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AP Top 25: Texas No. 1 In Preseason Poll, Setting Up Top-3 Matchup vs. Ohio State
College Football AP Top 25: Texas No. 1 In Preseason Poll, Setting Up Top-3 Matchup vs. Ohio State Updated Aug. 11, 2025 12:19 p.m. ET share facebook x reddit link When Texas and Ohio State meet in Columbus on Aug. 30 (noon ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app), it'll likely be for the No. 1 ranking in the nation. Texas received the No. 1 ranking in the AP Top 25 college football preseason poll for the 2025 season, which was unveiled on Monday. Ohio State, meanwhile, received the No. 3 ranking, nearly giving us the first-ever Week 1 matchup between the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the nation in the history of the AP poll. Penn State was ranked second between Texas and Ohio State. [Related: RJ Young's Ultimate 136 college football rankings] Texas received its No. 1 ranking after two appearances in the College Football Playoff semifinals in each of the last two years, earning 25 of the 65 first-place votes. It also received the No. 1 ranking as Arch Manning is set to take over at quarterback for the 2025 season. Manning, a redshirt sophomore, sat behind Quinn Ewers the last two seasons, but briefly played in 2024, recording 939 passing yards, two interceptions, 108 rushing yards and 13 total touchdowns. As for Ohio State, it received the No. 3 overall ranking after winning its first national championship under head coach Ryan Day last season. Fourteen players from that team were selected in the 2025 NFL Draft, including quarterback Will Howard and wide receiver Emeka Egbuka. But the Buckeyes arguably have the two best players in college football entering 2025, with wide receiver Jeremiah Smith and safety Caleb Downs returning. Julian Sayin and Lincoln Kienholz are battling for the starting quarterback job. Ohio State got 11 first-place votes. Penn State nearly got the No. 1 overall ranking. It earned 23 first-place votes and was only five points shy of Texas' point total. The Nittany Lions return quarterback Drew Allar, along with running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen, helping them receive their highest ranking a AP Top 25 preseason poll since 1997. ADVERTISEMENT Clemson, which returns quarterback Cade Klubnik and several stars on defense, earned the No. 4 ranking, receiving four first-place votes. Georgia rounds out the top five, receiving one first-place vote. Notre Dame, Oregon (which got the final first-place vote), Alabama, LSU and Miami round out the top 10. The SEC leads all conferences with 10 teams in the preseason Top 25, most ever by a conference and one more than a year ago. The SEC has four teams in the top 10 for the second straight year. The Big Ten, which has won the last two national championships, has two of the top three teams in the poll for the third straight year and six in the Top 25 for the third year in a row. Four Big 12 teams are ranked, with defending conference champion Arizona State the highest at No. 11. The Atlantic Coast Conference has three. Poll nuggets Texas will try to become the 12th team to start and finish No. 1 since the AP preseason poll debuted in 1950. The last team to do it was Alabama in 2017. Notre Dame is in the preseason top 10 for the third time in four years. The Fighting Irish will have a new quarterback, CJ Carr or Kenny Minchey. The two played a combined eight snaps last season as Notre Dame went all the way to the CFP title game won by Ohio State. With Boise State at No. 25, all 12 teams in the 2024 College Football Playoff are ranked in the preseason. The Mountain West's Broncos are the first team from a Group of Five conference to crack the preseason Top 25 since Tulane was No. 24 in 2023. No. 16 SMU, which returns quarterback Kevin Jennings from its CFP team, is in the preseason Top 25 for the first time in 40 years. The 1985 team was No. 3 and finished 6-5 and unranked. Here's the full top 25: 1. Texas 2. Ohio State 3. Penn State 4. Clemson 5. Georgia 6. Notre Dame 7. Oregon 8. Alabama 9. LSU 10. Miami (Fla.) 11. Arizona State 12. Illinois 13. South Carolina 14. Michigan 15. Florida 16. SMU 17. Kansas State 18. Oklahoma 19. Texas A&M 20. Indiana 21. Ole Miss 22. Iowa State 23. Texas Tech 24. Tennessee 25. Boise State The Associated Press contributed to this report. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account , and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! share
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20 hours ago
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2025 Wisconsin Football Predictions: Badgers Ranked 51st in RJ Young's Ultimate 136
