaii at 7pm PT on ESPN. That also means that the season will kick off with the #Pac12AfterDark, even if it will be 3pm locally in Australia.

RANK TEAM RECORD POINTS FIRST PLACE VOTES PREVIOUS RANK
1 Alabama Crimson Tide 0-0 1469 33 1
2 Clemson Tigers 0-0 1443 16 2
3 Oklahoma Sooners 0-0 1352 4 5
4 Florida State Seminoles 0-0 1325 5 14
5 LSU Tigers 0-0 1269 1 16
6 Ohio State Buckeyes 0-0 1224 1 4
7 Michigan Wolverines 0-0 1147 1 12
8 Stanford Cardinal 0-0 1029 0 3
9 Tennessee Volunteers 0-0 1021 0 22
10 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 0-0 1006 1 11
11 Ole Miss Rebels 0-0 718 0 10
12 Michigan State Spartans 0-0 710 0 6
13 TCU Horned Frogs 0-0 707 0 7
14 Washington Huskies 0-0 651 0 NR
15 Houston Cougars 0-0 644 0 8
16 UCLA Bruins 0-0 496 0 NR
17 Iowa Hawkeyes 0-0 484 0 9
18 Georgia Bulldogs 0-0 448 0 NR
19 Louisville Cardinals 0-0 447 0 NR
20 USC Trojans 0-0 344 0 NR
21 Oklahoma State Cowboys 0-0 316 0 20
22 North Carolina Tar Heels 0-0 283 0 15
23 Baylor Bears 0-0 280 0 13
24 Oregon Ducks 0-0 218 0 19
25 Florida Gators 0-0 180 0 25
Others Receiving Votes: Miami 159, Texas A&M 81, Utah 74, Washington St. 68, Boise St. 49, San Diego St. 46, Wisconsin 42, Auburn 22, Pittsburgh 15, Arkansas 14, Texas 12, Nebraska 11, Navy 8, Northwestern 5, W. Kentucky 4, South Florida 2, Toledo 2.

Go Bruins!!!