The first AP preseason poll of the year always does the same thing: it tells us who the voters trust, who they’re willing to bet on, and who just got handed a very public reality check. This year’s opening top 25 delivered plenty of both.
Oregon sits at No. 2, a place the Ducks had never reached in a preseason AP poll before. In the 90-year history of the poll, they had topped out at No. 3 in the preseason four times, including last year.
Now Dante Moore & Co. are carrying 14 first-place votes and all the pressure that comes with them. The message is unmistakable: Dan Lanning is expected to turn a team already viewed as excellent into one that can chase a national championship.
Indiana got a massive vote of confidence, too. Curt Cignetti’s Hoosiers landed at No. 7, the highest preseason ranking in program history, and they picked up eight first-place votes along the way.
That placement is a little surprising on its face after the loss of Heisman-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza, but it also reflects how much faith the voters have in Cignetti after one of the great coaching jobs in sports. Still, the fact that Indiana trails Georgia and Texas, both without first-place votes, shows that the belief isn’t total just yet.
Alabama, meanwhile, is staring at a very different kind of spotlight. The Crimson Tide checked in at No. 13, their lowest preseason ranking in more than five seasons.
They’ve been sliding down the preseason board for years - No. 1 in 2022, No. 4 in 2023, No. 5 in ’24, No. 8 last year - but this is a jolt for a program that hadn’t opened a season outside the top 10 since George W. Bush was president.
Kalen DeBoer is respected for the way he handles quarterback situations, but Alabama is going to need more than solid play at that spot to wipe away the memory of its 38-3 Rose Bowl loss to Indiana.
Michigan also landed in the “what are we looking at here?” category, as one of the two teams with its lowest preseason ranking in five or more seasons.
The last time the Wolverines started this low was 2021, and that season turned into a 12-2 run after a 2-4 finish the year before. This time around, the ranking reflects how many questions are hanging over the program.
Kyle Whittingham has never coached anywhere other than Utah, and Jason Beck’s work with quarterback Bryce Underwood will be one of the big unknowns. The first major test comes no later than Sept. 12, when Oklahoma comes to town.
There’s also plenty of respect baked into BYU’s No. 14 slot. Kalani Sitake has built the Cougars into a program that can fly a little under the radar, but this is still their highest preseason opening since 1985.
That sounds even more striking when you remember BYU has finished six seasons at No. 14 or better. After back-to-back 10-win seasons that began unranked, the voters clearly weren’t going to be caught sleeping again.
Arizona, which sits fourth in the Others Receiving Votes section, gives quarterback Bear Bachmeier a Sept. 12 chance to make a statement.
And then there’s Clemson, the team that stands out most in the Others Receiving Votes group. Not Florida, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Oklahoma State, New Mexico or California - the Tigers.
They haven’t started a season unranked since 2011, the year Dabo Swinney’s initial breakthrough took hold, and last year they opened at No. 4 before losing to LSU and tumbling to 7-6. The old dominance feels a long way off now, and the schedule doesn’t do them any favors: a five-week opening stretch that includes trips to LSU and California, plus a home game with Miami, is going to say a lot fast.
In Other News...
Former BYU Defender Is Suddenly Giving Jets Fans A Reason To Watch
The first full weekend of NFL preseason games gave Utah-connected players a chance to make some noise, and one former BYU defender did exactly that for the Jets. Mory Bamba logged significant snaps on defense and broke up four passes, putting himself in the middle of a crowded competition as New York sorts through roster battles before the regular season.
Bamba was one of roughly 50 players with ties to Utah who took the field over the weekend, but his outing may have been the one that most clearly caught attention in New York. For a Jets team looking for young defensive backs to separate themselves, preseason performances like this can matter, and Bamba now has at least given the fan base a reason to keep an eye on the tape. [Read more 🡒]
BYUs Early Lineup Projection Comes With One Clear Camp Concern
BYU is two weeks into camp and less than three weeks away from its season opener against Utah Tech, which makes this a good time to start sketching out where the depth chart appears to be settling. Based on what has been observed so far, the Cougars have a clearer picture on several offensive, defensive and special teams spots, while a few jobs still feel very much up for grabs as camp moves into its final stretch.
The biggest concern hanging over the projected lineup is health, especially up front and in the secondary. The coaching staff has already pointed to some injuries among the offensive linemen, and safety Faletau Satuala remains a player to monitor as the defense sorts through its rotations. Even with some roles looking more defined, BYU still appears to be weighing several combinations on defense, which leaves the final shape of the first-game lineup far from settled. [Read more 🡒]
LJ Martin Is Making BYU Look Dangerous On The National Stage
LJ Martins rise has become one of the more notable offseason developments around Provo, and the attention keeps widening. The BYU running back was recently tabbed by Pro Football Network as a Top 100 NFL Draft prospect, landing third among running backs and 53rd overall, a spotlight that fits with the preseason buzz he has already picked up after being named Big 12 Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and earning preseason All-America recognition.
For BYU, Martin is only part of a larger national conversation. Pro Football Network also placed seven other Cougars among the top 25 at their positions, a sign that this roster is drawing real respect well beyond the league footprint. For a program trying to prove its place on a bigger stage, that kind of recognition matters, and Martin is one of the names helping make the Cougars look like a team opponents will need to prepare for in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]