College Football Preseason AP Poll Top 25 Released

We’re closing in on the start of the 2021 college football season and the preseason polls and predictions have been coming in quickly. But perhaps the biggest one, the AP top 25 poll, hadn’t released its preseason edition – until now.

The Associated Press released its preseason college football poll today and to no one’s surprise, defending national champion Alabama came out on top. But things quickly got controversial, with Oklahoma coming in second despite missing the College Football Playoff last year.

Clemson and Ohio State round out the top four – and what would be the College Football Playoff field. SEC giants Georgia and Texas just miss out at fifth and sixth respectively.

Finishing up the top 10 are Iowa State, Cincinnati, Notre Dame and UNC. No Pac-12 team cracked the top 10.

Here is the full AP Top 25 poll:

1. Alabama
2. Oklahoma
3. Clemson
4. Ohio State
5. Georgia
6. Texas A&M
7. Iowa State
8. Cincinnati
9. Notre Dame
10. UNC
11. Oregon
12. Wisconsin
13. Florida
14. Miami
15. USC
16. LSU
17. Indiana
18. Iowa
19. Penn State
20. Washington
21. Texas
22. Coastal Carolina
23. Louisiana (Lafayette)
24. Utah
25. Arizona State

Preseason @AP_Top25 poll

1-Bama
2-Oklahoma
3-Clemson
4-OhioSt
5-Georgia
6-TexasA&M
7-IowaSt
8-Cincinnati
9-NDame
10-UNC
11-Oregon
12-Wisconsin
13-Florida
14-Miami
15-USC
16-LSU
17-Indiana
18-Iowa
19-PennSt
20-Washington
21-Texas
22-CoastalCarolina
23-Louisiana
24-Utah
25-ArizSt

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) August 16, 2021

The list is a strong mix of AP top 25 regulars and some teams that may have overachieved in 2020. Indiana, Coastal Carolina and Louisiana all enjoyed historic seasons and were rewarded with high expectations for the coming year.

By contrast, the Associated Press doesn’t seem too keen on the likes of Michigan, Nebraska or Florida State. Those programs clearly have work to do after the rough seasons they just had.

Even the reigning Big Ten West champions, Northwestern, didn’t crack the preseason list this year.

What are your thoughts on the AP top 25 preseason poll?

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