AP Top 25: Texas No. 1 in Preseason Poll, Setting Up Top-3 Matchup vs. Ohio State

When Texas and Ohio State meet in Columbus on Aug. 30 (noon ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app), it’ll likely be for the No. 1 ranking in the nation. 

Texas received the No. 1 ranking in the AP Top 25 college football preseason poll for the 2025 season, which was unveiled Monday. Ohio State, meanwhile, was No. 3, while Penn State was ranked No. 2 between Texas and OSU.

[Related: RJ Young’s Ultimate 136 college football rankings]

Texas received its No. 1 ranking after two appearances in the College Football Playoff semifinals in each of the last two years, earning 25 of the 65 first-place votes. The Longhorns also received the No. 1 ranking as Arch Manning is set to take over at quarterback for the 2025 season. Manning, a redshirt sophomore, sat behind Quinn Ewers the last two seasons, but briefly played in 2024, recording 939 passing yards, two interceptions, 108 rushing yards and 13 total touchdowns.

Ohio State received the No. 3 ranking after winning its first national championship under head coach Ryan Day last season. Fourteen players from that team were selected in the 2025 NFL Draft, including quarterback Will Howard and wide receiver Emeka Egbuka. The Buckeyes arguably have the two best players in college football entering 2025, however, with wide receiver Jeremiah Smith and safety Caleb Downs returning. Julian Sayin and Lincoln Kienholz are battling for the starting quarterback job. Ohio State got 11 first-place votes. 

Penn State nearly got the No. 1 overall ranking. It earned 23 first-place votes and was only five points shy of Texas’ point total. The Nittany Lions return quarterback Drew Allar, along with running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen, helping them receive their highest ranking in the AP Top 25 preseason poll since 1997.

Clemson, which returns quarterback Cade Klubnik and several stars on defense, earned the No. 4 ranking, receiving four first-place votes. Georgia rounds out the top five, receiving one first-place vote. 

Notre Dame, Oregon (which got the final first-place vote), Alabama, LSU and Miami (Fla.) round out the top 10.

The SEC leads all conferences with 10 teams in the preseason Top 25, the most ever by a conference and one more than a year ago. The SEC has four teams in the top 10 for the second straight year. The Big Ten, which has won the last two national championships, has two of the top three teams in the poll for the third straight year and six in the Top 25 for the third year in a row. Four Big 12 teams are ranked, with defending conference champion Arizona State the highest at No. 11. The ACC has three.

Here’s the full top 25:

1. Texas
2. Penn State
3. Ohio State
4. Clemson  
5. Georgia
6. Notre Dame
7. Oregon
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

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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