PASADENA, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 01: Jeremiah Smith #4 of the Ohio State Buckeyes reacts after a first down during the third quarter against the Oregon Ducks during the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Prudential at Rose Bowl Stadium on January 01, 2025 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
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For more than a decade, Ohio State has been the most consistent program in college football. Since 2012, the Buckeyes have gone 165-21, won nearly 89% of their games and never lost more than two games in a season. Still, for just the second time during that stretch, Ohio State enters the season ranked first in the Associated Press preseason poll.
The Buckeyes received 1,672 points and 40 first-place votes to finish ahead of No. 2 Oregon, which had 1,597 points and 14 first-place votes. It is just the second time ever and first time since 1961 that the Big Ten Conference has had the top two teams in the preseason AP poll. No conference has had the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the poll since Oklahoma and Nebraska of the now-defunct Big Eight claimed the top spots before the 1987 season.
Ohio State was last No. 1 in 2015, one year after winning the national title. The Buckeyes finished that season 12-1 but were left out of the four-team College Football Playoff. Oregon, meanwhile, has its highest-ever preseason ranking. The Ducks have been ranked third heading into four seasons, including in 2024 when they went 13-1 and lost to Ohio State in the CFP quarterfinals. Ohio State won the championship that season.
Ohio State hosts Oregon on Nov. 7 in a game that should have a major impact on the Big Ten standings and CFP seeding and potentially the Heisman Trophy race. Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin and wide receiver Jeremiah Smith are the two highest return vote-getters in last year’s Heisman voting, as they finished fourth and sixth, respectively. In addition, Oregon quarterback Dante Moore returns after completing 71.8% of his passes for 3,565 yards, throwing 30 touchdowns and 10 interceptions and finishing with a 163.8 passer efficiency rating, which was eighth in the nation.
The Buckeyes also travel on Oct. 17 to Indiana, the reigning national champion. The Big Ten has won the last three CFP titles, with Michigan in the 2023 season, Ohio State two seasons ago and Indiana last season.
Indiana is No. 6 in this year’s AP preseason poll, by far the highest in its history and just the fifth time it has had a preseason ranking. The Hoosiers entered last season No. 20 in the AP poll and were also ranked heading into the 1968 season (at No. 13), the 1969 season (at No. 14) and the 2021 season (at No. 17).
The other Big Ten teams in the AP preseason poll are USC, which is tied for No. 14 with BYU and faces pressure to succeed to solidify coach Lincoln Riley’s job; No. 15 Michigan, which has a new coach in longtime Utah coach Kyle Whittingham; No. 17 Washington, which has a returning starting quarterback in Demond Williams Jr.; No. 18 Penn State, which has a new coach in former Iowa State coach Matt Campbell; and No. 22 Iowa, which is led by Kirk Ferentz, who is the longest-tenured coach in the nation.
The Southeastern Conference has nine teams ranked, the most of any league and one shy of last season’s preseason record. Five of the top 10 teams are from the SEC in No. 3 Georgia, No. 5 Texas, No. 8 Texas A&M, No. 9 Ole Miss and No. 10 Oklahoma. Oklahoma has the most difficult schedule in the SEC, as it faces the four teams ranked above it, although three of the games are at home. Texas also has a tough slate, as the Longhorns face Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Oklahoma and No. 11 LSU, as well as Ohio State at home on Sept. 12. The Longhorns return starting quarterback Arch Manning and add several transfers such as receiver Cam Coleman (Auburn), running backs Hollywood Smothers (North Carolina State) and Raleek Brown (Arizona State) and offensive lineman Melvin Siani (Wake Forest).
No. 4 Notre Dame and No. 7 Miami are the only non-Big Ten or SEC schools in the top 10. The teams meet at Notre Dame on Nov. 7 in a rematch from the opener from last season when the Hurricanes won, 27-24, in Miami. That result ended up giving Miami the last CFP spot over the Fighting Irish. The Hurricanes advanced to the title game, where they lost to Indiana.
This year’s Notre Dame-Miami game could feature undefeated teams. The Irish’s only ranked opponent before then is No. 14 BYU on the road on Oct. 17, while the Hurricanes face no ranked opponents all season other than Note Dame. No. 19 SMU is the only other ranked opponent the Irish play, and that is at home on Nov. 21.
Notre Dame’s No. 4 preseason ranking is the highest since 2006 when the Irish were second behind Ohio State. Back then, Notre Dame returned quarterback Brady Quinn, who had thrown for more than 3,900 yards and 32 touchdowns the previous year. This season, the Irish have CJ Carr, the program’s best quarterback since Quinn. Carr completed 66.6% of his passes for 2,741 yards, 24 touchdowns and just six interceptions. Carr ranked third in the nation with 9.4 yards per attempt, fourth with 14.1 yards per completion and fifth with a 168.1 passing efficiency rating.
Miami’s preseason ranking is its best since 2004 when the Hurricanes were fourth. Although the Hurricanes lost quarterback Carson Beck and other starters, they signed the No. 5 transfer class in the nation, per 247Sports, led by quarterback Darian Mensah (Duke), edge Damon Wilson II (Missouri), receiver Cooper Barkate (Duke) and defensive lineman Keona Davis (Nebraska). Mensah completed 66.8% of his passes for 3,973 yards, 34 touchdowns and eight interceptions last season and led Duke to the Atlantic Coast Conference championship.
Of the top 25 teams in the preseason, none are from the Group of 6 leagues, which consists of the American, Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West, Sun Belt and the Pac-12. Still, the CFP reserves one spot for the highest-ranked Group of 6 team, although last year two such teams (James Madison and Tulane) qualified. Both of those programs lost in the first round.