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...
Indiana Just Sent A Clear Message About Scott Dolson
Indiana is making a point about Scott Dolson at a moment when the athletic department has every reason to feel good about itself. The Hoosiers athletic director has been rewarded for a run that includes national recognition and one of the more stable tenures in the Big Ten, and his latest extension reflects how much value the school places on the job he has done across the department.
The timing is hard to miss, too. Dolson hired Curt Cignetti, and the football programs rise under him has become part of the backdrop for this decision, which comes after Cignettis own extension and amid Indianas perfect season. For a program that has spent so much time trying to build something durable, the message is clear: the university sees Dolson as part of the foundation, not just the face of the moment. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana May Have Its Most Dangerous Unit Heading Into 2026
Indianas defensive front has quietly become one of the most intriguing parts of the roster build for 2026, and the latest movement only adds to that. With past production already giving the line a solid foundation, the Hoosiers have spent the offseason layering experience on top of it, a sign that the staff is not treating this group like an area to merely patch together.
The mix now includes proven returners and transfer additions, giving Indiana more bodies and more options at the edge than it had a year ago. Even with the bigger picture still unfolding, the depth chart is starting to look unusually sturdy for a unit that could end up setting the tone for the entire defense. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Just Sent A Clear Message About Scott Dolson
Indianas athletic department has made its confidence in Scott Dolson plain. The Hoosiers extended the athletic directors contract through 2031 and raised his base salary to $1.15 million a year, a move that reflects how much ground the department believes it has gained under his watch since he took over in 2020.
Dolsons rise has tracked with a broader lift across Indiana athletics, including notable financial and programmatic improvements and a football resurgence that has helped change the conversation around the department. Add in his recognition as NACDA Athletics Director of the Year, and the extension reads less like a routine personnel note than a clear signal that Indiana sees him as central to what comes next. [Read more 🡒]