College football rankings for the 2026 season continue this week with the release of the 2026 preseason AP Poll, and the Ohio State Buckeyes are ranked first. Ohio State received 40 first-place votes and 1,672 total points.
Ohio State is also ranked first in the preseason Coaches Poll that was released on Monday, August 3.
The Oregon Ducks and Georgia Bulldogs are ranked second and third, respectively, in the preseason AP Top 25 Poll. Oregon received 14 first-place votes, while Georgia received none. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (No. 4; six first-place votes) and Texas Longhorns (No. 5; no first-place votes) round out the top five of the preseason AP Poll.
The SEC leads all conferences with nine teams in the AP Poll. The Big Ten is second with eight teams, followed by the Big 12 with four teams in the Top 25. Listed below is the full conference breakdown:
- SEC – 9
- Big Ten – 8
- Big 12 – 4
- ACC – 3
- IND – 1
The complete 2026 preseason AP Poll is listed below (first-place votes in parentheses):
1. Ohio State (40)
2. Oregon (14)
3. Georgia
4. Notre Dame (6)
5. Texas
6. Indiana (8)
7. Miami FL (1)
8. Texas A&M
9. Ole Miss
10. Oklahoma
11. LSU
12. Texas Tech
13. Alabama
14(t). BYU
14(t). USC
16. Michigan
17. Washington
18. Penn State
19. SMU
20. Tennessee
21. Utah
22. Iowa
23. Houston
24. Louisville
25. Missouri
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, James Madison 3, Auburn 3, Memphis 2, California 2, Liberty 1, Western Michigan 1, Tulane 1, Virginia 1.
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View Comments (4)
Underrated: BYU, Indiana (when will they learn?), Texas Tech, Louisville, Houston, SMU
Overrated: Texas, LSU, USC, Utah, Michigan, Penn State, Missouri, Georgia (weird to say but true)
Sorry that you feel your team is underrated, but I'm not sure, other than loyalty, your complaint is based on the last two seasons. Getting absolutely flattened by Texas Tech twice in one season is not a great look.
I think we should’ve started at least 12. We ened at eleven last year and do you think we’re three spots worse? Because I don’t. I think we’ve gotten better actually. I also said Texas Tech was underrated did I not? I’m actually most upset about where Indiana is. They have not gotten worse and are not five spots worse than last year. The fact that they, the defending national champions, are behind not one but two teams that didn’t even make the CFP last year. That is a huge slap in the face. They deserve to be number 1.
A poll is a consensus opinion of the group being surveyed. In the two major polls there are a total of 141 voters, and both have all the teams in essentially the same spot. In this case, the coaches had BYU in a tie for 14th, so essentially the same position the as the media who have them at 15.
This is the preseason poll, and it mean nothing in the grand scheme of things, there is a lot of football ahead to unravel. The people who vote in these polls know more about all the teams than I do, but I don't feel any of the teams you listed are underrated. In the end, a lot of football will unravel it and likely no one will end up in the same spot they are now when its all over. It rarely happens that way, which is what makes the games worth watching.
I didn't say anything about what you said about Texas Tech either, other than your team got flattened by "Texas Tech Twice." We can add in that the combined score of those was 63-14, and that after the second game, Tech was shut out by Oregon. Doesn't sound too top 10 worthy.
The bottom line of all, maybe those teams are better, but the people who cover the game and coach the athletes say that Ohio State has improved a lot more. I hope they are wrong. Ohio State is on the list of teams I could go the rest of my life without having them win another championship. I trust in the end that a true winner will emerge on the field at the end of the season either way.