SALT LAKE CITY — The new season is a couple weeks away, and it’s time — once again — to rank the perceived best football teams in the country.
Preseason polls have no substantive value, but are more of a peak into the window of team’s potential. The teams ranked are ones that have some momentum on their side going into the new year.
Some are bringing back the bulk of their roster from the year prior, while others had a great offseason and are viewed as contenders this season. Especially in the era of the transfer portal, carryover — and its success — from the year before is not a guarantee.
My predictions are not a look ahead at the future but merely a snapshot in time before any football has been played. The rankings will have more value as the season develops.
So with that said, here’s a reminder of the process.
I submitted the following ballot to the Associated Press earlier this month (before fall camps began) as one of 63 writers around the country tasked with ranking college football teams. I will continue to submit a weekly ballot that is counted toward the consensus poll that is released by the AP each Sunday.
I don’t get paid extra by the AP to vote in this poll, but I do my best to watch as many games as possible each week. While I often try not to judge one game too harshly (or positively), it may happen from time to time. I like to look at the week-to-week results and various statistical measures to compile my ballot.
As you can see from my ballot track record, I have tried to judge teams fairly over the years.
Votes are tallied such that the No. 1 team on a ballot receives 25 points, the No. 2 team receives 24 points, and it continues down until the No. 25 team receives 1 point. The points are then totaled from all the AP voters, and a consensus poll is created based on those results.
So while my ballot matters in the collective sense, it doesn’t have far-reaching influence to impact a team in a significant way. Yes, if the consensus poll has your favorite team at No. 10 and I had them at No. 11, there’s little that could be done on my part to move them up one more spot — even if I ranked them No. 1.
The consensus preseason AP Top 25 poll for the 2025 season will be released Monday at 10 a.m. MDT.
Once the season kicks off, I’ll continue to publicly release my ballot each week and explain my rationale behind it (at least for the top 10 teams).
If you can’t see my ballot below, click here.
1. Penn State
Is this finally the year? Penn State approached the offseason like Ohio State last year, and look how that worked out for the Buckeyes. The Nittany Lions still need to prove they can win the big games, but they’re got as good of a chance as any this season.
Drew Allar returns under center as a more than serviceable quarterback, and he’s paired with returning star running backs who could have moved on to bigger and better things but decided to run it back. Add to it the influx of talent from the portal and what’s returning, and Penn State is more than capable of winning a lot of games.
Oh … and just out of spite, Penn State nabbed Ohio State’s defensive coordinator to help an already great defense. Not bad.
2. Texas
Texas is the safer pick and could easily be a preseason No. 1 team, but I’m holding out just a bit longer. With that said, there’s very few reasons to doubt Steve Sarkisian’s roster, especially with Arch Manning under center.
There’s a risk of crowning someone too early, but we’ve already gotten a taste of Manning’s talent last season — and it’s likely only gotten better a year later. He’ll have a lot of talent around him to help.
The Longhorns had some significant roster turnover, but what was left was already stacked with elite talent that got better with portal players. But there could definitely be some early bumps in the road.
3. Notre Dame
Marcus Freeman continues to quietly piece together a strong roster worthy of a national championship run. But even the Irish aren’t immune to bad losses like last season (hello, Northern Illinois). I tend to believe Notre Dame has moved past that and is better for it.
Notre Dame will have arguably the best offensive line in the country, an All-American running back in Jeremiyah Love, and a promising quarterback in CJ Carr to lead the offense. Carr will have plenty to work with, but he remains one of the biggest questions.
Even then, the Notre Dame defense should be elite, aiding any troubles the team may have on offense. There’s little reason to doubt that Carr will be successful, but to what extent. I’m high on the Irish, but poor QB play could ruin what looks to be a special season.
4. Alabama
Without the distractions of having to follow up Nick Saban so fresh on the mind, there’s belief that Alabama can now finally move forward under a new regime. And a big boost to the program is Kalen DeBoer bringing in longtime friend Ryan Grubb as the team’s offensive coordinator — a great pairing that’s been proven to have success.
