The 2026 college football season is on the horizon, and the AP Poll preseason Top 25 rankings have been released, providing the first official snapshot of how the national media views the landscape heading into the new campaign. The college football standings and rankings are the focal point of the sport, and the preseason AP Poll sets the stage for what promises to be one of the most competitive and compelling seasons in recent memory. With the College Football Playoff expanded and the landscape of the sport reshaped by conference realignment, the 2026 season is full of storylines that will captivate fans from September through January.
The preseason AP Poll for the 2026 college football season has Texas and Ohio State at the top of the rankings, reflecting the expectations for two of the most talented rosters in the country. Texas, led by quarterback Quinn Ewers and the Manning dynasty heir Arch Manning, enters the season with national championship aspirations and the kind of roster depth that has become the hallmark of the Longhorns program. The Longhorns have been building toward this moment, and the 2026 season is the year that the expectations in Austin reach their zenith.
The college football standings are organized by conference, and the 2026 season features a landscape that has been dramatically reshaped by conference realignment. The SEC and the Big Ten have emerged as the two superconferences, with the majority of the traditional powers residing in one of the two leagues. The ACC, Big 12, and the remaining conferences round out the landscape, and the competition for playoff spots is expected to be fierce across all conferences.
In the Big Ten standings, Ohio State is the preseason favorite, but the conference is deeper than it has been in recent years. The Big Ten has added new members through conference realignment, and the expanded conference schedule creates new rivalries and new challenges for the traditional powers. The Big Ten standings will be closely watched throughout the season, as the race for the conference championship and the playoff spots is expected to go down to the final weeks.
The AP Poll rankings are not the official playoff rankings, but they provide a useful reference point for understanding the national perception of each team. The AP Poll and the College Football Playoff rankings often align, but there are frequently discrepancies that create debate and discussion. The preseason AP Poll is particularly subject to revision, as it is based on expectations rather than results, and the first few weeks of the season always produce upsets that shake up the rankings.
The 2026 college football season also features several marquee non-conference matchups that will have implications for the standings and the playoff race. The Champions Classic, the annual early-season showcase, features matchups between some of the top programs in the country, and the results of these games can have a significant impact on the rankings. The non-conference schedule is the first opportunity for teams to make a statement, and the early-season games are critical for establishing positioning in the standings.
