Biggest Takeaways from College Football's 2025 AP Preseason Poll

The next step toward the 2025 college football season has arrived with the unveiling of the preseason AP Top 25.

No, this particular order is not truly impactful.

What the poll offers, though, is the official consensus on expectations from media members around the country. Inside this Top 25 is a handful of takeaways to help shape the outlook for the fast-approaching campaign.

As usual, the Top Five—Texas, Penn State, Ohio State, Clemson and Georgia—does not have any unexpected teams. We've been talking about those big-brand programs all offseason and expect them to chase the College Football Playoff.

The rest of the takeaways follow that storyline.

Little Surprise in Top 5

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Drew Allar

The moment the national championship ended in Atlanta, media outlets began firing off their "way-too-early" rankings for the Top 25. We did too. It's a fun thing that readers love—or at least love to hate.

So, yeah, we have talked about the 2025 season for a long time.

After seven months of yapping, we fully expected Texas, Ohio State, Penn State and Georgia in some order.

The final team was unclear, but—as always—several had a reasonable argument for a coveted Top Five slot.

Notre Dame finished as the national runner-up last season and returns a lot of talent, while Clemson's star power is immense. LSU has drawn plenty of attention for an experienced roster bolstered by a strong transfer class, and Oregon looks like a rising power under Dan Lanning.

The verdict: Clemson.

Perhaps you, like me, didn't expect Dabo Swinney's club to leap Georgia in the rankings. But there was never a doubt Clemson would be in the conversation.

Any disagreement about the Top Five is personal preference, not merit.

SEC Hits Double Digits

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Gunner Stockton

Not that we were debating this, but the most accomplished conference of the modern era is showing no signs of slowing down.

Along with Texas (first) and Georgia (fifth) receiving major recognition, Alabama (eighth) and LSU (ninth) checked in with Top 10 slots. Behind them, the AP poll included South Carolina (13th), Florida (15th), Oklahoma (18th), Texas A&M (19th), Ole Miss (21st) and Tennessee (24th).

I'm certain the opinions on 10 SEC teams will be calm and sensible.

React how ever you like. We all perceive the sport a little differently, and my sensibilities likely don't completely align with yours. That's a good thing.

What I will say is: Actual games are destined to change the poll, and those results are just a couple weeks away.

Arizona State Atop Crowded Big 12

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Sam Leavitt

After watching Arizona State surge from a projected last-place finish to winning the conference last season, well, anything may happen in the Big 12.

One thing we know? ASU effectively opens the campaign as the favorite.

Arizona State is 11th, highest among Big 12 schools. Three more programs, however, are in the AP ranking plus three others essentially placed 26th-28th. Kansas State leads that contingent at 17th, followed by Iowa State (22nd) and Texas Tech (23rd). BYU, Utah and Baylor each narrowly missed the Top 25.

If you're keeping track, that is seven nationally respected teams.

Again, what happened last season is a reminder to take preseason rankings for what they are. But this outcome is yet another sign of the Big 12 being a delightful disaster to predict this season.

Group of 5 Gets on the Board

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Maddux Madsen

One is better than none, right?

Last year, the Group of Five—or maybe Six, depending on whether you count the not-yet-rebuilt Pac-12 already—was shut out of the initial AP poll. This time around, Boise State squeezed in at No. 25.

That comes as no surprise, considering the Broncos represented the G5 in the College Football Playoff last year. Besides, the program has been a non-power powerhouse for nearly three decades.

Really, no other G5 school came close, though.

Boise State collected 191 voting points, outdoing the rest of the G5 combined. Tulane (23 points), UNLV (21) and Toledo (13) were the only programs to crack double-digit points with six others that received votes.

Week 1 Showdowns Set

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Cade Klubnik

Finally, we can move forward from speculating how the rankings might look and instead can flaunt the official news.

We have three Top 10 matchups to kick off the season.

The headliner on Saturday, Aug. 30 is No. 1 Texas traveling to No. 3 Ohio State, followed by No. 9 LSU playing at No. 4 Clemson. Then on Sunday night, No. 6 Notre Dame takes on No. 10 Miami.

Although these big Week 1 clashes will not settle a team's trajectory—look at USC last season after beating LSU—it sure is preferable to win a marquee game.

And for this group, it comes with the added bonus of a Top 10 designation.