College Football 2025 Wisconsin Football Predictions: Badgers Ranked 51st in RJ Young's Ultimate 136 Published Aug. 10, 2025 10:26 p.m. ET share facebook x reddit link This isn't your average college football ranking. My Ultimate 136 is a set of rankings that is fluid, but it's my job to look ahead and make a claim for all FBS teams based on what I know and why I know it. Here are the three pressing questions I started by asking when putting together this list: Who do I think is good? Why do I think they're good? What are the chances they will finish above or below my expectations? Here is a look at where Wisconsin lands in my Ultimate 136. Wisconsin ranking: 51 Last year's ranking: 27 Top player: CB Ricardo Hallman: Was targeted 33 times in 319 coverage snaps last season and allowed just 20 catches, the second-fewest in the Big Ten among cornerbacks with 300-plus coverage snaps; was an AP Third-Team All-American in 2023. [Wisconsin's 2025 schedule] RJ's take: Stop me if you've heard this one before: Wisconsin is best when it runs the ball. Since the final game of the 2022 season, the Badgers are 12-0 when they rush for 150-plus yards. So, after the Badgers rushed for their fewest yards in a full season since the turn of the 20th century, it's easy to see why Phil Longo was no longer fit to call the offense. ADVERTISEMENT Making matters worse in 2024 was the 20.8 points per game the team averaged, which was its lowest in a full season since 2004. Now, Jeff Grimes takes over as offensive coordinator after overseeing a Kansas offense that ranked in the top 15 in rushing and produced a 1,000-yard rusher in Devin Neal. He had better get it sorted out fast with games at Alabama, vs. Iowa, at Michigan, at Oregon, vs. Ohio State and at Indiana this season. [Check out RJ Young's Ultimate 136 College Football Rankings here] Wisconsin Win Total Odds: Over 5.5 (+138) Under 5.5 (-170) Have an issue with my rankings? Think your alma mater is too low, or your school's rival is too high? Get at me on X, @RJ_Young , and I'll select my favorite tweets and respond to them in a future article. RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him at @RJ_Young. FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience College Football Wisconsin Badgers share
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20 hours ago
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2025 Rutgers Football Predictions: Scarlet Knights Ranked 62nd in RJ Young's Ultimate 136
College Football 2025 Rutgers Football Predictions: Scarlet Knights Ranked 62nd in RJ Young's Ultimate 136 Published Aug. 10, 2025 10:29 p.m. ET share facebook x reddit link This isn't your average college football ranking. My Ultimate 136 is a set of rankings that is fluid, but it's my job to look ahead and make a claim for all FBS teams based on what I know and why I know it. Here are the three pressing questions I started by asking when putting together this list: Who do I think is good? Why do I think they're good? What are the chances they will finish above or below my expectations? Here is a look at where Rutgers lands in my Ultimate 136. Rutgers ranking: 62 Last year's ranking: 36 Top player: WR DT Sheffield: First-Team All-AAC selection at North Texas last season; was one of 12 players in FBS last year to record 11 TD catches. [Rutgers' 2025 schedule] RJ's take: Greg Schiano returns 22 players from his two-deep last year, 10 of whom were starters. And, believe me, he's going to need that depth come October. Don't look now, but Rutgers has put together back-to-back winning seasons for the first time as Big Ten members. ADVERTISEMENT While the loss of Kyle Monangai will be felt, Florida Atlantic transfer CJ Campbell rushed for 844 yards and 11 touchdowns last year. Antwan Raymond was serviceable with just over 450 yards on the ground for Rutgers last year. Athan Kaliakmanis has two years as a starter at Minnesota and Rutgers and while he's not likely to throw for 4,000 yards, he's an experienced field general capable of throwing for 3,000 and 25 touchdowns. The problem for Rutgers is the whole second half of their schedule, which features Oregon, at Illinois, at Ohio State and at Penn State. Assuming the Scarlet Knights begin 3-0 with wins against Ohio, Miami (Ohio) and Norfolk State, they'll need to find ways to claw three wins from some combination of Iowa, at Minnesota, at Purdue, at Washington and Maryland. [Check out RJ Young's Ultimate 136 College Football Rankings here] Rutgers Win Total Odds: Over 5.5 (-115) Under 5.5 (-115) Have an issue with my rankings? Think your alma mater is too low, or your school's rival is too high? Get at me on X, @RJ_Young , and I'll select my favorite tweets and respond to them in a future article. RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him at @RJ_Young. FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience College Football Rutgers Scarlet Knights share
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20 hours ago
