The coaches have spoken– well, at least 67 of them have, as the 2025 season-opening college football coaches’ poll sticks the Texas Longhorns at No. 1.
BREAKING: College Football Preseason Coaches Poll👀https://t.co/UOHDaVDFxk pic.twitter.com/ouboz88vXu
— On3 (@On3sports) August 4, 2025
Despite a general tendency to reward past performance, Texas narrowly nabbed the No. 1 spot over Ohio State and Penn State. It was a relatively close vote, but the ‘Horns won out as a preference for the SEC continues. Here’s five takeaways from the initial poll.
Top 5 observations from Preseason Coaches Poll
1. SEC, SEC, SEC
College football– the last two title winners coming from the Big Ten aside– continues to be all about the SEC. Not only is Texas No. 1, but the SEC claims nine spots in the top 25. Having the top two teams just outside the top 25 thus gives the SEC 11 teams in the national top 27. 14 of the 16 SEC teams got votes in the poll, with only Kentucky and Mississippi State being complete omitted.
It’s hard to say that nine teams is too many though. Sure, Texas A&M hasn’t necessarily “earned” No. 21, but it’s not hard to put the Aggies in the poll when including other programs like Indiana (No. 19) and SMU (No. 16). The SEC probably is sitting right about where it belongs.
2. Five picks for No. 1
Yes, Texas was No. 1 overall, but the Longhorns were also the favorite pick for No. 1, with 28 of the 67 coaches who vote picking UT as the top team. Ohio State and Penn State followed close behind, with the Buckeyes getting 20 first-place votes and the Nittany Lions grabbing 14. The other two teams getting first-place picks felt like a bit more of a deep dive.
Three voters picked No. 4 Georgia as No. 1, while two more chose No. 6 Clemson as the top team. Obviously, a strong past performance makes both choices defensible, but the rest of the nation seems a distant pick behind Texas, OSU and PSU.
3. The teens probably include the more controversial choices
Putting Arizona State at No. 11 will probably raise a few eyebrows. Sure, the Sun Devils had a competitive squad last season, but it’s hard to find many national prognosticators who have a ton of faith in the Big 12 for the upcoming season. That’s one that could look brilliant or a little off the wall as the season proceeds.
South Carolina at No. 13 and Ole Miss at No. 15 both seem to be perhaps overly favorable rankings based on past performance. The Rebels in particular saw their depth chart decimated after an impressive 2024 season. Carolina does return LaNorris Sellers at QB but will struggle to match their defensive performance of a season ago.
As noted, both SMU and Indiana were ranked in the lower teens despite some real questions about the lasting merits of both teams. This seems particularly true with Indiana, where Curt Cignetti pushed a boulder up a mountain to make the Hoosiers relevant, but will have to make sure the rest of the Big Ten doesn’t start hurling more rocks down.
4. Nobody seems too sure about Notre Dame
One of the real dilemmas is what to do with Notre Dame. In the world of mega-conferences, the homeless Irish will still always use their favored historical status to stay relevant. But are they really any good?
The voters placed the Irish at No. 5, which seems pretty reasonable as a starting place. It might be notable that Notre Dame didn’t get any No. 1 votes, which makes them the lone team among the top six not to get any votes.
5. Who’s not in but should have been in?
With 25 spots, there’s always good teams left just on the outside of the rankings. Some of the most popular candidates to be the best team left out of the top 25 would include Oklahoma, Louisville and Baylor.
Louisville won nine games a year ago and might be a better ACC pick for a CFP spot than, say, at overrated Miami team at No. 10 or SMU at No. 16. Baylor was 8-5 a season ago, but their defense could make them an excellent sleeper pick in the Big 12. Oklahoma was 6-7 a year ago, but that John Mateer-Jaydn Ott backfield and a coach on the hot seat means that OU might surprise in 2025.
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