The Associated Press has dropped its preseason rankings in the AP Top 25 poll ahead of the start of the upcoming season. The poll follows the Coaches Poll and FWAA-NFF Super 16 rankings with the Alabama Crimson Tide, the nation’s defending national champion, staying in the No. 1 spot.
The Associated Press rankings, however, carry more weight as they are part of the deciding factor on which teams reach the College Football Playoff. The Coaches Poll, which is not part of the College Football Playoff selection committee’s formula to determine the four teams that will compete for the College Football Playoff National Championship, is voted on by 65 FBS head coaches.
The 2018 college football schedule officially kicks off on Saturday, Aug. 25 with four games on the schedule — Duquesne vs. UMass, Prairie View vs. Rice, Hawaii vs. Colorado State, and Wyoming vs. New Mexico State. The action ramps up the following weekend, with several marquee matchups set to take place in primetime.
The complete AP Top 25 preseason poll can be seen below.
- Alabama (42)
- Clemson (18)
- Georgia
- Wisconsin (1)
- Ohio State
- Washington
- Oklahoma
- Miami
- Auburn
- Penn State
- Michigan State
- Notre Dame
- Stanford
- Michigan
- USC
- TCU
- West Virginia
- Mississippi State
- Florida State
- Virginia Tech
- UCF
- Boise State
- Texas
- Oregon
- LSU