A No. 3 preseason ranking is hardly a big deal to Alabama football, but it meant Nick Saban reached a significant milestone.

Zach Barnett of Football Scoop observed that it is the 12th-consecutive preseason Associated Press preseason Top 5 appearance for Saban as the head coach of the Crimson Tide. That mark puts Saban ahead of college football coaching legend Bobby Bowden. Florida State was in the preseason AP Top 5 for 11 straight seasons during the storied 1990-2000 run under Bowden.

While officially preseason No. 3, Alabama is effectively preseason No. 2. Ohio State occupies the No. 2 spot but only for the preseason. The AP opted to include Big Ten and Pac-12 teams in the preseason poll. Once the season starts, only teams playing in the fall (such as Alabama) will be ranked in the Top 25.

Clemson is the AP’s preseason No. 1.