About two weeks before Week 0 kicks off the 2026 college football season, the Associated Press’ Top 25 Preseason Poll was revealed on Monday.
With 40 first place votes, the Ohio State Buckeyes claim the No. 1 spot. Ryan Day’s team is followed by Oregon, Georgia, Notre Dame and Texas to round out of the top five. Defending national champion Indiana, who has been on an historic rise under Curt Cignetti, landed just outside of that group at No. 6.
Beyond the usual suspects, the Power Four conferences were all represented as part of the Associated Press’ poll. And to no surprise the SEC and Big Ten conferences will open the season with the most ranked teams.
However, despite the Big Ten’s recent dominance as far as national championships won – the Big Ten owns the last three national titles, it’s the SEC that can claim the honor of having the most ranked teams. The SEC has nine, while the Big Ten is just one shy with eight.
Georgia, Texas, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, Alabama, Tennessee, LSU and even Missouri, sliding in at No. 25, represent the SEC. Big Ten wise, Oregon, Ohio State, Indiana, Michigan, USC, Washington, Penn State and Iowa made the cut.
Not to be ignored, the Big 12 and ACC combined to have seven teams ranked, a total that’s fewer than both the SEC and Big Ten.
As maybe a surprise for some, the Big 12 comes in third when it comes to conference representation. Texas Tech, leading the conference in the No. 12 spot, BYU, Utah and Houston are the Big 12 teams ranked.
Then, the ACC has last season’s national runner-up Miami (FL), clocking in at No. 7, SMU and Louisville.
But of course, no preseason poll, not even from the Associated Press, truly matters. The last preseason No. 1 to finish as the national champion was Alabama in 2017. And due to constantly changing rosters via the transfer portal, there’s even a sound argument to abolish preseason polls all together moving forward.
Breakdown of Power Four Conference Representation in AP Top 25