For the 131th week in school history, reigning national champion Alabama is No. 1 in the AP poll, which leads all FBS programs. The top-ranked Crimson Tide is joined by several familiar names atop the preseason AP Top 25 poll.
No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 Clemson, No. 4 Ohio State and No. 5 Georgia — each of whom has appeared in the College Football Playoff at least once — round out the top five.
Here's the complete preseason AP Top 25 poll.
Preseason AP Top 25 Poll
|
RANK |
school (first-place vOtes) |
POINTS |
2020 RECORD |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama (47) | 1,548 | 13-0 |
| 2 | Oklahoma (6) | 1,462 | 9-2 |
| 3 | Clemson (6) | 1,447 | 10-2 |
| 4 | Ohio State (1) | 1,393 | 7-1 |
| 5 | Georgia (3) | 1,364 | 8-2 |
| 6 | Texas A&M | 1,223 | 9-1 |
| 7 | Iowa State | 1,160 | 9-3 |
| 8 | Cincinnati | 1,014 | 9-1 |
| 9 | Notre Dame | 1,009 | 10-2 |
| 10 | North Carolina | 999 | 8-4 |
| 11 | Oregon | 968 | 4-3 |
| 12 | Wisconsin | 743 | 4-3 |
| 13 | Florida | 728 | 8-4 |
| 14 | Miami | 663 | 8-3 |
| 15 | USC | 660 | 5-1 |
| 16 | LSU | 631 | 5-5 |
| 17 | Indiana | 549 | 6-2 |
| 18 | Iowa | 513 | 6-2 |
| 19 | Penn State | 456 | 4-5 |
| 20 | Washington | 449 | 3-1 |
| 21 | Texas | 350 | 7-3 |
| 22 | Coastal Carolina | 232 | 11-1 |
| 23 | Louisiana | 208 | 10-1 |
| 24 | Utah | 176 | 3-2 |
| 25 | Arizona State | 125 | 2-2 |
Others receiving votes: Oklahoma State 107, Ole Miss 106, TCU 40, Liberty 36, Auburn 32, NC State 14, Michigan 12, Northwestern 8, Boise State 7, Nevada 7, BYU 6, Ball State 6, Houston 5, Boston College 5, UCF 5, West Virginia 3, UAB 2, Army 2, UCLA 2
Most weeks ranked No. 1
Here are the 10 FBS programs that have spent the most weeks ranked No. 1 in the AP poll since 1936, according to .
| school | weeks ranked No. 1 |
|---|---|
| Alabama | 131 |
| Ohio State | 105 |
| Oklahoma | 101 |
| Notre Dame | 98 |
| USC | 91 |
| Florida State | 72 |
| Nebraska | 70 |
| Miami (FL) | 68 |
| Texas | 45 |
| Florida | 41 |
Playoff performers peak in poll
Alabama, Oklahoma, Clemson and Ohio State have combined for 20 of the 28 College Football Playoff appearances and six of the seven national championships during the CFP era. Those teams are the top four in the preseason AP poll with Georgia, the national runner-up during the 2017 season, checking in at No. 5.
Texas A&M, which went 9-1 last season and finished at No. 5 in the final College Football Playoff rankings, is the highest-ranked team in the preseason AP poll (No. 6) that has never made the playoff.
Non-conference and early season matchups to watch
No. 3 Clemson and No. 5 Georgia will meet in Charlotte on Saturday, Sept. 4 in a top-five matchup between two College Football Playoff hopefuls.
Here are some other non-confernece and early season games to watch between top 25 teams:
- Sept. 4: No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 14 Miami
- Sept. 4: No. 17 Indiana at No. 18 Iowa
- Sept. 4: No. 19 Penn State at No. 12 Wisconsin
- Sept. 4: No. 23 Louisiana at No. 21 Texas
- Sept. 11: No. 11 Oregon at No. 4 Ohio State
- Sept. 11: No. 18 Iowa at No. 7 Iowa State
- Sept. 18: No. 8 Cincinnati at No. 17 Indiana
- Oct. 2: No. 8 Cincinnati at No. 9 Notre Dame
Here's how the 2020 preseason poll turned out
Here's how the teams ranked in the 2020 preseason AP Top 25 finished last season.
| 2020 Preseason rank | Team | Final record | Final 2020 ranking |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 1 | Clemson | 10-2 | No. 3 |
| No. 2 | Ohio State | 7-1 | No. 2 |
| No. 3 | Alabama | 13-0 | No. 1 |
| No. 4 | Georgia | 8-2 | No. 7 |
| No. 5 | Oklahoma | 9-2 | No. 6 |
| No. 6 | LSU | 5-5 | NR |
| No. 7 | Penn State | 4-5 | NR |
| No. 8 | Florida | 8-4 | No. 13 |
| No. 9 | Oregon | 4-3 | NR |
| No. 10 | Notre Dame | 10-2 | No. 5 |
| No. 11 | Auburn | 6-5 | NR |
| No. 12 | Wisconsin | 4-3 | NR |
| No. 13 | Texas A&M | 9-1 | No. 4 |
| No. 14 | Texas | 7-3 | No. 19 |
| No. 15 | Oklahoma State | 8-3 | No. 20 |
| No. 16 | Michigan | 2-4 | NR |
| No. 17 | USC | 5-1 | No. 21 |
| No. 18 | North Carolina | 8-4 | No. 18 |
| No. 19 | Minnesota | 3-4 | NR |
| No. 20 | Cincinnati | 9-1 | No. 8 |
| No. 21 | UCF | 6-4 | NR |
| No. 22 | Utah | 3-2 | NR |
| No. 23 | Iowa State | 9-3 | No. 9 |
| No. 24 | Iowa | 6-2 | No. 16 |
| No. 25 | Tennessee | 3-7 | NR |
