Preseason AP poll reaction: What's next for each Top 25 team
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- Ohio State opens the AP preseason poll at No. 1 followed by Oregon at No. 2, with Ohio State entering the year as the favorite in 31 straight games — the longest active streak in the FBS
- Georgia (No. 3), Texas (No. 5), and three other SEC teams fill five of the top 10 spots, with Lane Kiffin's first LSU team sitting just outside at No. 11
- Texas Tech is the highest-ranked Big 12 team at No. 12 and opens with three in-state opponents in its first four games, having not lost to any of them since 2009
- Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr becomes the first Irish QB to start consecutive season openers since 2019-20, ending a five-year streak of new Week 1 starters
- Indiana returns from a 16-0 championship campaign facing four opponents that finished ranked in last season's final AP poll
- Penn State's regular-season schedule avoids Ohio State, Oregon, and Indiana entirely — the first meeting with Michigan since 2023 is its marquee Big Ten test
- BYU went 23-4 across the past two seasons, one of five FBS teams to win 11-plus games each year, and the only one in that group to miss the CFP both times
Why it matters: Ohio State faces No. 5 Texas in Week 2, guaranteeing the top of the poll gets tested almost immediately — and the Buckeyes enter with a 31-game favorite streak that no other FBS program matches. Penn State, meanwhile, avoids the Big Ten's top three ranked teams in the regular season, a structural break from the conference gauntlet that could shape the playoff picture for a team coming off a 7-6 year.
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