Ohio State is everyone’s clear No. 1 preseason pick, as the Buckeyes claimed 62 of the 64 first-place votes in the preseason USA Today Coaches Poll.

Most everyone believes the SEC champion as well as the survivor of the Baylor-TCU clash in the Big 12 have a great chance to make the College Football Playoff semifinals.

RELATED: 2015 preseason Coaches Poll includes eight SEC teams

Auburn, Michigan State and Oregon are among the teams getting preseason love. But which teams are legitimate dark-horse contenders?

We’re not talking the kind of deep sleepers who have very little chance of sniffing the playoff and get brought up just to make a fun argument. We’re talking teams that very well could be playing for the national championship on the biggest stage in January, but aren’t the prohibitive favorites entering the season.

Here are the five teams who fit that description the most:

GEORGIA BULLDOGS

Despite a Top 10 ranking in the first preseason poll (No. 9), the Bulldogs aren’t getting anything near the attention of Alabama and Auburn this summer.

That’s a mistake. UGA has the best player of the three teams in Nick Chubb (although Auburn QB Jeremy Johnson could make an argument after this season). The Bulldogs also are a more complete team than the Tide and Tigers.

Georgia is loaded at offensive line, running back and pass rush, and the team has enough veterans and above average players at other spots to contend for a national championship. Plus, UGA is the clear SEC East favorite, while most everyone else in the country will have to contend with scrappy challengers within their division.

FLORIDA STATE SEMINOLES

Jimbo Fisher’s team failed to reach the College Football Playoff championship, lost quarterback Jameis Winston and may have managed to remain just as villainous.

FSU has created as many negative headlines as any program in college football due to off-field missteps and accusations against Seminoles players. Several of those accusations have been violent in nature and have involved women. But, as hated and annoying as this program is by many fan bases around the country, FSU again could be near the top of the polls all year.

Forget about Winston — so many offensive standouts are gone, including tight end Nick O’Leary, running back Karlos Williams and receiver Rashad Greene. The team should be at least decent at quarterback between Sean Maguire and Notre Dame transfer Everett Golson. But FSU desperately needs running back Dalvin Cook, currently serving an indefinite suspension.

A strong back end of the defense (led by Jalen Ramsey), one of the best kickers in college football and a very, very manageable schedule portend well for FSU as a playoff contender if the Seminoles can a) find enough offensive playmakers and b) beat Clemson on the road.

CLEMSON TIGERS

The ACC could be this year’s candidate to get left out of the College Football Playoff altogether.

The Big 12 may self-destruct if it gets barred in back-to-back years, plus Baylor and TCU each enter the season in the top four. The SEC, Big Ten and Pac-12 are near-automatics assuming an undefeated or one-loss champion.

The ACC? Just three teams made Thursday’s preseason Top 25, including Georgia Tech. But most expect the FSU-Clemson winner to be the conference’s best representative. At No. 12, Clemson qualifies as a bona fide playoff sleeper.

The offense should be sensational. The Tigers claim the preseason All-ACC quarterback (Deshaun Watson) and two of the three All-SEC receivers (Mike Williams, Artavis Scott). The defense faces near-wholesale changes.

But Clemson faces just three preseason Top 25 teams, all at home — Notre Dame, Georgia Tech and Florida State. Finish 2-1 in those games, avoid moderate upsets and the team will have a chance at the playoff.

UCLA BRUINS

UCLA didn’t match tremendous preseason hype in 2014, then lost long-time starting quarterback Brett Hundley. Playing in what could be the second-most brutal division from top to bottom in all of college football, there’s no way the Bruins can make the playoff in 2015, right?

Don’t expect it, but don’t discount it either. UCLA is as talented as Oregon and USC, the two Pac-12 favorites. Several coaches in the conference privately are saying that the Bruins should be a major player.

Hundley never became the transcendent player many hoped he would. The offensive line can’t be any worse in 2015. And Josh Rosen has potential to win the quarterback job and have a heck of a season.

UCLA is loaded with potential All-Pac-12 players on both sides of the ball, highlighted by RB Paul Perkins, DT Eddie Vanderdoes and LB Myles Jack. Beat USC for a fourth consecutive season and the Bruins could enjoy the season some expected last year.

LSU TIGERS

The quarterback position, as well as the pass rush, remain concerns. And those are impactful areas to be concerned about.

Still, if you’re looking for a fourth team in the SEC beyond Alabama, Auburn and Georgia, buy some LSU stock — ahead of Tennessee, ahead of Ole Miss, and yes, ahead of Arkansas despite last year’s head-to-head game.

Expect defensive line coach Ed Orgeron to inspire that unit and counteract the loss of John “The Chief” Chavis in the aggression/alpha personality department. LSU’s defense, despite a consistent talent drain to the NFL, has the makings of a Top 10 unit nationally if the Tigers can manage to get some pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

The offense should get a lot more help from Leonard Fournette, who took a half-season to mature at the collegiate level, and a receiving corps that didn’t provide enough consistency relative to its talent level in 2015.

If former NFL quarterback guru Cam Cameron can manage to improve Brandon Harris to the point that he’s better than Anthony Jennings, and the team wins close games against teams like Alabama, it’s possible LSU could steal the SEC West. It helps that Alabama and Auburn must face Georgia in crossover games, while the Tigers get Florida and South Carolina.