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Come Fan with UsWednesday, August 5, 2026

College football rankings: How the polls will change after Week 1

(Update: The Coaches Poll is now available here, with the AP to be added there as soon as it’s up.)

Kirk Irwin/Getty Images

College Football Playoff rankings won’t be upon us until November, so the Associated Press Top 25 is going to be the standard for the meantime. And since Week 1 is long and weird, the AP Poll won’t be out until Tuesday late-morning or early-afternoon, either.

So! Let’s take a run through the preseason version of the AP Top 25 and note which teams are headed up or down or sideways, based on almost all of Week 1 being in the books.

1. Alabama: Up, somehow

You can’t move any higher than No. 1, but you can completely monopolize all the No. 1 votes. Going in, seven different teams were voted first overall by at least one pollster.

2. Clemson: Steady

A six-point win at Auburn didn’t astound anyone, but unless FSU beats up Ole Miss, there aren’t any obvious overtakers.

3. Oklahoma: Down to the teens or so

Just swap them with current No. 15 Houston. Sure.

4. Florida State: Ought to move to No. 2, but No. 3 at worst

Coming back to beat Ole Miss by 11? Yeah, that’s way better than what Clemson did.

5. LSU: All the way out of the rankings? Nah, but ...

It wasn’t just the loss to unranked Wisconsin. It was losing in the most worrisome possible way for the Tigers: having no offense.

6. Ohio State: Up a couple spots

Setting school offense records against Bowling Green is much better than losing, in my opinion.

7. Michigan: Up a couple spots

Sure, beating Hawaii is fine.

8. Stanford: Up a couple spots

A fine win at home over a potentially decent Kansas State.

9. Tennessee: Down a bit

Needed overtime fumble luck to beat the Sun Belt’s Appalachian State.

10. Notre Dame: Down toward the 20s

Losing in overtime on the road isn’t all that bad, even though Texas was unranked. Texas is pretty clearly not the same Texas anymore, though.

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11. Ole Miss: Down toward the 20s

Coughing away a huge lead to Florida State calls to mind two straight years of Rebel collapses, doesn’t it?

12. Michigan State: Maybe up a spot or two

Purely by attrition, since beating FCS Furman by 15 will impress nobody.

13. TCU: Maybe up a spot or two

Same story as Michigan State. You gave up 41 points to FCS South Dakota State?

14. Washington: Maybe up a spot or two

Somewhat more merited, after UW beat Rutgers by 35.

15. Houston: Crashing into the top 10

Just swap them with No. 3 Oklahoma? AP voters probably won’t.

16. UCLA: Down into the 20s, at best

Came back to take Texas A&M to overtime on the road, so will still get votes.

17. Iowa: Steady

Took care of business against Miami (Ohio), 45-21.

18. Georgia: Up a couple spots

A two-score win over No. 22 UNC at a “neutral-site” eases some concerns.

19. Louisville: Up a couple spots

It was just Charlotte, but the Cardinals won 70-14 and took their foot off the gas at halftime.

20. USC: Out of the rankings

Losing to Bama is fine. You could reasonably lose to the No. 1 team and move up in the rankings in some voters’ eyes. Losing to Bama by 46 is not fine.

21. Oklahoma State: Up a spot?

Due to attrition and due to “61-7” looking like a great score (against FCS Southeastern Louisiana).

22. North Carolina: Out of the rankings

Plenty of time for UNC to bounce back from a competitive loss in Georgia.

23. Baylor: Steady

No one will care much about a blowout against FCS Northwestern State, especially considering voters are very hesitant about the Bears ... for obvious reasons.

24. Oregon: Steady

A 53-28 win over FCS UC Davis is about as No. 24 as it gets.

25. Florida: Steady

Beating UMass 24-7 cannot possibly move any needles.

Joining the rankings?

Texas, Texas A&M, and Wisconsin for sure, maybe all the way into the teens for each.

Otherwise, hmmm ... Miami, Utah, Boise State, San Diego State, Pitt, and Nebraska were among the teams also receiving votes in the preseason poll, and all had decent wins. BYU should get votes after beating Arizona in Arizona. Colorado and Toledo also had really impressive blowouts (vs. Colorado State, at Arkansas State, respectively).

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