Texas is No. 1 in the AP Preseason Poll for the first time in school history.
The Longhorns were also No. 1 in the USA Today AFCA Coaches Poll, which was released last Monday. Texas received 25 first-place votes and 1,552 total votes in the AP Poll. The Longhorns had five players on Sporting News Preseason All-America team, led by quarterback Arch Manning and linebacker Anthony Hill Jr.
Penn State is No. 2. The Nittany Lions received 23 votes and 1,547 votes. Penn State reached the College Football Playoff semifinals last season under coach James Franklin and returns a strong roster that includes Drew Allar, Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen.
Ohio State, the defending national champion, is ranked No. 3. The Buckeyes open with Texas on Aug. 30 in what will be one of the biggest season-opening games of all time. Clemson received four first-place votes and is ranked No. 4. Georgia rounds out the top five. The Bulldogs received one first-place vote.
The AP Preseason Poll started in 1950. A total of 11 teams that opened as the Preseason No. 1 have won the national championship.
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Preseason AP Top 25
A look at the Preseason AP Top 25, which was released Monday:
| RANK | SCHOOL | VOTES |
| 1 | Texas (25) | 1,552 |
| 2 | Penn State (23) | 1,547 |
| 3 | Ohio State (11) | 1,472 |
| 4 | Clemson (4) | 1,398 |
| 5 | Georgia (1) | 1,331 |
| 6 | Notre Dame | 1,325 |
| 7 | Oregon | 1,236 |
| 8 | Alabama | 1,179 |
| 9 | LSU | 1,174 |
| 10 | Miami | 889 |
| 11 | Arizona State | 791 |
| 12 | Illinois | 713 |
| 13 | South Carolina | 667 |
| 14 | Michigan | 662 |
| 15 | Florida | 626 |
| 16 | SMU | 565 |
| 17 | Kansas State | 512 |
| 18 | Oklahoma | 463 |
| 19 | Texas A&M | 434 |
| 20 | Indiana | 423 |
| 21 | Ole Miss | 370 |
| 22 | Iowa State | 309 |
| 23 | Texas Tech | 274 |
| 24 | Tennessee | 192 |
| 25 | Boise State | 191 |
Others receiving votes: BYU 156, Utah 144, Baylor 132, Louisville 90, Southern Cal 64, Georgia Tech 63, Missouri 33, Tulane 23, Nebraska 23, UNLV 21, Toledo 13, Auburn 10, James Madison 9, Memphis 9, Florida St. 8, Duke 6, Liberty 5, Navy 5, Iowa 5, TCU 4, Pittsburgh 3, Army 2, Colorado 1, Louisiana-Lafayette 1.
How many AP Preseason No. 1 teams won national championship?
Texas will try to become the 12th team to open as No. 1 in the AP Preseason Poll to win the national championship. Alabama was the last team to accomplish that feat in 2017.
Preseason No. 1 teams in CFP era
Here is a look at how the Preseason No. 1 team has finished in the CFP era:
| YEAR | PRE. NO. 1 | FINISH | NAT. CHAMP | PRE. |
| 2014 | Florida State | 5 | Ohio State | 5 |
| 2015 | Ohio State | 4 | Alabama | 3 |
| 2016 | Alabama | 2 | Clemson | 2 |
| 2017 | Alabama | 1 | Alabama | 1 |
| 2018 | Alabama | 2 | Clemson | 2 |
| 2019 | Clemson | 2 | LSU | 6 |
| 2020 | Clemson | 3 | Alabama | 3 |
| 2021 | Alabama | 2 | Georgia | 5 |
| 2022 | Alabama | 5 | Georgia | 3 |
| 2023 | Georgia | 1 | Michigan | 2 |
| 2024 | Georgia | 1 | Ohio State | 2 |
Alabama is the only team that opened No. 1 that won the national championship in the last 10 seasons. Michigan and Ohio State were No. 2 in 2023 and 2024, respectively. The eventual national champion has started at No. 6 or higher, with the 2019 LSU team the only one to start outside the top five in the College Football Playoff era.