The AP preseason top 25 always leaves somebody grumbling, and this year’s list gave plenty of teams reason to feel overlooked. A few programs with real momentum got left on the outside, even after showing enough over the past couple of seasons to make a case for a spot.
Clemson may be the biggest name to miss out. The Tigers were left off the preseason poll after a 7-6 season, and that ends a run that had stretched all the way back to 2011, when Dabo Swinney was in his third full season with the program.
Instead, ACC rivals SMU and Louisville found their way into the rankings. That leaves the Tigers in a familiar but uncomfortable spot: either this is another sign of the slide, or the poll is reading the situation too harshly.
Boise State is another team with plenty to point to. The Broncos went 9-5 last season, started 2025 ranked, and then dropped out after a Week 1 loss and never got back in.
Still, the broader picture matters too. Boise won 12 games in 2024, cracked the top 10, and reached the CFP.
This year’s roster brings back plenty of talent, including highly regarded QB Maddux Madsen. The Broncos are the Pac-12 favorites and could be in position to play spoiler again.
Vanderbilt’s omission comes with a familiar twist: no Diego Pavia, no ranking. The Commodores put together a 17-9 record over the past two seasons, opened both of those years unranked, and still climbed into the top 25 each time.
They also got as high as the top 10 in a 10-3 2025 season that ended just short of the CFP. Expectations are clearly lower this time, but Vandy has still won eight games over the past two years as an underdog.
With super frosh Jared Curtis at quarterback, some fans may be asking, “Diego Who?”
Arizona also has a case. The Wildcats won nine games last season after bouncing back from a 4-8 year, and Brent Brennan’s team looks like a serious contender in a Big 12 that feels wide open.
Veteran QB Noah Fifita is back with something to prove, and Arizona has a favorable path with Utah coming to town and BYU on the schedule early. Even so, the Wildcats were left behind while Big 12 teams Houston and Utah landed in the preseason top 25.
Navy rounds out the list, and maybe the Midshipmen have been the most consistently difficult team to dismiss. Over the last two seasons, they’ve gone 21-5 and have been a nightmare matchup for opponents.
Their run-first approach is the kind of thing most teams aren’t built to stop, and they’ve averaged more than five yards per carry in each of the last two seasons. Navy is expected to be one of the AAC’s best again, and a run to 11-1 is very much in play.
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