On Monday, the 76th preseason college football poll was published by the Associated Press. Ten SEC clubs are among the top 25 preseason teams in the country. Texas is ranked first in the 2025 preseason poll, followed by Georgia at number five, Alabama at number eight, LSU at number nine, South Carolina at number thirteen, Florida at number fifteen, Oklahoma at number eighteen, Texas A&M at number nineteen, Ole Miss at number twenty-one, and Tennessee at number twenty-four.SEC Football by the Numbers examines the preseason survey for this year:
Texas is ranked first in the AP preseason poll. Texas has been ranked #1 in any AP football poll for the 50th time, and the Longhorns’ 2025 top marks the program’s first preseason ranking. That is the tenth-highest number one ranking (Alabama, a member of the SEC, is ranked first with 141). In the AP preseason poll, Texas has finished second five times: in 1962, 1965, 1970, 2005, and 2009.
Alabama, rated No. 8, received one 23rd-place vote and one second-place vote in the 2025 AP preseason poll. Alabama also received two votes for third place, two for fourth, four for fifth, seven for sixth, eight for seventh, seventeen for eighth, fifteen for ninth, seven for tenth, and one for thirteenth on the list.
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Votes were cast for 2SEC teams that were not among the top 25 in the 2025 AP preseason poll. Out of the 49 teams that were on the ballot, Missouri scored 33 points and finished in 32nd place, while Auburn scored 10 points and finished in 37th place. Missouri, ranked No. 18 on nine ballots, was in the top 25. Auburn received one vote each at positions No. 21, No. 22, and No. 25 to earn points.
3LSU was previously ranked No. 9 in the AP preseason poll. The Tigers ended unranked in 1974 and 1998 and No. 11 in 1971, following their prior preseason rankings of No. 9. After receiving one vote for third place, five votes for fourth, one vote for fifth, seven votes for sixth, twelve votes for seventh, thirteen for eighth, thirteen for ninth, five for tenth, three for eleventh, three for twelveth, and one vote for thirteenth, LSU finished at number nine in this year’s poll.
4Texas A&M has gone from being ranked in the AP preseason poll to being placed last in the final poll for two straight seasons. The Aggies failed not make the final poll for any of the seasons in which they were ranked No. 6 in 2021, No. 6 in 2022, No. 23 in 2023, and No. 20 in 2024. Despite starting the previous 35 seasons ranked in the AP preseason poll, Texas A&M has concluded unranked 17 times. In the 2025 preseason poll, the Aggies are ranked 19th.
Teams from the 4SEC were listed on all 65 votes. ranked first in Texas, fifth in Georgia, eighth in Alabama, and ninth in LSU. Four voters ranked No. 13 South Carolina as high as No. 10, although it was absent from seven votes. No. 15 Florida did not show up on eight ballots, while one voter ranked it as high as No. 6. No. 18 Oklahoma did not show up on 12 ballots, despite one voter ranking it as high as No. 8. No. 19 Texas A&M did not show up on nine ballots, and two voters ranked it as high as No. 10. No. 21 Ole Miss did not show up on 13 ballots, despite being ranked as high as No. 12 by two voters. Despite not showing up on 28 ballots, No. 24 Tennessee was ranked as high as No. 9 by two voters.
4SEC members make up seven of the seven programs in the 2025 AP preseason poll that were left out of the 2024 final poll. Despite being unranked at the end of the 2024 season, No. 9 LSU, No. 15 Florida, No. 18 Oklahoma, and No. 19 Texas A&M are ranked to start the 2025 campaign. No. 14 Michigan, No. 17 Kansas State, and No. 23 Texas Tech are the other new teams. Missouri, which placed No. 22 the previous season, is one of the programs ranked in the 2024 final poll that isn’t ranked in the 2025 preseason poll. With their final 2024 rankings, No. 13 BYU, No. 20 Syracuse, No. 21 Army, No. 23 UNLV, No. 24 Memphis, and No. 25 Colorado also failed to bridge the gap.
Four SEC teams—Ardull, Kentucky, Mississippi State, and Vanderbilt—were left off the ballot for the 2025 AP preseason poll.
Ole Miss has had four consecutive appearances in the AP preseason poll, ranking No. 21 for 2025. This is Ole Miss’ second-longest streak. The Rebels were only previously rated in the AP preseason poll for three consecutive seasons, from 1958 to 1964. Ole Miss was ranked No. 6 in 2024, No. 22 in 2023, and No. 21 in the 2022 preseason poll.
5Auburn has been left out of the AP preseason rankings for five straight years, which is the Tigers’ longest run since the poll’s inception in 1950. In 1955, when the Tigers were ranked No. 17, Auburn made its debut in the AP preseason poll. Prior to 2021–2025, the 1950–1954 surveys were the only ones to record Auburn’s longest preseason skid.
