The first coaches poll of the college football season is now out and it is not a big surprise that Purdue is not ranked. Our Boilermakers did not even receive a single vote, as you can see below:
| Rank | Team (first-place votes) | Record | Points | Final 2011 rank | |
| 1. | LSU (18) | 13-1 | 1,403 | 2 | |
| 2. | Alabama (20) | 12-1 | 1,399 | 1 | |
| 3. | Southern California (19) | 10-2 | 1,388 | NR | |
| 4. | Oklahoma | 10-3 | 1,276 | 15 | |
| 5. | Oregon | 12-2 | 1,258 | 4 | |
| 6. | Georgia | 10-4 | 1,061 | 20 | |
| 7. | Florida State | 9-4 | 1,055 | 23 | |
| 8. | Michigan | 11-2 | 1,023 | 9 | |
| 9. | South Carolina | 11-2 | 981 | 8 | |
| 10. | Arkansas | 11-2 | 948 | 5 | |
| 11. | West Virginia | 10-3 | 833 | 18 | |
| 12. | Wisconsin | 11-3 | 743 | 11 | |
| 13. | Michigan State | 11-3 | 717 | 10 | |
| 14. | Clemson | 10-4 | 598 | 22 | |
| 15. | Texas | 8-5 | 549 | NR | |
| 16. | Nebraska | 9-4 | 501 | 24 | |
| 17. | TCU | 11-2 | 499 | 13 | |
| 18. | Stanford | 11-2 | 497 | 7 | |
| 19. | Oklahoma State | 12-1 | 476 | 3 | |
| 20. | Virginia Tech | 11-3 | 461 | 17 | |
| 21. | Kansas State | 10-3 | 398 | 16 | |
| 22. | Boise State | 12-1 | 271 | 6 | |
| 23. | Florida | 7-6 | 250 | NR | |
| 24. | Notre Dame | 8-5 | 166 | NR | |
| 25. | Auburn | 8-5 | 66 | NR | |
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| Others receiving votes (with 2011 records) | |||||
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Washington (7-6) 64; Louisville (7-6) 46; Georgia Tech (8-5) 35; Cincinnati (10-3) 32; Texas A&M (7-6) 28; Baylor (10-3) 23; Utah (8-5) 22; Mississippi State (7-6) 21; South Florida (5-7) 12; N.C. State (8-5) 11; BYU (10-3) 10; Louisiana Tech (8-5) 10; Virginia (8-5) 9; Houston (13-1) 7; Southern Mississippi (12-2) 6; Central Florida (5-7) 5; Rutgers (9-4) 5; Florida International (8-5) 3; Missouri (8-5) 3; Tennessee (5-7) 3; Northern Illinois (11-3) 2; Texas Tech (5-7) 1. |
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There are some interesting notes with this poll. Purdue has games against No. 8 Michigan and No. 12 Wisconsin at home. No. 24 Notre Dame is on the road, where an unlikely victory would probably get Purdue some votes. Other than that, the schedule is manageable with no one else receiving votes. It should be noted that Ohio State and Penn State are ineligible for the coaches poll this season. As a result, they will not be on my blogpoll ballot.
Purdue's last victory against a ranked opponent came last season against Illinois of all people. The Fighting Illini were ranked at the time of our game in West Lafayette, as they came in at 6-1.