For the fifth time in the College Football Playoff era, Alabama is No. 1 in the AP Top 25 preseason football rankings, first among all FBS programs. The top-ranked Crimson Tide is joined by several familiar names atop the preseason poll, including 2021's reigning champion, No. 3 Georgia.
Rounding out the top five are No. 2 Ohio State, No. 4 Clemson, and No. 5 Notre Dame. Every preseason top five team has made the College Football Playoff at least once.
Here's the complete preseason AP Top 25 poll.
2022 Preseason AP Top 25 Poll
| RANK | SChool (First-Place Votes) | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama (54) | 1,566 |
| 2 | Ohio State (6) | 1,506 |
| 3 | Georgia (3) | 1,455 |
| 4 | Clemson | 1,292 |
| 5 | Notre Dame | 1,242 |
| 6 | Texas A&M | 1,212 |
| 7 | Utah | 1,209 |
| 8 | Michigan | 1,203 |
| 9 | Oklahoma | 956 |
| 10 | Baylor | 884 |
| 11 | Oregon | 831 |
| 12 | Oklahoma State | 814 |
| 13 | NC State | 752 |
| 14 | Southern California | 711 |
| 15 | Michigan State | 631 |
| 16 | Miami (FL) | 476 |
| 17 | Pittsburgh | 383 |
| 18 | Wisconsin | 365 |
| 19 | Arkansas | 348 |
| 20 | Kentucky | 332 |
| 21 | Ole Miss | 324 |
| 22 | Wake Forest | 303 |
| 23 | Cincinnati | 265 |
| 24 | Houston | 263 |
| 25 | BYU | 234 |
Others receiving votes: Tennessee 180, Texas 164, Iowa 163, Penn State 160, LSU 55, Fresno State 32, Minnesota 31, UCF 27, Purdue 17, Mississippi State 15, Auburn 15, Florida 14, Kansas State 14, North Carolina 9, Boise State 5, Air Force 4, Appalachian State 4, South Carolina 2, UCLA 2, San Diego State 2, Utah State 2, Nebraska 1
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Most weeks ranked No. 1
Here are the 10 FBS programs that have spent the most weeks ranked No. 1 in the AP poll since 1936, according to www.collegepollarchive.com.
| school | weeks ranked No. 1 |
|---|---|
| Alabama | 138 |
| Ohio State | 105 |
| Oklahoma | 101 |
| Notre Dame | 98 |
| USC | 91 |
| Florida State | 72 |
| Nebraska | 70 |
| Miami (FL) | 68 |
| Texas | 45 |
| Florida | 41 |
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AP poll ranking by conference
The SEC leads all conferences with three top-10 teams. Here's a breakdown of the entire top 25 by conference:
| No. of Preseason Top 25 teams | Conference |
|---|---|
| 6 | SEC |
| 5 | ACC |
| 4 | Big Ten |
| 3 | Big 12, Pac-12 |
| 2 | AAC, Independent |
2022 PREVIEW: Predicting the CFP semifinalists and national champ
Breaking down the preseason poll
No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Georgia have combined for 13 College Football Playoff appearances and five of the eight national championships during the CFP era. Those teams are the top three in the preseason AP poll.
No. 4 Clemson returns to the top five of the AP poll after struggling to open the 2021 season, at one point dropping out of the rankings. For all that was made of Clemson's struggles, it still finished with a 10-win season and a bowl victory.
No. 6 Texas A&M is the highest-ranked team in the preseason AP poll that has never made the playoff. The Aggies bring in a loaded recruiting class after finishing 8-4 last season, grabbing the final spot in the final College Football Playoff rankings.
No. 8 Michigan and No. 23 Cincinnati are the lowest ranked returning College Football Playoff teams after each program made its first playoff appearance last year.
HEISMAN: Every winner and runner-up since 1935 | Colleges with the most Heisman Trophy winners
Non-conference and early season matchups to watch
No. 5 Notre Dame visits No. 2 Ohio State in Columbus on Saturday, Sept. 3 in a top-five matchup between two College Football Playoff hopefuls.
Here are some other non-conference and early season games to watch between top-25 teams:
- Sept. 3: No. 11 Oregon vs. No. 3 Georgia
- Sept. 3: No. 23 Cincinnati at No. 19 Arkansas
- Sept. 10: No. 10 Baylor at No. 25 BYU
COLLEGE GAMEDAY: Locations, all-time appearances, most times hosting
Here's how the 2021 preseason poll turned out
Here's how the teams ranked in the 2021 preseason AP Top 25 finished last season. Click or tap here for more on how the preseason AP poll predicts the College Football Playoff teams.
| Preseason AP RANK | School (AP First-place votes) | Final CFP Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama (47) | 1 |
| 2 | Oklahoma (6) | 16 |
| 3 | Clemson (6) | 19 |
| 4 | Ohio State (1) | 6 |
| 5 | Georgia (3) | 3 |
| 6 | Texas A&M | 25 |
| 7 | Iowa State | NR |
| 8 | Cincinnati | 4 |
| 9 | Notre Dame | 5 |
| 10 | North Carolina | NR |
| 11 | Oregon | 14 |
| 12 | Wisconsin | NR |
| 13 | Florida | NR |
| 14 | Miami | NR |
| 15 | USC | NR |
| 16 | LSU | NR |
| 17 | Indiana | NR |
| 18 | Iowa | 15 |
| 19 | Penn State | NR |
| 20 | Washington | NR |
| 21 | Texas | NR |
| 22 | Coastal Carolina | NR |
| 23 | Louisiana | 23 |
| 24 | Utah | 11 |
| 25 | Arizona State | NR |