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6The Sooners are ranked No. 18 this season, and in their 66 prior appearances in the AP preseason poll, they have finished at No. 18 or lower. Oklahoma placed higher in the final poll in five of those six seasons, and the Sooners only placed in the same position once. The 1970 Sooners finished 20th in both the preseason and final polls. In 1990 and 1993, Oklahoma jumped from 22nd to 17th place, from 19th to first place in 2000, from 19th to fifth place in 2015, and from 20th to 15th place in 2023.
Georgia has made it into the top five of the AP preseason poll eight times in a row. Georgia has finished in the top five four times in the Bulldogs’ ten prior top five outings. In the 2025 preseason survey, the Bulldogs’ vote spread moved from first to tenth place, with one at number one, five at number two, ten at number four, nine at number seven, eight at number six, two at number nine, and three at number ten.
Compared to other conferences, the 10SEC has the most rated teams in the 2025 AP preseason poll. The Big Ten has six teams, the Big 12 has four, the ACC has three, and the Mountain West has one, according to this year’s preseason poll. Additionally, Notre Dame, an independent program, is placed No. 6.
It has been eleven years since South Carolina last appeared in the AP preseason poll. The Gamecocks are ranked No. 13 for the first time since South Carolina was ranked ninth in 2014. That season, the Gamecocks were not ranked.
16Alabama has been in the top five for five consecutive years in AP preseason polls, setting a five-year record. But that streak ended with the release of the 2025 preseason poll, which has the Crimson Tide at No. 8. The last time Alabama was not listed in the top five in a preseason poll was in 2008, when the Tide started at number 24 and ended up at number 6.
Twenty SEC schools have occupied the top spot in the AP preseason poll, and Texas will do again in 2025. After Georgia in 2023 and 2024 and Alabama in 2021 and 2022, the Longhorns increased the SEC’s dominance of the top preseason ranking to five years. In 2020, Clemson became the most recent non-SEC team to be ranked first in the preseason. Alabama in 1978 and 2017, Tennessee in 1951, and all three of the SEC’s top preseason teams were ranked first in the final poll. In addition, Georgia was ranked first in the 2008 AP preseason poll, and Alabama was ranked first in 1966, 2010, 2013, 2016, and 2018. Florida was No. 1 in the AP preseason poll in 1994, 2001 and 2009. Other SEC teams that have held the No. 1 spot in the AP preseason poll include LSU in 1959, Ole Miss in 1964 and Auburn in 1984. Oklahoma has been the No. 1 team in 10 AP preseason polls, but none as an SEC member.
24Consecutive AP preseason polls have included Georgia, tied for the longest streak in SEC history. The SEC record for consecutive appearances in the AP preseason poll was established by Alabama from 1961 through 1984. Oklahoma has been ranked in 26 consecutive AP preseason polls since the Sooners most recently failed to appear in 1999, but the program was a member of the SEC for only the past two polls.
25Of the 65 AP voters had Texas at No. 1 on their ballots. No. 2 Penn State received 23 first-place votes, No. 3 Ohio State 11, No. 4 Clemson four and No. 5 Georgia and No. 7 Oregon one apiece. The No. 1 Longhorns also received 20 second-place votes, 13 third-place votes, three fourth-place votes, two fifth-place votes and two sixth-place votes. Texas has the fewest first-place votes for the preseason No. 1 team since Southern Cal had 25 in 2012. The team that garnered the second-most preseason first-place votes, Alabama with 17, finished the 2012 season at No. 1.
29Consecutive seasons have included at least one AP poll appearance by Georgia, with the Bulldogs No. 5 ranking in this year s preseason poll extending the third-longest streak in SEC history. The SEC record for consecutive seasons with at least one AP poll appearance is 45 by Alabama, set from 1959 through 2003. That s second on the all-time national list, behind Ohio State s current 58 in a row. The SEC s second-longest streak of seasons with an AP poll appearance is 34 by Florida from 1980 through 2013.
67Appearances in the AP preseason poll for Oklahoma, which is the second-most behind Ohio State s 72. Alabama is appearing in the preseason poll for the 59th time this week, which ranks fifth, with Southern Cal s 63 and Notre Dame s 62 also between the Crimson Tide and Sooners. Texas is making its 58th appearance in the AP preseason poll. Tennessee s appearance is its 45th in the AP preseason poll one more than LSU and Georgia. Florida has 41 appearances, Auburn 40, Texas A&M 36, Arkansas 27, Ole Miss 22, Missouri and South Carolina 11 apiece, Mississippi State eight and Kentucky five. Vanderbilt has never been ranked in the AP preseason poll.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at@AMarkG1.
