The first AP Top 25 poll has finally been released, giving college football fans the first look at how teams across the country stack up heading into 2026. Ohio State opens the year at No. 1, followed by Oregon, Georgia, Notre Dame, and Texas. The defending national champion Indiana Hoosiers sit just outside of the top five at No. 6.
Preseason rankings only carry so much weight. Only once in AP poll history has the No. 1 team ended up as the national champion: Alabama in 2017. Teams will rise and fall quickly once games begin, but the first poll gives an idea of expectations surrounding the biggest programs in the country.
Big 10 Schools Own The Top Two Spots
The first thing that jumps off the page is the conference representing the top two teams. Ohio State earned 40 first-place votes while Oregon received 14, putting them at two. It is the first time in 65 years, and only the second time ever, that two Big Ten programs have taken the top two spots.
In recent years, the SEC has been the premier conference in college football, but the Big Ten may have something to say about that. The past three national champions have come from the Big Ten: Michigan in 2023, Ohio State in 2024, and Indiana last season.
The Buckeyes have plenty of evidence for their No. 1 rank. Quarterback Julian Sayin returns alongside wideout Jeremiah Smith, considered one of the most talented players in the sport. Their schedule provides some tough contests, with games against Texas, Indiana, and No. 2 Oregon this season. If Ohio State can string together wins against these teams, it would be hard not to put them No. 1.
Oregon at No. 2 is just as interesting. This is the highest preseason AP ranking the program has ever received, another sign that Dan Lanning has made his mark in Eugene. Quarterback Dante Moore’s decision to forgo the 2026 NFL Draft was a game-changer for Oregon. The Ducks finished 13-2 last season and have now finished ranked inside the top 10 in three consecutive seasons.
It’s hard to argue with the results of past seasons. The Big Ten may not have as many top-tier teams as other conferences, but they control the number one and two teams in the country.
Can Indiana Repeat National Championship Year
Last year was a fairy tale for the Hoosiers. Curt Cignetti led the team to an undefeated national championship season with the help of Heisman winner and first overall draft pick Fernando Mendoza. Repeating that success will be difficult.
TCU transfer Josh Hoover will take over as Indiana’s starting quarterback, but he has big shoes to fill. What still makes this team intriguing even after all the talent lost to the NFL is Cignetti. In his two seasons with the Hoosiers, they are 27-2. He has proven the ability to develop quarterbacks and build rosters around them with the transfer portal. Last year proved Indiana belonged among the elite programs in college football; now comes the challenge of staying there.
Depth Of The SEC
The SEC may not represent the number one team in the country, but no conference has as many teams in the top 25. Nine SEC programs begin the season ranked in the AP top 25, seven of them inside the top 13. Georgia leads the conference at No. 3, followed by Texas at No. 5, Texas A&M at No. 8, Ole Miss at No. 9, and Oklahoma at No. 10 to round out the top 10. More than half of the SEC enters the season ranked.
That depth is what makes the conference so difficult to navigate. All of these teams will be beating up on each other throughout the regular season, ultimately hurting each other’s rankings. Even teams sitting outside the top 10, such as LSU and Alabama, have rosters capable of competing with anyone in the nation.
Georgia was also picked by the media to win the SEC Championship, but the separation between the SEC’s top teams is smaller than it’s been in past years. Texas, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, LSU, and Alabama all could be at the top of the conference by the end of the season.
The contrast between the Big Ten and SEC is an interesting one to consider. The Big Ten has the more recent success with national championships; meanwhile, the SEC has five teams within the top 10. The debate over which conference is the best in the sport isn’t going away.
Alabama Outside The Top 10
For over a decade, Alabama has been the cream of the crop for college football. Entering the season inside the top 10 has become almost automatic. For the first time since 2008, the Crimson Tide begins the year outside of the top 10 at No. 13.
Ever since hiring Kalen DeBoer in 2024, the Tide have struggled to find an identity. The program that was once feared by all thanks to Nick Saban now sits in a unique spot. Ty Simpson left for the NFL, creating a void at quarterback to be filled by either Austin Mack or Keelon Russell. Mack served as Simpson’s backup last season, but neither has established themselves as the clear starter.
Some would consider an 11-4 season, where they made the College Football Playoff a success. In Tuscaloosa, though, expectations around football are different. The No. 13 ranking creates something of a hot seat for the program. Instead of beginning the year penciled into the top 10, voters are asking the Tide to prove they still belong.
The preseason AP Top 25 is never going to perfectly predict how the season will go; that’s what makes sports so intriguing. What they can do is provide fans with a general understanding of who will be the top dogs in the coming year. There are plenty of storylines within these rankings; now comes the fun part: seeing them play out over the next five months.
