July 1, 2026

AP Top 25 poll: Clemson, Ohio State lead the way in preseason college football rankings

USATSI The preseason AP Top 25 poll was released on Monday, and it has taken on a different look in what will be one of the strangest college football seasons in recent memory. Even though the Big Ten, Pac-12, Mountain West and MAC have chosen to postpone their fall seasons, the Associated Press decided to let voters include teams from those conferences in their initial polls. With that in mind, there wasn’t much of a surprise at the top. Clemson, led by Heisman Trophy candidate Trevor Lawrence, chimed in as the preseason No. 1 team in America for the second straight season. The Tigers are followed by the first team from the Big Ten to be included — the Ohio State Buckeyes. Even though they won’t play this fall, Justin Fields and Co. were widely regarded as one of the top teams in the country prior to the shutdown. Alabama,…

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