The push and pull between the Big Ten and Southeastern conferences only grows stronger with the release of the preseason Associated Press Top 25.
Having Ohio State and Oregon enter the season Nos. 1 and 2 ahead of sixth-ranked defending conference and national champion Indiana is a flex for the Big Ten, which already is riding the momentum of winning the last three national titles.
Having five of the top 10 teams, and seven of the top 13, bolsters the SEC's contention that it has greater depth. The SEC has nine ranked teams compared to the Big Ten's eight and also can boast about having seven different teams appear in the College Football Playoff since 2024 compared with four for the Big Ten.
The Big Ten received 62 of the 69 first-place votes in the preseason poll (Ohio State 40, Oregon 14, Indiana 8). Not a single SEC team got a first-place vote for the first time since 2015, when Ohio State was the unanimous No. 1.
“Our fans, and I think the SEC fans, they really like the rivalry,†Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti said. “It would be great if we played each other more. I think from the fans' perspective having a rivalry with the Big Ten and the SEC is a great thing, right?â€
The first heavyweight games of the season are Sept. 12 when No. 10 Oklahoma visits No. 16 Michigan and top-ranked Ohio State goes to No. 5 Texas. Both are rematches of games won by the home team last year — Oklahoma 24-13 and Ohio State 14-7.
The Big Ten finished 4-3 in meetings with the SEC last season, punctuated by Indiana's 38-3 win over Alabama in a CFP quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl. But in the final 2025 SP+ rankings by ESPN’s Bill Connelly, whose formula rates each team’s efficiency while adjusting for tempo and an opponent’s strength, seven Big Ten programs ranked below No. 67 Kentucky, the lowest SEC team.
Still, the SEC has gone three straight years without having a team in the national championship game.
“I can assure you that everyone in this league is trying to figure out how to come up on the top end of that in the future,†SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said in the spring. “But I think from a big picture, the breadth, the depth of this league, this league stands alone. In fact, we saw metrics out of the College Football Playoff presentation where there’s no doubt we’re the strongest league. Now, there’s some segments of other leagues that are towards where we are, but not nearly the entirety of a conference like the Southeastern Conference."
The debate goes on.
Where's Clemson?
Clemson will go into a season unranked by the AP for the first time since 2011.
The Tigers almost got in. They received the most voting points among teams left out, just five points behind No. 25 Missouri.
Clemson is coming off a 7-6 season, its worst since 2010. The offense struggled to get anything going in the ground game and was second-to-last in the ACC in third-down conversions. The defense underachieved.
Look for the offense to be much better with the return of offensive coordinator Chad Morris, who led some of the nation’s most potent offenses when he had the same job at Clemson from 2011-14. The defense should play with more confidence in Tom Allen’s second year as coordinator.
Clemson gets a measuring-stick game right away when they open at No. 11 LSU.
New coaches, same expectations
Four Top 25 teams have new coaches, and they've been given a short runway.
For Pete Golding, who begins his first full season at No. 9 Mississippi, the smoke has been slow to clear from Lane Kiffin's awkward departure and all that went with it. Golding was able to keep key pieces of the staff and he brought back stars in QB Trinidad Chambliss, RB Kewan Lacy and DL Will Echoles. Golding, after taking over Nov. 30, led the Rebels to the CFP semifinals. Another magical run is possible.
Speaking of Kiffin, no first-year coach is under more pressure to author a quick turnaround. No. 11 LSU hasn't gone to the CFP since winning it all in 2019 and has lost at least four games in five of the six seasons since. Kiffin — whose school signed him to a seven-year, $91 million deal after abosrbing a buyout of some $54 million for the fired Brian Kelly — has been given all the resources necessary to get it done.
Penn State will be interesting to watch. The Nittany Lions are No. 18, and it could be argued they are overrated given Matt Campbell will be relying on players he brought with him from Iowa State. The Sept. 26 Big Ten opener against Wisconsin at home will be an indicator.
Morgan Scalley, entering his 19th year at No. 21 Utah, starts his first full season as head coach while his former boss, Kyle Whittingham, faces expectations of his own at Michigan. With QB Devon Dampier and RB Wayshawn Parker back, the Utes could be 6-0 when No. 23 Houston visits Oct. 24.
No Group of 6 teams ranked
After two non-power conference teams made the CFP in 2025, none cracked the preseason Top 25.
Since two were ranked in the preseason in 2022, only Tulane in 2023 and Boise State in 2025 have started a season in the Top 25.
Boise State, which has moved from the Mountain West to the new Pac-12, was the top vote-getter among Group of Six teams outside the Top 25. Nine others got at least one vote.
Extra Points
Ohio State has never finished the season No. 1 in any of the previous eight years it started atop the poll. ... The Buckeyes have been ranked in the preseason 38 straight years, the longest active streak. ... No. 4 Notre Dame pulled into a tie with rival Southern California for fifth-most appearances in a preseason top five (20). The Irish have their highest preseason ranking since 2006. ... This is the 15th time since the preseason poll debuted in 1950 that at least seven teams in the previous season's final AP poll did not appear in the preseason poll. Those teams are Vanderbilt, Virginia, Tulane, James Madison, Navy, North Texas and TCU.
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