Sooners open 2025 season ranked No. 18 in AP Top 25 Preseason Poll, Texas claims top spot

The AP Top 25 college football poll preseason rankings are now out. Texas took the No. 1 spot for the first time in an opening poll, narrowly edging out Penn State by just five points in the closest preseason vote since 1998. Defending champion Ohio State is ranked No. 3.

A tradition since 1936, no organization has been ranking teams and naming a major college football national champion longer than the AP — and now you can follow live updates before and after the poll drops.

1. Texas
2. Penn State
3. Ohio State
4. Clemson
5. Georgia
6. Notre Dame
7. Oregon
8. Alabama
9. LSU
10. Miami (FL)
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

Oklahoma lands just outside top 25 at no. 26 as Texas tops preseason coaches poll

Who are the voters?

AP Top 25 voters are writers and broadcasters who cover college football for AP members and other select outlets. AP employees do not vote, but they do choose the voters. In recent years, the number of voters has been around 60, and they come from all over the country.

The goal is to have every state with a Football Bowl Subdivision school represented by at least one voter, and the total of number of voters from each state tends to increase with the number of FBS teams. There are also spots reserved for national voters.

How do they vote?

There was a time when voters called, emailed and faxed their votes to the AP. Long ago, the ballots were tabulated by hand.

Now voting is done online and all the tabulation is automated.

There is a 1-25 point system, with a team voted No. 1 receiving 25 points down to 1 point for a 25th-place vote. After that, it’s simple: The poll lists the teams with the most points from 1 to 25 and others receiving votes are also noted.

When is the voting done?

Except for the first two polls and the final poll after the national championship game, the Top 25 rankings are released on Sunday afternoons. That gives voters time to assess the results of Saturday’s games ahead of the poll release at 2 p.m. Eastern.

Voting guidelines

The AP allows wide latitude for voters to determine their rankings. They are urged to base their votes on performance, not reputation or preseason speculation; to avoid regional bias, for or against; to pay attention to head-to-head results; and to make significant changes if desired. Teams on NCAA probation are eligible for the AP poll.