Ohio State claimed the top spot in the AP Preseason Top 25 poll released Monday.
The Buckeyes received 40 first-place votes from the panel of sports writers and broadcasters. It’s Ohio State’s first No. 1 preseason ranking since 2015.
The team finished last season with a 12-2 record before capturing the national championship.
Oregon sits at No. 2 with 14 first-place votes. The Ducks received the second-most top votes in the poll.
Georgia holds the No. 3 position despite not receiving any first-place votes. The Bulldogs are the two-time defending SEC champions.
Notre Dame earned the No. 4 ranking with six first-place votes. Texas rounds out the top five without any first-place support.
Indiana, last season’s national champion, starts at No. 6. The Hoosiers collected eight first-place votes under third-year coach Curt Cignetti.
Miami takes the No. 7 spot with one first-place vote. The Hurricanes reached the CFP championship game last season.
Complete Preseason AP Top 25
The full preseason rankings include several notable teams:
| RANK | SCHOOL | VOTES |
| 1 | Ohio State (40) | 1,672 |
| 2 | Oregon (14) | 1,597 |
| 3 | Georgia | 1,513 |
| 4 | Notre Dame (6) | 1,510 |
| 5 | Texas | 1,483 |
| 6 | Indiana (8) | 1,440 |
| 7 | Miami (1) | 1,379 |
| 8 | Texas A&M | 1,131 |
| 9 | Ole Miss | 1,102 |
| 10 | Oklahoma | 1,047 |
| 11 | LSU | 988 |
| 12 | Texas Tech | 983 |
| 13 | Alabama | 904 |
| 14 | BYU | 839 |
| 14 | USC | 839 |
| 16 | Michigan | 718 |
| 17 | Washington | 501 |
| 18 | Penn State | 482 |
| 19 | SMU | 434 |
| 20 | Tennessee | 394 |
| 21 | Utah | 304 |
| 22 | Iowa | 260 |
| 23 | Houston | 252 |
| 24 | Louisville | 194 |
| 25 | Missouri | 117 |
Others receiving votes: Clemson 112, Florida 51, Boise State 43, Arizona 32, TCU 11, Navy 10, South Carolina 10, Illinois 9, Oklahoma State 8, Vanderbilt 8, Pittsburgh 7, Virginia Tech 6, Minnesota 5, UNLV 4, New Mexico 4, Georgia Tech 4, Louisiana 4, James Madison 3, Auburn 3, Memphis 2, California 2, Liberty 1, Western Michigan 1, Tulane 1, Virginia 1
Preseason No. 1 Championship History
Ohio State will try to become the 12th team to start No. 1 in the preseason and win the national championship.
Alabama was the last team to accomplish this in 2017.
The track record for preseason top teams hasn’t been great in the College Football Playoff era. Only one team has managed to convert a No. 1 preseason ranking into a championship.
| YEAR | PRE. NO. 1 | FINISH | NAT. CHAMP | PRE. |
| 2014 | Florida State | 5 | Ohio State | 5 |
| 2015 | Ohio State | 4 | Alabama | 3 |
| 2016 | Alabama | 2 | Clemson | 2 |
| 2017 | Alabama | 1 | Alabama | 1 |
| 2018 | Alabama | 2 | Clemson | 2 |
| 2019 | Clemson | 2 | LSU | 6 |
| 2020 | Clemson | 3 | Alabama | 3 |
| 2021 | Alabama | 2 | Georgia | 5 |
| 2022 | Alabama | 5 | Georgia | 3 |
| 2023 | Georgia | 1 | Michigan | 2 |
| 2024 | Georgia | 4 | Ohio State | 2 |
| 2025 | Texas | 12 | Indiana | 20 |
Texas opened at No. 1 last season but lost the opener to Ohio State. The Buckeyes held the top ranking for most of the regular season before falling to Indiana in the Big Ten championship game.
Indiana’s championship run started from No. 20 in the preseason poll. That’s the lowest starting position for any national champion since Auburn began at No. 23 in 2010.
