For the second year in a row, Georgia is ranked No. 1 in the AP preseason poll. In addition to the Bulldogs, several familiar faces are featured in the top 25, including three of last season’s four College Football Playoff teams in the top 10.
In addition to the Bulldogs, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Oregon, No. 4 Texas and No. 5 Alabama are also represented in the top 5. The top 10 is rounded out by No. 6 Ole Miss, No. 7 Notre Dame, No. 8 Penn State, No. 9 Michigan and No. 10 Florida State.
Here is the complete preseason AP Top 25 poll.
Preseason AP Top 25 Poll Rankings
Rank | School | Points |
---|---|---|
1 | Georgia (46) | 1,532 |
2 | Ohio State (15) | 1,490 |
3 | Oregon (1) | 1,403 |
4 | Texas | 1,386 |
5 | Alabama | 1,260 |
6 | Ole Miss | 1,189 |
7 | Notre-Dame | 1,122 |
8 | Penn State | 1,060 |
9 | Michigan | 995 |
10 | State of Florida | 971 |
11 | Missouri | 927 |
12 | Utah | 887 |
13 | LSU | 804 |
14 | Clemson | 689 |
15 | Tennessee | 629 |
16 | Oklahoma | 566 |
17 | State of Oklahoma | 538 |
18 | State of Kansas | 526 |
19 | Miami (Florida) | 492 |
20 | Texas A&M | 292 |
21 | Arizona | 237 |
22 | Kansas | 231 |
23 | Southern California | 172 |
24 | State of North Carolina | 171 |
25 | Iowa | 140 |
Other vote recipients: Louisville 111, Virginia Tech 77, Boise St. 47, SMU 33, Iowa St. 33, Liberty 32, Washington 23, West Virginia 17, Memphis 16, Nebraska 16, Wisconsin 15, UTSA 6, Tulane 5, Appalachian St. 4, Kentucky 3, Auburn 2, Colorado 1.
SCHEDULE: Click or tap here to view game times, TV channels and results of all games.
Most weeks at number 1
Here are the 10 FBS programs that have spent the most weeks ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll since 1936, according to www.collegepollarchive.com.
SCHOOL | WEEKLY PLACE NO. 1 | Last time in 1st place |
---|---|---|
Alabama | 140 | 2022 |
Ohio State | 105 | 2015 |
Oklahoma | 101 | 2011 |
Notre-Dame | 98 | 2012 |
Southern California | 91 | 2012 |
State of Florida | 72 | 2014 |
Nebraska | 70 | 2000 |
Miami (Florida) | 68 | 2002 |
Georgia | 52 | 2024 |
Texas | 45 | 2008 |
Florida (41), Michigan (38) and LSU (36) are just outside the top 10.
SCOREBOARD: View scores and stats from every college football game.
AP Poll Ranking by Conference
The SEC and Big Ten lead all conferences with four top-10 teams each. Here’s a breakdown of the overall top 25 by conference:
NUMBER OF PRESEASON TOP 25 TEAMS | CONFERENCE |
---|---|
9 | SEC |
6 | Big Ten |
5 | Big 12 |
4 | ACC |
1 | Independent |
Preseason survey analysis
Georgia returns to the No. 1 spot after Heisman candidate and quarterback Carson Beck decided to stay for his final season. Reigning national champion Michigan dropped to No. 9 after losing 13 players to the NFL Draft. Three of the four CFP teams remained in the top 10, with Texas (No. 4) and Alabama (No. 5) bringing back their own Heisman candidate quarterbacks Quinn Ewers and Jalen Milroe.
No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Oregon are freshmen at center, Will Howard, transferring from Kansas State, takes over for the Buckeyes and Dillon Gabriel, transferring from Oklahoma, takes over for the Ducks. After conference realignment, the top 10 consists of four SEC and four Big Ten representatives, with ACC independents Notre Dame and Florida State taking up the final two spots.
HEISMAN: All Heisman winners and runners-up since 1935 | Colleges with the most Heisman winners
Washington, the CFP runner-up, fell out of the top 25 earlier in the season after Heisman finalist Michael Penix Jr. was lost in the NFL Draft and head coach Kalen DeBoer left for Tuscaloosa. Top-ranked ACC team Florida State found its replacement for Jordan Travis in former Oregon State quarterback DJ Uiagalelei.
Notre Dame, the only team in the top 25 that is not a member of one of the new four major conferences (SEC, ACC, Big Ten and Big 12), will begin its season with Riley Leonard, who is transferring from Duke, running the offense. In the 2024 season, 12 of the top 25 teams are expected to have new quarterbacks — including four in the top 10.
Duels to watch outside the conference and in the early rankings
In a packed first week, the No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 14 Clemson game will be the most important as the top-ranked SEC team and the second-ranked ACC team face off at noon at a neutral site in what will almost certainly have College Football Playoff implications.
Here are some other games worth watching featuring top 25 teams:
As for other key matchups, College GameDay will go international for the first time as No. 10 Florida State will face Georgia Tech at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland. This will be the third consecutive season that a Week 0 game will be played in Ireland. Next Saturday, the No. 8-ranked Nittany Lions will travel to Morgantown to face West Virginia in a difficult first matchup for Penn State.
The College GameDay bus will continue its journey across the pond for the highly anticipated Week 1 clash between No. 7 Notre Dame and No. 20 Texas A&M. Big Ten newcomer Southern Cal will close Week 1 on neutral ground against LSU on Sunday night and open the season at Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders.
BIG GAMES: 20 non-conference games to keep an eye on ahead of the 2024 season
This is how the 2023 preseason survey turned out
Here’s how the teams ranked in the 2023 AP Preseason Top 25 performed last season. Click or tap here to learn more about how the AP preseason poll predicts College Football Playoff teams.
Rank | School (First place votes) | 2023 Final Ap Top 25 Rankings |
---|---|---|
1 | Georgia (60) | 4 |
2 | Michigan (2) | 1 |
3 | State of Ohio (1) | 10 |
4 | Alabama | 5 |
5 | LSU | 12 |
6 | Southern California | NO |
7 | Penn State | 13 |
8 | State of Florida | T6 |
9 | Clemson | 20 |
10 | Washington | 2 |
11 | Texas | 3 |
12 | Tennessee | 17 |
13 | Notre-Dame | 14 |
14 | Utah | NO |
15 | Oregon | T6 |
16 | State of Kansas | 18 |
17 | TCU | NO |
18 | State of Oregon | NO |
19 | Wisconsin | NO |
20 | Oklahoma | 15 |
21 | North Carolina | NO |
22 | Ole Miss | 9 |
23 | Texas A&M | NO |
24 | Tulane | NO |
25 | Iowa | 24 |