Ohio State and Oregon Lead Preseason AP Top 25, Giving Big Ten Historic Top Two Spots
The Associated Press preseason poll placed Ohio State at No. 1 and Oregon at No. 2, marking the first time in 65 years that the Big Ten holds the top two rankings.
Ohio State and Oregon opened the Associated Press preseason Top 25 at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, after a vote by 69 college-football media members. The ranking gives the Big Ten Conference the top two spots for the first time since 1961 and only the second occurrence in the poll’s 65-year history.
The Buckeyes received 40 first-place votes, while Oregon earned 14. Ohio State’s No. 1 ranking is its ninth preseason top spot and the first since 2015, tying Alabama for the second-most such rankings behind Oklahoma’s ten. Oregon achieved its highest preseason ranking ever, surpassing its previous best of No. 3.
Georgia, Notre Dame and Texas completed the top five. Defending champion Indiana entered at No. 6, followed by Miami, Texas A&M, Ole Miss and Oklahoma.
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said, "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. I think we've gotten to a point now as a team to understand that what matters is how we play each and every Saturday."
The poll also highlighted conference representation: the SEC placed nine teams in the Top 25, the most of any league, while the Big Ten secured four spots in the top ten for the fourth consecutive year. The upcoming season will feature early matchups between the conferences, with No. 1 Ohio State traveling to Texas and No. 10 Oklahoma visiting Michigan on Sept. 12.
Ohio State’s roster features several Heisman candidates, including quarterback Julian Sayin, receiver Jeremiah Smith and running back Bo Jackson. The team aims to become the 12th program to start and finish a season ranked No. 1 in the AP poll, a feat last achieved by Alabama in 2017.
Other notable preseason notes include Georgia’s ninth straight top-five finish, Texas’s third consecutive top-five start, and Notre Dame’s highest ranking since 2006. Ten of the twelve teams that reached the College Football Playoff last season appear in this year’s Top 25.