AP TOP 25 POLL
*Not scheduled to play in the fall.
NO. 1 CLEMSON Coach: Dabo Swinney Conference: ACC
2019 finish: No. 2 (14-1) Outlook: Junior QB Trevor Lawrence returns to try and redeem himself after perhaps his worst college showing in a 42-25 loss to LSU in the national title game in January. Two-time defending ACC player of the year in tailback Travis Etienne passed up the NFL to play his senior year. Lawrence has lost last year’s top receivers in Tee Higgins to the NFL and Justyn Ross to spinal fusion surgery. But the Tigers will count on Joseph Ngata and Frank Ladson Jr. to pick up the slack. Clemson’s defense is without DE Xavier Thomas who will redshirt after a bout with coronavirus left him far out of football shape.
NO. 2 OHIO STATE*
Coach: Ryan Day Conference: Big Ten
2019 finish: No. 3 (13-1)
Outlook: QB Justin Fields, a Heisman finalist in 2019, is aiming for another season before heading to the NFL, and he’ll have proven receivers in Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave. Master Teague III is expected to step into the tailback spot vacated by star J.K. Dobbins. The defense will be anchored by CB Shaun Wade, likely to be the next Buckeyes defensive back to become a first-round NFL draft pick. Ohio State is loaded as usual, but if the Buckeyes play at all, it doesn’t look as if it will be this fall.
NO. 3 ALABAMA
Coach: Nick Saban Conference: SEC
2019 finish: No. 8 (11-2)
Outlook: It appears to be junior QB Mac
Jones’ team just like it was after Tua Tagovailoa’s hip injury late last season. The offense has playmakers like RB Najee Harris and WRs DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle, along with a veteran offensive line. The defense has to replace a number of departed starters, especially in the secondary, but LB Dylan Moses and DE LaBryan Ray return from injuries.
NO. 4 GEORGIA
Coach: Kirby Smart Conference: SEC
2019 finish: No. 4 (12-2)
Outlook: The Bulldogs will lean on their experienced defense as they reload on offense with a new quarterback, a rebuilt offensive line and a new lead running back. The favorite at quarterback is Wake Forest transfer Jamie Newman, especially with USC transfer JT Daniels still recovering from knee surgery.
NO. 5 OKLAHOMA
Coach: Lincoln Riley Conference: Big 12
2019 finish: No. 7 (12-2)
Outlook: The Sooners lost quarterback
Jalen Hurts, but highly touted Spencer
Rattler is positioned to step in and become the next great one. He’s got plenty of talent at the receiver spots, with Charleston Rambo filling the loss of CeeDee Lamb to the NFL. The Sooners boast an experienced offensive line, led by center Creed Humphrey. The Sooners improved defensively last season, and despite the loss of linebacker Kenneth Murray, that growth is expected to continue under second-year defensive coordinator Alex Grinch. The Sooners are favored again to win the Big 12.
NO. 6 LSU
Coach: Ed Orgeron Conference: SEC
2019 finish: No. 1 (15-0)
Notes: The Tigers are the first returning national champion since Auburn in 2011 who did not make the preseason poll’s Top 5. Auburn opened at No. 23 after its 2010 championship season. Both teams lost Heisman-winning quarterbacks who became No. 1 NFL draft picks -- Cam Newton in 2011 and Joe Burrow this year.
NO. 7 PENN STATE*
Coach: James Franklin Conference: Big Ten
2019 finish: No. 9 (11-2)
Notes: Franklin has turned the Nittany
Lions into a perennial Big Ten contender.
A loss to Ohio State kept them out of the conference title game last year. The school rewarded Franklin during the offseason with a $38.2 million contract through 2025. NO. 8 FLORIDA Coach: Dan Mullen Conference: SEC
2019 finish: No. 6 (11-2)
Notes: Mullen led the Gators to 10 wins and 11 wins in his first two seasons. They only lost last year to the teams that made the SEC title game, LSU and Georgia, and they are looking to reach the championship for the first time since 2016.
NO. 9 OREGON*
Coach: Mario Cristobal Conference: Pac-12
2019 finish: No. 5 (12-2)
Notes: After dropping its season opener last year to Auburn, the eventual Pac-12 champion Ducks won nine straight before falling short 31-28 at Arizona State for their only other loss. That game is what likely cost Oregon a spot in the College Football Playoff.
NO. 10 NOTRE DAME
Coach: Brian Kelly
Conference: ACC (this season)
2019 finish: No. 12 (11-2)
Notes: The Fighting Irish are typically an independent school but there’s nothing typical this season. They temporarily joined the ACC because several conferences with teams on their original schedule canceled their fall season or are only allowing conference games. Half of Notre Dame’s games originally scheduled for 2020 were with teams from the ACC anyway.
NO. 11 AUBURN
Coach: Gus Malzahn Conference: SEC
2019 finish: No. 14 (9-4)
Notes: The Tigers only lost to ranked teams last season and ended the regular season by upsetting then-No. 5 Alabama.
It was the second time in three years that
Auburn spoiled its instate rival’s SEC Championship plans. The loss also ended Alabama’s unmatched five-year streak of College Football Playoff appearances.