Former five-star QB Ty Simpson is expected to take the reins after several years of development in the Alabama program, and he’ll have one of the best receivers in the country in Ryan Williams to throw to this season, among several other blue-chip players.
The defense held onto several players with NFL potential in what feels like a push for a deep run in the playoff.
5. Clemson
Some see Clemson as a No. 1 team, but I’m not quite there yet. With that said, a majority of the roster returns following an ACC championship run. Cade Klubnik returns under center, and he has four returning offensive linemen and his top three receivers back to bolster the offense.
On the other side of the ball, Dabo Swinney hired Tom Allen to be defensive coordinator after taking Penn State to the top last season. The Tigers lose a starter at each level of the defense, but there shouldn’t be much of a down turn.
6. Ohio State
The Buckeyes are the reigning champions, but this year’s roster is completely different. That’s not to say Ohio State isn’t capable of challenging for another title, but there’s far more questions about this team and more to prove first.
Julian Sayin will get his chance to be the next best Ohio State QB, and he’ll have Brian Hartline as his offensive coordinator to help him. Oh … and he’ll have the always talented wide receiver room that is led by Jeremiah Smith. The offensive line only returns one starter, but there’s good depth players that now get their shot.
Defense is younger, and we’ll see what impact Jim Knowles going to Penn State will have on the squad.
7. Georgia
Once again, Georgia sent a plethora of players to the NFL draft, and yet the Bulldogs continue to churn out talent.
Gunner Stockton will lead the charge under center, and he’ll have an elite wide receiver room that may be one of the best in the country. The ground game should be solid despite replacing the offensive line.
The defense has to hold up, though, after losing seven players to the NFL. The talent on paper, though, leaves little cause for concern — they just have to continue to produce on the field.
8. Oregon
A year after a dream run through the Big Ten — only to suffer a rough draw as the No. 1 seed in the playoff — Oregon is looking to reload. Promising quarterback Dante Moore gets the nod but has little around him returning. Still, there’s enough blue-chip talent to more than make up the difference, especially if Moore is what many believed he could be out of high school years ago.
The defense takes a hit after replacing about nine starters, but the depth here has been solid and has experience. It’s easy to believe Dan Lanning’s team will be fine since they’ve proven it time and time again.
9. Oklahoma
Admittedly, this may be the biggest hot take of a pick on my ballot. Oklahoma wasn’t much on offense last season but was solid on defense. The Sooners went out and got Washington State offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle and his dynamic dual-threat quarterback in John Mateer.
That tandem alone is a significant improvement from a year ago, and the Sooners have added even more talent around Mateer to help the situation. The defense loses its coordinator, but the defensive line is loaded.
The pieces are all there for a successful season, and I’m willing to bet they’re good; but this could all come crashing down, too.
10. Arizona State
A year after surprising everyone in the Big 12, Arizona State is back with a veteran roster — nearly everyone returns from its Big 12 championship run. Sam Leavitt is a dynamic QB who will continue to make the Sun Devils a tough out for teams, and he’s got a top receiver in Jordyn Tyson to help his cause.
The Sun Devils will have to make up the difference for what Cam Skattebo brought to the team, but this is a team that now has a year’s worth of success to help aid that growth.
Until some other team dethrones Arizona State, they remain the favorite out of the Big 12.
Local teams: BYU and Utah are not in my AP Top 25 ballot.
The Cougars have many questions to answer — primarily at QB — ahead of this season, but their defense should be great again. That’s not enough for me to rank them — even based on last season’s success. Admittedly, had Jake Retzlaff still been on the team they would have been in my preseason ballot. So for now, I want to see what they have before ranking them.
Many other voters have ranked the Utes in their top 25 based on what the team has done in the offseason. While I share the potential optimism about the team and its upward trajectory following a 5-7 season, I want to see it in action before I blindly rank them. As preseason rankings go, they’re no different than some other teams ranked, but I need to see some proof on the field.
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