Checking on the AP Top 25 going into the 2026 football season

This weekend marks the beginning of the 2026 FBS college football season. The North Carolina Tar Heels will play a big part in that, as their game in Ireland against TCU will be the first game of the new season. That game — and the others taking place this weekend — are part of the now regular “Week 0” slate, with the rest of the college football world getting going the following weekend. Whatever game you first tune into, we are now only days away from college football Saturdays getting going again.

Before this weekend’s first action, let’s take a look at how things are shaping up nationally going into the new season. Ahead of the opening set of game, here’s where the AP Top 25 is at going into 2026. While the AP Poll no longer has an impact in deciding the national champions, it’s still a benchmark for where the general sentiment about where teams are at.

AP Top 25

1. Ohio State (40 first place votes)
2. Oregon (14)
3. Georgia
4. Notre Dame (6)
5. Texas
6. Indiana (8)
7. Miami (FL) (1)
8. Texas A&M
9. Ole Miss
10. Oklahoma
11. LSU
12. Texas Tech
13. Alabama
14. USC
15. BYU (tied with USC for #14)
16. Michigan
17. Washington
18. Penn State
19. SMU
20. Tennessee
21. Utah
22. Iowa
23. Houston
24. Louisville
25. Missouri

Where is UNC?

Lol, yeah… We normally include this part just to check in on the Tar Heels in comparison to the rest of the nation. If they land in even the “Others Receiving Votes” portion of the rankings some time in November, they probably ended up having a much better season than we expected.

Top Contenders

Going into the new season, this is projected to be another big season for the Big Ten. Three of the top six teams to start the year come from the Big Ten. The reigning national champions — Indiana — are the third of those three too. All but seven first place votes went to B1G teams too.

In total, five different teams got at least one first place vote. Those teams were #1 Ohio State, #2 Oregon, #4 Notre Dame, #6 Indiana, and #7 Miami.

Conference Breakdown

• SEC: 9
• Big Ten: 8
• Big 12: 4
• ACC: 3
• Independent: 1

While the Big Ten has more teams at the top, the SEC did edge them out in terms of total teams in the Top 25. Our own ACC only got three teams in, with another six making the “Others Receiving Votes” list.

Marquee Matchups This/Next Week

• North Carolina vs. TCU in Dublin, Ireland – Saturday at 12:00 PM ET on ESPN
• Boise State at #2 Oregon – September 5 at 3:30 PM ET on CBS
• Clemson at #11 LSU – September 5 at 7:30 PM ET on ABC
• Wisconsin vs. #4 Notre Dame in Green Bay, WI – September 6 at 7:30 PM ET on NBC
• #24 Louisville vs. #9 Ole Miss in Nashville, TN – September 6 at 7:30 PM ET on ABC

Coaches Poll

1. Ohio State (38 first place votes)
2. Oregon (6)
3. Georgia (7)
4. Texas (2)
5. Notre Dame (5)
6. Indiana (14)
7. Miami (FL)
8. Texas A&M
9. Oklahoma
10. Ole Miss
11. Alabama
12. Texas Tech
13. LSU
14. USC
15. BYU
16. Michigan
17. Penn State
18. Tennessee
19. Washington
20. SMU
21. Utah
22. Iowa
23. Clemson
24. Houston
25. Missouri