Rutgers recieved 53 votes in the preseason coaches' poll released today, placing the Scarlet Knights on the outside looking in at the top 25.

The Knights recieved the 29th-most votes. Last year, they were ranked 16th in the preseason poll and as high as 10th after starting the season 3-0, but were not included in the final rankings. They had never been ranked in a presseason poll prior to last year.

Georgia is ranked first, followed by USC, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Florida.

West Virginia, ranked eighth, and South Florida, ranked 21st, are the only Big East teams in the top 25. Rutgers got more votes than any other team in the conference other than the Mountaineers and Bulls.

Next in the "receiving votes" category among Big East teams is Pittsburgh with 34, followed by Cincinnati with 13, Connecticut, with nine and Louisville with two. Syracuse, a unanimous choice in the preseason Big East media poll to finish last, was the only team in the conference that did not recieve a single vote.

Rutgers, which went 8-5 last year and beat Ball State in the International Bowl, reports to training camp on Monday and practices for the first time Tuesday. The Knights open the season Sept. 1 against Fresno State. The Bulldogs, who went 9-4 last year, are ranked 25th in the coaches' poll.