For the first time in school history, Texas is entering the season as the No. 1 team in the AP top 25. Texas was the No. 1 team in Monday's preseason AP poll, just ahead of No. 2 Penn State, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Clemson, and No. 5 Georgia.
For the first time in school history, Texas is entering the season as the No. 1 team in the AP top 25. Texas was the No. 1 team in Monday’s preseason AP poll, just ahead of No. 2 Penn State, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Clemson, and No. 5 Georgia.
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There was no real consensus as to who the top team was. Texas had 25 first-place votes out of 65 ballots. Penn State was just behind with 23 first-place votes, which had the Nittany Lions only five “points” behind Texas in the poll.
No. 3 Ohio State notched 11 first-place votes. The Buckeyes were the No. 2 team in the preseason Coaches Poll and also were not far behind the Longhorns as far as No. 1 rankings in that poll.
No. 4 Clemson grabbed four first-place votes. No. 5 Georgia and No. 7 Oregon each landed one No. 1 ranking apiece. No. 6 Notre Dame was ahead of the Ducks but didn’t grab a first-place vote.
The spread of first-place votes to six different teams is a bit of an anomaly as far as the preseason poll goes. In the last two years, Georgia notched most of the first-place votes before a game had been played. Alabama grabbed most votes before the 2021 and 2022 season.
There hasn’t been this type of split at the top of the preseason poll since 2016, when Alabama had 33 first-place votes, followed by 16 for No. 2 Clemson, four for No. 3 Oklahoma, five for No. 4 Florida State, then one apiece for No. 5 LSU, No. 6 Ohio State, and No. 7 Michigan.
What does the split mean?
There are no superteams anymore. Ohio State’s 2024 squad would likely be vanquished by other national championship game participants of the mid-2010s, maybe even by some teams that simply made the College Football Playoff. The mobility that players have these days that allows them to find playing time without having to lose a year of eligibility means that top teams that used to horde talent can see that talent depart. Some of that is due to lax portal regulations, some of that is due to NIL and the ability for programs to use NIL to land players it used to have no better than a puncher’s chance at landing. You probably are not going to see blue-chip ratio percentiles in the 90s anymore. Teams can still be very talented, especially when teams are able to focus on retention. But they aren’t going to be the same level of talented.
Other thoughts…
The Power 2 contenders. The Big 10 had five of the top 15 teams in the AP poll, including No. 12 Illinois. While 2024 proved there is an avenue to the playoff for teams that reach program crescendos (looking at you, Indiana), it also proved those teams don’t have the staying power needed to go deep into the CFP. Michigan, Oregon, Ohio State, and Penn State are the perennial players for the Big 10 as far as the national championship conversation, and all those teams were in the top 15. Sorry, Illini, don’t see it happening this year.
For the SEC? Texas lead a group of six. South Carolina and Florida’s standing outside the top 10 are revelatory. Those two are arguably at talent crescendos, especially when looking at both program’s respective quarterbacks. But when parts of the operation start to operate at less than peak efficiency or are injured, will they be able to maintain the level of play needed to truly contend? For the top 10 teams like LSU, Alabama, Georgia, and Texas, there’s a level of depth available that looks different even when it has to be tested. And LSU’s inclusion may be a bit generous. They’re good, but are they in the same category as the other teams?
QB intrigue. Here are teams in the top 10 alone fielding a new starter at quarterback this year: No. 1 Texas, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 5 Georgia, No. 6 Notre Dame, No. 7 Oregon, No. 8 Alabama, No. 10 Miami. Seven teams in the top 10, and 12 of the top 25 by a quick count have new quarterbacks. Who will rise up? Does fortune favor stability for teams like Penn State with Drew Allar or Clemson with Cade Klubnik? Or will new names at Texas like Arch Manning or at Oregon with Dante Moore take control of well-oiled machines and guide them to the top?
Conference count
- SEC: 10
- Big 10: 6
- Big 12: 4
- ACC: 3
- Independents: 1
- Mountain West: 1
Looking around
- The top 10 is fine.
- Oklahoma is not out of place in this top 25. But in the top 20? The Sooners are probably a better team than Indiana, Texas Tech, Tennessee, and Boise State. Better than Texas A&M, Ole Miss, and Iowa State? Not so sure.
- There were voters that put Florida State somewhere in their top 25.
- I like Texas Tech at No. 23, to be honest. It’s a great prove-it spot. Are you as good as your offseason efforts? Then moving up should be no problem.
- In years past, No. 17 Kansas State, No. 18 Oklahoma, and No. 19 Texas A&M could have all played each other.
One team that won’t be ranked at season’s end: Indiana
One team that isn’t ranked now but will be at season’s end: Baylor
Category: General Sports
