College football rankings 2026: Ohio State tops Oregon at No. 1 in AP Preseason Top 25 originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Ohio State is No. 1 in the AP Preseason Top 25.
The Buckeyes, coming off a 12-2 season, were one of five teams that received first-place votes in the poll. Ohio State received 40 first-place votes and is No. 1 in the preseason poll for the first time since 2015.
Oregon is No. 2. The Ducks received 14 first-place votes; the second-most of any team in the poll. Georgia, the two-time defending SEC champions, is No. 3 despite not receiving any first-place votes.
Notre Dame is No. 4, and Texas is No. 5. The Irish and Longhorns are receiving considerable preseason hype. The Irish received six first-place votes. Texas had none.
Indiana, the defending national champion, is No. 6. The Hoosiers received six first-place votes under third-year coach Curt Cignetti. Miami is No. 7. The Hurricanes made the CFP championship game last season and received one first-place vote.
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Preseason AP Top 25
A look at the Preseason AP Top 25, which was released Monday:
| 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 (6) | 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
How many AP Preseason No. 1 teams have won national championship?
Ohio State will try to become the 12th team to open as No. 1 in the AP Preseason Poll to win the national championship.
Alabama was the last team to accomplish that feat in 2017.
MORE: Sporting News 2026 college football Preseason All-America team
Preseason No. 1 teams in CFP era
Here is a look at how the Preseason No. 1 team has finished in the CFP era:
| 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 |
Alabama is the only team that opened No. 1 and won the national championship in the College Football Playoff era. Last year, Texas opened at No. 1 and lost the opener to Ohio State, which spent the rest of the regular season at No. 1 before losing to Indiana in the Big Ten championship game.
The Hoosiers opened at No. 20 in the AP Poll — the lowest spot of any school that won the national championship since 2010 — when Auburn opened at No. 23.