For the first time in program history, the Texas Longhorns opened the season ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press preseason Top 25, edging out Penn State by a mere five points, the narrowest margin since 1998. Texas secured 25 first-place votes and totaled 1,552 points, while Penn State garnered 23 first-place votes and 1,547 points. The defending national champion Ohio State entered at No. 3, followed by Clemson and Georgia in the top five.
Here's a full breakdown by 92.9 FM ESPN's Jason Smith:
Notably, the SEC dominated with 10 teams in the Top 25, a record for any conference while the Big Ten placed six teams in the rankings. Other highlights include SMU cracking the preseason poll for the first time in 40 years and Boise State standing out as the lone non–Power Four team ranked.
Memphis received nine votes. Here's the complete preseason AP Poll list from 8/11/25:
Preseason AP Top 25 Poll rankings
(1st place votes) Points 1 Texas (25) 2 Penn State (23) 3 Ohio State (11) 4 Clemson (4) 5 Georgia (1) 6 Notre Dame 7 Oregon (1) 8 Alabama 9 LSU 10 Miami (Fla.) 11 Arizona State 12 Illinois 13 South Carolina 14 Michigan 15 Florida 16 SMU 17 Kansas State 18 Oklahoma 19 Texas A&M 20 Indiana 21 Ole Miss 22 Iowa State 23 Texas Tech 24 Tennessee 25 Boise State
Others receiving votes: BYU 156, Utah 144, Baylor 132, Louisville 90, Southern Cal 64, Georgia Tech 63, Missouri 33, Tulane 23, Nebraska 23, UNLV 21, Toledo 13, Auburn 10, James Madison 9, Memphis 9, Florida State 8, Duke 6, Liberty 5, Navy 5, Iowa 5, TCU 4, Pittsburgh 3, Army 2, Colorado 1, Louisiana 1.