Reaction to the AP College Football Preseason Poll: What’s next for each Top 25 team?
Ohio State opens the year as the top-ranked team in the country, followed by another Big Ten team, Oregon. The SEC has five teams in the top 10, led by No. 3 Georgia and No. 5 Texas. Lane Kiffin’s first LSU team is just outside at No. 11. The highest-ranked Big 12 team is Texas Tech at No. 12. With the Buckeyes visiting the Longhorns in Week 2, nothing in these rankings will remain fixed for long.
Statistics courtesy of ESPN Research.
All times ET.
2025 record: 12-2
Week 1: September 5 vs. Ball State, 12:30 p.m., Big Ten Network
Statistics to know: Ohio State enters the season having been favored in 31 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the FBS.
2025 record: 13-2
Week 1: September 5 vs. Boise State, 3:30 p.m., CBS
Statistics to know: Dan Lanning is 48-8 in his four seasons at Oregon, tied with Ryan Day for the third-best record among active FBS head coaches in that span.
2025 record: 12-2
Week 1: September 5 vs. Tennessee State, 3 p.m., SEC Network+
Statistics to know: The Bulldogs conclude the regular season at home against Georgia Tech; Georgia won eight straight, tied for the longest winning streak of any school in series history (Georgia Tech won eight in a row from 1949 to 1956).
2025 record: 10-2
Week 1: September 6 vs. Wisconsin, 7:30 p.m., NBC
Statistics to know: Last season was Notre Dame’s fifth straight year with a new starting quarterback. CJ Carr, however, begins this year as a starter and will become the first quarterback to start back-to-back season starts for the Irish since 2019-20.
2025 record: 10-3
Week 1: September 5 vs. Texas State, 3:30 p.m., ESPN
Statistics to know: The Longhorns averaged just 388.5 yards per game, 6.0 yards per play and 137.8 rushing yards per game, their lowest marks since Steve Sarkisian became head coach in 2021.
2025 record: 16-0
Week 1: September 5 vs. North Texas, noon, Fox
Statistics to know: The Hoosiers have four games scheduled against teams that finished ranked in the final 2025 AP Poll.
2025 record: 13-3
Week 1: September 4 at Stanford, 9 p.m., ESPN
Statistics to know: Miami didn’t leave Florida State until Nov. 1 of last season. This year, they travel more than 2,500 miles from the gate to play at Stanford. This will be just the second time Miami has opened with a true road game in the last 10 years.
2025 record: 11-2
Week 1: September 5 vs. Missouri State, 7 p.m., ESPN
Statistics to know: A&M closes the season by hosting Texas, whom they haven’t beaten since 2010. The Aggies suffered their first loss of last season in Austin, 27-17, after entering the game 11-0.
2025 record: 13-2
Week 1: September 6 vs. Louisville, 7:30 p.m., ABC
Statistics to know: Ole Miss has not lost a season opener since 2020.
2025 record: 10-3
Week 1: September 4 vs. UTEP, 8 p.m., SEC Network+
Statistics to know: The Sooners do not have consecutive road games all season.
2025 record: 7-6
Week 1: September 5 vs. Clemson, 7:30 p.m., ABC
Statistics to know: The season opener will be just the second regular-season meeting between LSU and Clemson. Before last season, the previous four meetings came in bowl games.
2025 record: 12-2
Week 1: September 5 vs. Abilene Christian, 7 p.m., FS1
Statistics to know: The Red Raiders open with three in-state opponents in their first four games. Texas Tech hasn’t lost to any of those three foes since 2009 against Houston.
2025 record: 11-4
Week 1: Sept. 5 vs. East Carolina, noon, ABC
Statistics to know: The Tide will seek revenge against Florida State in Week 3. The Seminoles would be the second team to beat the Tide in consecutive seasons since Kalen DeBoer took over in 2024, joining Oklahoma.
2025 record: 12-2
Week 1: September 5 vs. Utah Tech, 8 p.m., ESPN+
Statistics to know: The Cougars are 23-4 over the past two seasons. They are one of five FBS teams to have won more than 11 games in each of the last two seasons and the only one in that group not to make the CFP.
2025 record: 9-4
Week 0: August 29 vs. San Jose State, 3 p.m., NBC
Statistics to know: After opening with three straight non-conference games, the Trojans begin Big Ten play with a cross-country trip to Rutgers, approximately 2,700 miles away. Since joining the Big Ten in 2024, USC has struggled on the road in conference play, going 3-6, compared to 8-1 in conference play at home.
2025 record: 9-4
Week 1: September 5 vs. Western Michigan, 7:30 p.m., NBC
Statistics to know: Michigan’s first-year head coaches have traditionally done well. Going back to Bo Schembechler’s first year in 1969, six of the last seven new coaches have won at least eight games.
2025 record: 9-4
Week 1: September 6 vs. Washington State, 4 p.m., NBC
Statistics to know: Quarterback Demond Williams was tied for 19th last season with 25 touchdown passes. He ranked 32nd in passing yards with 3,065.
2025 record: 7-6
Week 1: September 5 vs. Marshall, 3:30 p.m., FS1
Statistics to know: Although the Nittany Lions will play Michigan for the first time since 2023, much of the discussion about PSU’s schedule revolves around who isn’t on it. Penn State will not have to play Ohio State, Oregon or Indiana during the regular season.
2025 record: 9-4
Week 1: September 7 at Florida State, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
Statistics to know: Since joining the ACC in 2024, SMU is 1-4 against teams that finished the season ranked in the AP Top 25 (only win against Miami in 2025), compared to 19-3 against all other teams.
2025 record: 8-5
Week 1: September 5 vs. Furman, 3:30 p.m., SEC Network+
Statistics to know: Tennessee enters the year with a 96-26-6 record in season-opening games (2020 win vacated) and a 5-0 opening record under head coach Josh Heupel, outscoring opponents 260-58.
2025 record: 11-2
Week 1: September 3 vs. Idaho, 9 p.m., ESPNU
Statistics to know: Morgan Scalley is just Utah’s fourth head coach since 1990, following Ron McBride, Urban Meyer and Kyle Whittingham.
2025 record: 9-4
Week 1: September 5 vs. Northern Illinois, 4:15 p.m., Big Ten Network
Statistics to know: The Hawkeyes lost four games last year, all by five points or less.
2025 record: 10-3
Week 1: Sept. 5 vs. Oregon State, noon, ESPN
Statistics to know: After a 4-8 debut under Willie Fritz, the Cougars improved to 10-3 last year. His winning percentage in the third year of a job tends to remain stable around .725.
2025 record: 9-4
Week 1: September 6 vs. Ole Miss, 7:30 p.m., ABC
Statistics to know: Only one contributor returns for the offensive line as transfers will fill the rest of the spots.
2025 record: 8-5
Week 1: September 3 vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 8 p.m., SEC Network
Statistics to know: Although last season did not end with a victory, Missouri won eight games for the third consecutive year, the second-longest streak in program history (behind only a six-season streak from 2006 to 2011).
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