The Texas Longhorns earned the top spot on the preseason AP Top 25 opening poll for the first time in program history, edging out the Penn State Nittany Lions by just five points, making it the closest preseason poll in 27 years. Texas received a total of 25 first-place votes, while Penn State was given 23 first-place votes. The Longhorns outscored the Nittany Lions in the rankings 1,552 points to 1,547.
“This is a new year, new faces, new team, and, obviously, expectations are high for our program,” said Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian during SEC media days. “I’m not naive to that. I don’t put my head in the sand, and expectations are very high. But I also say we’re the University of Texas, and the standard is the standard here, and that’s competing for championships year in and year out.”
The reigning champs, the Ohio State Buckeyes, earned the third spot on the AP poll. This comes after they defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship 34-23.
“This team has its own identity,” said Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day. “It wants to have its own identity, but it also wants to be the first Ohio State team to win back-to-back national championships.”
One of the biggest games of the season will take place in less than three weeks, when Texas and Ohio State face off at Ohio Stadium. Last year, the Buckeyes defeated the Longhorns in the College Football Playoff Semifinals 28-14.
There will be two other top-ten matchups on the same weekend. At 7:30 p.m. EDT on August 30th, #4 Clemson will play host to #9 LSU. The following day, #6 Notre Dame is on the road to face #10 Miami.
Clemson and Georgia rounded out the top five. After that, Notre Dame ranked sixth, followed by Oregon, Alabama, LSU, and Miami. Other notable programs to crack the preseason Top 25 include Michigan (#14), Florida (#15), Oklahoma (#18), Texas A&M (#19), and Tennessee (#24).
Ten teams from the Southeastern Conference (SEC) earned a spot in the Top 25. Meanwhile, the Big Ten features six programs. The AP Poll also has four Big 12 teams and three ACC teams. The final two programs included are Notre Dame and the Boise State Broncos, who are ranked 25th.
The full preseason AP Poll Top 25 ranking is listed below:
- Texas
- Penn State
- Ohio State
- Clemson
- Georgia
- Notre Dame
- Oregon
- Alabama
- LSU
- Miami
- Arizona State
- Illinois
- South Carolina
- Michigan
- Florida
- SMU
- Kansas State
- Oklahoma
- Texas A&M
- Indiana
- Ole Miss
- Iowa State
- Texas Tech
- Tennessee
- Boise State
Other teams that received votes: BYU, Utah, Baylor, Louisville, USC, Georgia Tech, Missouri, Tulane, Nebraska, UNLV, Toledo, Auburn, James Madison, Memphis, Florida State, Duke, Liberty, Navy, Iowa, TCU, Pittsburgh, Army, Colorado, Louisiana-Lafayette.
The 2025-26 college football regular season begins on August 23rd with five games, including a Top 25 matchup between Kansas State and Iowa State. That game will kick off the regular season at 12:00 p.m. EDT.