NO. 12 WISCONSIN*
Coach: Paul Chryst Conference: Big Ten
2019 finish: No. 11 (10-4)
Notes: Half of the Badgers’ losses last season were to Ohio State, including in the Big Ten Championship.
NO. 13 TEXAS A&M
Coach: Jimbo Fisher Conference: SEC
2019 finish: Unranked (8-5)
Notes: The Aggies barely missed making it into the final AP Top 25 last season thanks to a brutal schedule. Their losses were all to top-ranked teams at the time they played, including No. 1 Clemson, No. 8 Auburn, No. 1 Alabama, No. 4 Georgia and No. 1 and eventual national champion LSU. Yes, A&M became the first team to lose three times to an AP No. 1 in the same season.
NO. 14 TEXAS
Coach: Tom Herman Conference: Big 12
2019 finish: No. 25 (8-5)
Notes: Coming off a Big 12 Championship appearance and 10 wins in 2018, the
Longhorns were the preseason No. 10 a year ago but tumbled from the poll midseason after losses to LSU and rivals Oklahoma and TCU. Expectations are high in Austin that they will make it back to the conference title game.
NO. 15 OKLAHOMA STATE
Coach: Mike Gundy Conference: Big 12
2019 finish: Unranked (8-5)
Notes: The Cowboys return to the preseason AP Top 25 for the first time in three years after a season of ups and downs. They upset then-ranked Kansas State and Iowa State, but lost to rivals like Oklahoma and Texas and former Big 12 foe Texas A&M in the Texas Bowl.
NO. 16 MICHIGAN*
Coach: Jim Harbaugh Conference: Big Ten
2019 finish: No. 18 (9-4)
Notes: The Wolverines, which have only
11 returning starters, including only one offensive linemen, have the most question marks after a roller-coaster season where they pounded then-No. 8 Notre Dame, 45-14, and also upset Iowa but ended with losses to bitter rival Ohio State, 56-27, and then Alabama, 35-16, in the Citrus Bowl.
NO. 17 USC*
Coach: Clay Helton Conference: Pac-12
2019 finish: Unranked (8-5)
Notes: The Trojans rebounded from a 5-7 campaign in 2018 that included losses to all its instate conference rivals - Stanford, Cal and UCLA with resounding wins against them in 2019. USC also earned a non-conference victory over the Mountain West’s Fresno State to stake its claim as the best team in California.
NO. 18 NORTH CAROLINA
Coach: Mack Brown Conference: ACC
2019 finish: Unranked (7-6)
Notes: Brown’s return last season to Chapel
Hill for his second tenure after leading UNC from 1988-97 drew a lot of attention. The Tar
Heels, however, were inconsistent at times, but they did come the closest to upsetting then-No. 1 Clemson last year, losing a 21-20 nail-biter at home.
NO. 19 MINNESOTA*
Coach: P.J. Fleck Conference: Big Ten
2019 finish: No. 10 (11-2)
Notes: The Gophers are in the preseason poll for the first time since 2004. They are coming off a season in which they started 9-0, reached as high as No. 7 in the AP Top 25 and finished as Big Ten West division co-champions after losing to only Iowa and Wisconsin.
NO. 20 CINCINNATI
Coach: Luke Fickell
Conference: American Athletic
2019 finish: No. 21 (11-3)
Notes: The Bearcats make their first appearance in the preseason AP Top 25 after coming off a second consecutive 11-win season under Fickell.
NO. 21 UCF
Coach: Josh Heupel
Conference: American Athletic
2019 finish: No. 24 (10-3)
Notes: The Golden Knights enter the season with the second-longest home winning streak in college football, behind only Clemson, having last lost at home on Nov. 19, 2016, to Tulsa.
NO. 22 UTAH*
Coach: Kyle Whittingham Conference: Pac-12
2019 finish: No. 16 (11-3)
Notes: After starting 11-1, the Utes were the
Pac-12’s best shot at a College Football Playoff team late last season before they lost to Oregon 35-17 in the conference title game.
NO. 23 IOWA STATE
Coach: Matt Campbell Conference: Big 12
2019 finish: Unranked (7-6)
Notes: Never underestimate Campbell’s Cyclones. They upset then-No. 3 Oklahoma and No. 4 TCU in 2017, No. 6 West Virginia in 2018 and No. 19 Texas last season. They also were only a failed two-point conversion away from upending then-No. 9 Oklahoma and a last-minute field goal away from beating Baylor, both Big 12 championship game teams.
NO. 24 IOWA*
Coach: Kirk Ferentz Conference: Big Ten
2019 finish: No. 15 (10-3)
Notes: Ferentz returns for his 22nd year with the Hawkeyes, the longest tenure of any coach in the preseason AP Top 25.
NO. 25 TENNESSEE
Coach: Jeremy Pruitt Conference: SEC
2019 finish: Unranked (8-5)
Notes: After a rough 2-5 start, the Vols closed out the 2019 season with six straight wins, including a 23-22 Gator Bowl victory over Indiana.
ALSO RECEIVING VOTES
Memphis, Virginia Tech, Boise State, Arizona State, Miami, Louisville, Appalachian State, Washington, Kentucky, Indiana, Baylor, California, TCU, Virginia, Navy, Florida State, Southern Methodist, Mississippi State, Air Force, Northwestern and UAB.