Ohio State, Oregon Top AP Preseason Poll; SEC Leads with 9 Ranked Teams
The Associated Press preseason college football poll was released Monday, with Ohio State and Oregon claiming the top two spots and giving the Big Ten Conference the top two teams in the preseason rankings for the first time in 65 years — and only the second time ever, according to AP News.
The Buckeyes received 40 first-place votes, while Oregon earned 14 in voting by 69 media members who cover college football. Ohio State enters the season at No. 1 for the ninth time in program history, tying Alabama for second-most preseason No. 1 rankings behind Oklahoma’s 10. Oregon’s No. 2 spot marks the highest preseason ranking in program history, having previously opened at No. 3 four times.
Georgia, Notre Dame and Texas round out the top five, with defending national champion Indiana starting at No. 6. Miami, Texas A&M, Mississippi and Oklahoma complete the top 10.
A Historic Big Ten Moment
The last time any conference held the top two spots in the preseason poll was 1987, when Oklahoma and Nebraska of the Big Eight were ranked 1-2. The Big Ten’s previous 1-2 preseason finish came in 1961, when Iowa and Ohio State topped the poll.
The conference has won three straight College Football Playoff championships — Michigan, Ohio State and Indiana — and will pursue an unprecedented fourth consecutive national title. This marks the fourth consecutive year the Big Ten has placed two of the top three teams in the preseason rankings.
Oregon head coach Dan Lanning emphasized the strength of the conference, saying, “I think that speaks volumes about our league, especially when you’re talking about repeat games within our league. We have some unbelievable coaches, great teams,” as AP News reported in its live blog.
SEC’s Depth Remains Formidable
The Southeastern Conference leads all conferences with nine teams in the preseason Top 25, marking the third straight year it has reached at least that number. Five of the top 10 teams are from the SEC for the first time since 2013, as NCAA.com noted in its analysis of the poll.
Georgia, the two-time defending SEC champion, leads the conference at No. 3. Texas, the preseason No. 1 last year, opens at No. 5 for the third straight season. Texas A&M (No. 8), Ole Miss (No. 9), Oklahoma (No. 10), LSU (No. 11), Alabama (No. 13), Tennessee (No. 20) and Missouri (No. 25) round out the SEC’s ranked contingent.
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian downplayed the significance of preseason rankings, saying, “I love the polls for college football fans, for the excitement, for the marquee matchups, for all those things. But the polls internally, they just don’t matter. They’re really irrelevant,” according to AP News’ live coverage.
Defending Champions Face Questions
Indiana enters the season as the seventh returning national champion in 40 years to be ranked outside the top five in the preseason. The Hoosiers became the first team in the modern era to go 16-0 last season but must replace Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza at quarterback with TCU transfer Josh Hoover.
The move at quarterback apparently raised doubts among voters, despite Indiana returning significant talent and signing a top-10 transfer class. As Sporting News reported, the Hoosiers received eight first-place votes — more than any team outside the top two — yet still landed at No. 6.
No Group of Six Teams Ranked
For the second time in three years, no Group of Six schools made the preseason Top 25. Boise State was the top vote-getter among non-power conference teams with 43 points, falling just short of the rankings.
AP sports editor Dave Zelio acknowledged the shift, stating, “It is now apparent that we’ve crossed the Rubicon with regards to the Group of 6 now being basically at a developmental level. The poll is dominated by the Big Two (Big Ten and SEC), with the other Power Four leagues and Notre Dame accounting for the rest,” as AP News documented in its live blog.
What to Watch
Ohio State faces a demanding schedule, visiting Texas on Sept. 12 and playing five conference games against preseason ranked teams, including trips to Indiana and a home matchup with Oregon on Nov. 7. The Buckeyes will attempt to become the 12th team to start and finish No. 1 since the AP preseason poll debuted in 1950 — a feat last accomplished by Alabama in 2017.
Notre Dame, ranked No. 4, brings a 10-game winning streak into the season and remains motivated after being left out of last year’s College Football Playoff. The Fighting Irish have a Heisman candidate in quarterback CJ Carr.
Four Top 25 programs will debut new head coaches this season: Pete Golding at Mississippi, Lane Kiffin at LSU, Matt Campbell at Penn State and Morgan Scalley at Utah. As Bleacher Report noted, the preseason poll sets up marquee matchups in Week 1, including No. 9 Ole Miss against No. 24 Louisville and No. 11 LSU against Clemson.
With the regular season kicking off Sept. 4-6 and the first regular-season AP poll scheduled for Sept. 8, the 2026 college football season promises to deliver drama from the opening weekend through the national championship game on Jan. 25, 2027.