Tomorrow's Top 25 Today: Big Ten takeover in the top five in new college football rankings
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- Ohio State is projected to claim the No. 1 spot in Monday's AP Top 25 release, with the source citing voter continuity around coach Ryan Day, Heisman finalist QB Julian Sayin, and All-American WR Jeremiah Smith as anchors for ballots
- Oregon lands at No. 2 behind Dan Lanning, whose teams have finished inside the AP top four in each of the last two seasons, with QB Dante Moore leading a roster the source calls a 'high-floor proposition'
- Indiana is projected No. 4 — a placement the source frames as part of 'one of the sign-of-the-times sports stories of the decade' under Curt Cignetti, despite the Coaches Poll ranking the Hoosiers sixth in voting points with just 14 first-place votes
- Texas A&M opens at No. 10 with a returning third-year starting QB, a carryover the source ties to voter distrust after AP pollsters never ranked the Aggies higher than No. 3 last year despite an 11-0 regular-season start
- Alabama slides to No. 13, with the source attributing the drop to an unsettled QB competition between Keelon Russell and Austin Mack while other contenders have locked in their starter
- Michigan debuts at No. 15 under new coach Kyle Whittingham, the former Utah head coach now paired with QB Bryce Underwood in a pairing the source says voters will wait to see on the field before moving up
- Notre Dame rounds out the top five at No. 5, powered by CJ Carr's Heisman buzz, though the source flags a split between voters extrapolating from last season's ending versus those forecasting the 2026 finish
Why it matters: Three Big Ten programs (Ohio State, Oregon, Indiana) sit inside the top five of this projection, a conference tilt the source frames as the dominant preseason storyline ahead of Monday's noon ET AP release. With tier-1 teams ranked 1-7 and tier-2 contenders packed between Nos. 8-15, the narrow voting margin means a single early-season result could scramble College Football Playoff positioning before the AP ballots fully settle.
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