You can tell college football is upon us by the way strangers on the internet are losing their minds over a superficial number next to their team's name. For BYU football fans, seeing a tiny 23 from the Coaches Poll is borderline euphoria; this team almost never receives preseason respect on the national scale.
But when week one finally kicks off here at the end of the month, you won't see the Coaches Poll making an appearance on the score bug. No, that'll be the home of the AP Poll. Yes, the Associated Press' top 25 rankings. Composed of a heap of sports media members from across the nation, this poll is the authoritative voice on who's hot and who's not in the football landscape.
That is, until her hotter sister, the College Football Playoff Rankings come to town around the midpoint of the season. But try not to mention that in the vicinity of the AP -- there's a lot of insecurity in the room from both parties.
But with this first ranking arrives expectations. If you're in the top 10, your season is predestined for a championship fight. Anything less than a College Football Playoff appearance is an ultimate disappointment and a cosmic letdown.
Find yourself ranked between 11 and 20, and you're in the hunt. An outsider's chance, but a chance nonetheless to keep yourself in the competition. You can see the finish line. Maintain focus and you may reach the promised land of meaningful postseason football.
If your team is in the 21 through 25 range, just be happy to be included.
Unranked and beyond, you have an uphill climb, as rankings inertia is a real thing, whether you like it or not. Still, BYU was able to launch from unranked to 6th in the nation in 9 weeks last season. Had they not choked against Kansas at home, who knows what might have happened.
But in an effort to make shape of the college football season before it's even kicked off, we're predicting the outlook of the preseason poll. Please keep in mind, this is not a ranking based on who we believe to be the best 25 squads in football, but rather a prediction of how the AP Poll may shake out upon release. No hot takes here; we're thinking as they do.
2025 Preseason AP Poll Top 25 Prediction
1. Texas
2. Ohio State
3. Georgia
4. Penn State
5. Notre Dame
6. Oregon
7. Clemson
8. Alabama
9. LSU
10. Miami
11. South Carolina
12. Arizona State
13. Michigan
14. Illinois
15. SMU
16. Ole Miss
17. Tennessee
18. Kansas State
19. Iowa State
20. Florida
21. Texas Tech
22. Indiana
23. Oklahoma
24. Missouri
25. BYU