Ohio State Leads Preseason AP Top 25 Poll with 40 Votes, Oregon Follows Close Behind
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Preseason AP Top 25 poll Ohio State (40) Oregon (14) Georgia Notre Dame (6) Texas Indiana (8) Miami (1) Texas A&M Ole Miss Oklahoma LSU Texas Tech Alabama BYU USC Michigan Washington Penn State SMU Tennessee Utah Iowa Houston Louisville Missouri
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AP SportsThe Big Ten has won three straight College Football Playoff championships (Michigan, Ohio State, Indiana) and will be going for an unprecedented fourth straight national title. This is the fourth consecutive year the Big Ten has had two of the top three teams in the preseason rankings.
ESPNOhio State, Oregon start 1-2 in AP preseason poll Ohio State and Oregon were 1-2 in the AP Top 25, giving the Big Ten Conference the top two teams in the preseason rankings for the first time in 65 years
Bleacher ReportThe top part of the preseason AP Top 25 will likely be controlled by the Big Ten and SEC. The two conferences had eight of the top 10 teams in the preseason Coaches poll.
Yahoo SportsOthers 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
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The Buckeyes received 40 first-place votes and Oregon received 14 in voting by 69 media members who cover college football.
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CBS SportsThe Buckeyes sit atop the poll with 40 first-place votes out of 69 ballots for the first time since 2015, carrying the sport's biggest target into a campaign shaped by championship expectations and little margin for error .
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Yes, we know — there are myriad reasons nobody should get over-excited about preseason performances in the NFL. The vast majority of the league run vanilla defensive schemes, trying to ensure they don’t give anything away before the real football begins, and teams have so many rotating pieces on both sides of the ball that the teams we’re seeing right now end up being nothing like their counterparts a month from now.
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CBS SportsThe preseason is in full swing, and given that we've been starved for football ever since Super Bowl LX, folks are chomping at the bit to dissect every last second of this slew of exhibitions. While we applaud the eagerness, let's remember that these games don't actually count towards a team's chances of pushing for a playoff berth. That said, there is plenty to glean from these games when we dig a little deeper than simply the final results.
Bleacher ReportNFL fans and analysts waited months for a full slate of games. So, of course, there are overreactions to Week 1 of the preseason.
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The Titans will likely play Ward in the preseason until they see him establish a comfortable rhythm with his supporting cast. Remember, he threw for eight touchdowns and just one interception in his last five regular-season outings. Give him more time.
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CBS SportsThe Titans have a Cam Ward problem Overreaction or reality: Overreaction All eyes are on Cam Ward as he enters a pivotal Year 2 in Tennessee. The No. 1 overall pick from the 2025 NFL Draft is looking to rebound from a so-so rookie season, but admittedly didn't put his best foot forward in righting the ship in the Titans' preseason opener. Against the 49ers, Ward completed just 5 of 12 for 57 yards over the course of three possessions. Accuracy issues reared their head in this matchup, which probably has people in Nashville a bit tense as they move forward with the preseason.
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It's the second time since 1985 they've started a season in the AP Poll. Last August, SMU ended a 37-year drought with an appearance at No. 16 in the preseason rankings. At No. 19, SMU is the second-highest ACC team, only trailing reigning national runner-up Miami (FL) which sits at No. 7. The Mustangs are the fourth-highest ranked team in the state of Texas, following No. 5 Texas, No. 8 Texas A&M, and No. 12 Texas Tech.
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AP SportsFour Big 12 teams are ranked, with conference champion Texas Tech the highest at No. 12. The Atlantic Coast Conference has three ranked teams, with the Hurricanes joined by No. 19 SMU and No. 24 Louisville. There are no Group of Six schools in the Top 25.
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Oregon quarterback Dante Moore (5) throws a warm up pass before playing James Madison in a College Football Playoff, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Mark Ylen)
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Bleacher ReportMoore is arguably the best quarterback returning to college football. He and the Ducks will be gearing up through September and October to be ready for a November 7 clash with Ohio State, which could be a No. 1-versus-No. 2 battle.
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The young passer saw the field well, responded appropriately to pressure, went through his progressions correctly, and found an array of receivers. It’s pretty much the best start to an NFL career you could possibly imagine, and while we can pump the brakes when it comes to “Stafford heir apparent,” there’s a lot to like about what we saw from Simpson this week.
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Bleacher ReportRegarded as one of the NFL's top offensive-minded head coaches, Sean McVay will have a major impact on Simpson's development. So, it's no surprise that he was well-prepared for his NFL debut.
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Independent claims that didn't surface elsewhere in our corpus. Treat as supplementary — not corroborated across outlets.
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01 CBS Sports Being No. 1 in August guarantees nothing, of course, and recent history offers a warning for every team celebrated before the first snap. Alabama in 2017 is the most recent preseason top-ranked team to finish the year with a national title, while USC in 2004 is the only other program to accomplish that feat this century.
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02 AP Sports Oregon has its highest preseason ranking in program history after having opened No. 3 four times.
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03 Yahoo Sports For the second-straight year, SMU is ranked prior to its opening kickoff. The Mustangs garnered a ranking of No. 19 in the preseason AP Top 25.
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04 Bleacher Report With all that in mind, we need to pump the brakes on seven widespread overreactions from Week 1 of the preseason.
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05 SB Nation Need more convincing? The Giants and Browns were the most dominant teams in preseason a year ago, while the Seahawks and Packers both looked like they were struggling. From a top-down view it’s critical not to get carried away with full-team performances, but we can start to see trends emerge in the preseason when it comes to individual players, particularly young guys who already appear as if they’re adjusting to the NFL and ready to surprise. These are the biggest standout performers now that every team has played at least one game.
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