Parsing the AP Top 25: Things to know about the preseason college football rankings

Parsing the AP Top 25: Things to know about the preseason college football rankings 1 of 2 | Indiana defensive lineman Tyrique Tucker (95) celebrates a win over Penn State following an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, in State College, Pa. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger, file) 2 of 2 | Ohio State running back CJ Donaldson is stopped by the Texas defense during the second half of an NCAA college football game in Columbus, Ohio., Aug. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete, File) By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Updated 6:17 PM MESZ, August 17, 2026 Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit The 90th season of The Associated Press Top 25 rankings has arrived with the preseason poll released on Monday. Here are some things to know: -- Five teams received first-place votes from the Top 25 voters, who number 69 this season: No. 1 Ohio State (40 top votes), No. 2 Oregon (14), No. 4 Notre Dame (6), No. 6 Indiana (8) and No. 7 Miami (1). -- The Southeastern Conference has nine ranked teams in the preseason poll. The Big Ten has eight. The Big 12 has four and the Atlantic Coast Conference has three, with the final spot filled by Notre Dame, an independent. No Group of Six teams are ranked. — No. 3 Georgia is in the preseason top five for the ninth straight year. Fellow SEC power Texas has now done it for a third year in a row. -- Ten of the 12 College Football Playoff teams from last season are ranked. The two that aren’t are James Madison and Tulane, though both received votes. -- Ohio State enters a season at No. 1 for the ninth time, and first since 2015. The Buckeyes are now tied with Alabama for second-most preseason No. 1 rankings (Oklahoma, 10). -- No. 2 Oregon has its highest preseason ranking ever after opening at No. 3 four times. No. 4 Notre Dame has its highest preseason ranking in 20 years (No. 2 in 2006). — The only other time the Big Ten had the top two teams in the preseason rankings was 1961 (Iowa, Ohio State). The league has won three straight College Football Playoff championships (Michigan, Ohio State, Indiana) and will be going for an unprecedented fourth straight national title. Ole Miss at Texas A&M? Texas Tech at Indiana? The CFP bracket based on the preseason AP Top 25 Ohio State and Oregon are 1-2 in the AP preseason Top 25, SEC leads conferences with 9 ranked teams Linebacker Gideon ESPN Lampron meets Deion Sanders on a plane and later lands at Colorado — Eleven have started and finished No. 1 in the AP poll since the preseason rankings began in 1950. The last team to do it was Alabama in 2017. This is our AP Top 25 Poll newsletter. You can subscribe below and we will email it you weekly. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google and Terms of Service apply.