Ohio State wins AP Top 25 battle for No. 1 ranking. Here’s how I voted in preseason poll

Ohio State is No. 1 in the AP Top 25 and Oregon is No. 2, making the Big Ten the first conference to hold the top two spots in the preseason poll since 1987.

Following three straight national titles for the Big Ten, the league will start the 2026 season with the Nos. 1 and 2 teams in the AP poll for the first time in 65 years. In 1961, Iowa was preseason No. 1 and Ohio State was No. 2.

The Buckeyes are No. 1 in the preseason for the first time since 2015 and the ninth time in program history, matching Alabama for second-most behind Oklahoma (10).

Ohio State snapped a string of 10 straight seasons in which either an SEC team or Clemson was preseason No. 1. The SEC led the way with nine teams in the preseason poll, but none received first-place votes. The Big Ten had eight teams in the poll. The Big 12 had four and the ACC three.

The Buckeyes were one of five teams to receive first-place votes in the poll released Monday, getting 40 and 1,672 points from the media panel. Oregon received 14 first-place votes and 1,597 points and has its highest preseason ranking ever. The Ducks were preseason No. 3 four previous times and have never won a national championship.

No. 3 Georgia had 1,513 points but no first-place votes, and No. 4 Notre Dame had six first-place votes and 1,510 points. The Fighting Irish have their best preseason ranking since starting No. 2 in 2006.

Texas, last year’s preseason No. 1, was fifth with 1,483 points, and defending national champion Indiana was No. 6. The Hoosiers received eight first-place votes and have their highest preseason ranking in program history. Indiana’s previous best preseason ranking was No. 13 in 1968. This is only the fifth time the Hoosiers have been ranked in the preseason. Last year, they started 20th.

Among recent champions, the Hoosiers are the third since 2012 to start the following season outside the top five. Michigan was preseason No. 9 after winning it all in 2023, and LSU started the 2020 season No. 6 after winning the title and going 15-0 the previous season.

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

No. 7 Miami received a first-place vote and has its best preseason rankings since 2004, when the Hurricanes started sixth.

No. 8 Texas A&M, No. 9 Ole Miss and No. 10 Oklahoma round out the top 10, followed by LSU and Texas Tech. The SEC has six of the top 11 teams.

No. 13 Alabama is outside the preseason top 10 for the first time since 2008. The Crimson Tide started No. 24 in Nick Saban’s second season as coach and ended up reaching No. 1 before finishing sixth. Clemson is unranked in the preseason poll for the first time since 2011.

The last time the same conference held No. 1 and No. 2 in the preseason? Oklahoma and Nebraska from the Big 8 in 1987.

How I voted

There were seven teams I considered for No. 1, and they created a tier that I could have tinkered with endlessly.

I landed on Oregon, but a case could be made for Notre Dame, Ohio State, Georgia, Texas, Indiana and Miami.

Texas was the most difficult in that batch to settle on. Being apprehensive about the Longhorns because they disappointed last year as preseason No. 1 — I was among those who tabbed Texas — is understandable but can also lead to bad process.

This is not the same team. Texas added some serious firepower around Arch Manning through the transfer portal, and it’s not a stretch to think some high-caliber holdovers — Manning included — will improve.

When I began putting my ballot together, I thought I had narrowed No. 1 down to Oregon, Notre Dame or Texas. And then visions of the Longhorns getting pushed around by Georgia and losing to Ohio State flashed through my head and I slotted Texas behind those two as well. I almost did the same with Indiana and then at the last second flipped the Longhorns and Hoosiers.

Miami was the easiest to slot as the last of that tier of seven because of all the Hurricanes lost on their offensive and defensive lines.

But in the end, any order of those seven teams would be fine by me.

I comfortably had LSU at No. 8, fully understanding the wild-card nature to Lane Kiffin’s team. The Tigers are the eighth team I’d put into the bucket of those I think can win a national title this season, but also the most variable of that group.

Texas Tech was an easy No. 9, as I think the Red Raiders fall short of the ceiling of the teams ranked ahead of them while still being in that range.

No. 10 was where things got difficult. I would have liked to skip 10 to 12 and picked back up at No. 13.

USC was my No. 10. I don’t love it, but I felt the same way last season when I reached a little and ranked Texas A&M 10th in the preseason. That worked out OK.

After assessing my preseason ballot from last year, I tried to lean into first instincts and not tinker as much this year. I also proceeded with a little more caution with teams replacing a lot of offensive line experience.

That explains me going from last year’s most bullish Texas A&M voter to one of the most bearish in 2026 at No. 17. The Aggies are flipping their entire offensive line this season.

Allow me to explain Florida at No. 19. I want to take at least one flyer on the back end of my ballot.

Last year it was Utah, coming off a five-win season. The Utes improved to 11-2 and finished 14th. This season, I’ll put some chips on a healthy turnaround for the Gators under new coach Jon Sumrall. Let’s say 4-8 to 8-4.

Minnesota was my other sleeper, if you will. I’m banking on a nice season by quarterback Drake Lindsey and just a little more success than usual out of the Gophers. P.J. Fleck’s team has won eight or nine games in four of the past five seasons. That includes bowl victories. I don’t think it’s a stretch to get the Gophers to a 9-3 regular season.

And, yes, I try to reserve No. 25 for the top Group of 6 team. Hence, Navy.

The history of No. 1

The AP began ranking teams in the preseason in 1950. Since then, only 11 preseason No. 1 teams have finished the season No. 1. The last was Alabama in 2017.

Only two teams have gone wire-to-wire as No. 1: Florida State in 1999 and USC in 2004.

The last time the Buckeyes were preseason No. 1 in 2015, they were coming off a national championship but failed to reach the four-team version of the College Football Playoff. Ohio State went 12-1 and finished No. 4.

The Buckeyes have never finished No. 1 in a season after being preseason No. 1. Their best finish in those previous eight seasons was No. 2 in 2006 and 1998. Ohio State also extended its record string of appearances in the preseason poll to 38.

Last year’s Texas team became the first preseason No. 1 to finish outside the top 10 since USC in 2012. Those Trojans are the only team to start No. 1 and finish unranked when the poll has included at least 20 teams.

Seventeen teams that have been preseason No. 1 have finished with at least three losses, including the past two (Georgia 11-3 in 2024, Texas 10-3 in 2025), though in the expanded Playoff era, that could become far more common.