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2025 UCLA Football Predictions: Bruins Ranked 48th in RJ Young's Ultimate 136
College Football 2025 UCLA Football Predictions: Bruins Ranked 48th in RJ Young's Ultimate 136 Published Aug. 10, 2025 10:27 p.m. ET share facebook x reddit link This isn't your average college football ranking. My Ultimate 136 is a set of rankings that is fluid, but it's my job to look ahead and make a claim for all FBS teams based on what I know and why I know it. Here are the three pressing questions I started by asking when putting together this list: Who do I think is good? Why do I think they're good? What are the chances they will finish above or below my expectations? Here is a look at where UCLA lands in my Ultimate 136. UCLA ranking: 48 Last year's ranking: 74 Top player: QB Nico Iamaleava: Owns an 11-3 record as a starting QB; totaled 2,930 passing yards, 21 passing TDs, 435 rushing yards, and 6 rushing TDs in his career at Tennessee. [UCLA's 2025 schedule] RJ's take: As QB Nico Iameleava's relationship with Tennessee grew more acrimonious, it became clear that a divorce was in the making. DeShaun Foster saw an opportunity, and he took it. ADVERTISEMENT In what looked like a straight swap, projected Bruins starter Joey Aguilar transferred to Tennessee after Iamaleava transferred to UCLA. And, for the first time in his short career at UCLA, Foster has a former five-star at QB. But Bruins fans know that alone won't fix their problem of breaking through in the Big Ten. They had Dante Moore, who will start for Oregon this season, and all they managed to show for it was a single top-25 win, a city championship over rival USC and an 8-5 record. With Iamaleava at QB, the team feels like it should have a better passing attack, another capable rusher on the field at all times, and a playmaker when the play breaks down. But that won't matter much if UCLA doesn't improve its rushing attack after ranking 132nd among 134 FBS teams last season. The slate isn't kind either. UCLA will take on Utah and UNLV in its non-conference schedule, while also playing Penn State, at Indiana, Nebraska, at Ohio State and at USC. [Check out RJ Young's Ultimate 136 College Football Rankings here] UCLA Win Total Odds: Over 5.5 (+126) Under 5.5 (-154) Have an issue with my rankings? Think your alma mater is too low, or your school's rival is too high? Get at me on X, @RJ_Young , and I'll select my favorite tweets and respond to them in a future article. RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him at @RJ_Young. FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience College Football UCLA Bruins share
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20 hours ago
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2025 Washington Football Predictions: Huskies Ranked 49th in RJ Young's Ultimate 136
College Football 2025 Washington Football Predictions: Huskies Ranked 49th in RJ Young's Ultimate 136 Published Aug. 10, 2025 10:26 p.m. ET share facebook x reddit link This isn't your average college football ranking. My Ultimate 136 is a set of rankings that is fluid, but it's my job to look ahead and make a claim for all FBS teams based on what I know and why I know it. Here are the three pressing questions I started by asking when putting together this list: Who do I think is good? Why do I think they're good? What are the chances they will finish above or below my expectations? Here is a look at where Washington lands in my Ultimate 136. Washington ranking: 49 Last year's ranking: 83 Top player: QB Demond Williams Jr.: In his two starts last season, he threw for a combined 575 yards with 5 TDs and just 1 interception with an 82.7% completion rate. [Washington's 2025 schedule] RJ's take: The Huskies need to win their first three games, including their always-entertaining Apple Cup matchup with Washington State, if they expect to be taken seriously by the College Football Playoff selection committee. The schedule includes Ohio State, Penn State, Oregon, Illinois and Michigan. ADVERTISEMENT But a generational quarterback might be able to help the Huskies win some of those games, as Demond Williams has that kind of talent. With Denzel Boston returning and Penn State receiver Omari Evans joining the team, he'll have weapons on the outside. If Jonah Coleman can rush for 1,000 yards and 10 scores again, yes, the Huskies might be good. [Check out RJ Young's Ultimate 136 College Football Rankings here] Washington Win Total Odds: Over 7.5 (+104) Under 7.5 (-128) Have an issue with my rankings? Think your alma mater is too low, or your school's rival is too high? Get at me on X, @RJ_Young , and I'll select my favorite tweets and respond to them in a future article. RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him at @RJ_Young. FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience College Football Washington Huskies share
