Texas claims first place in preseason AP Top 25

• Texas has claimed first place in the AP Top 25 for the first time in its history.
• Penn State secured second place, while Ohio State is third.
• SEC is represented by 10 teams in the preseason rankings.

The University of Texas opens its football season ranked first in the preseason AP Top 25. In the ranking, published on August 11, 2025, the team received 25 votes for first place and 1552 points, surpassing Penn State by five points in the highest voting since 1998.

Texas, under the leadership of coach Steve Sarkisian, aims to capture the national title, the last one won in 2005. The team previously finished second in the rankings in 1962, 1965, 1970, 2005, and 2009. They begin the season on August 30 with a match against Ohio State, the reigning champion, which defeated Texas in the semifinal playoffs last year.

In second place was Penn State, which received 23 votes for first place and 1547 points. Ohio State claimed third place, despite losing players, receiving 11 votes for first place.

Among the other teams in the top 10: Clemson in fourth, Georgia in fifth, Notre Dame in sixth, Oregon in seventh, Alabama in eighth, LSU in ninth, and Miami in tenth.

SEC demonstrated its strength, having 10 teams in the preseason ranking, which is a record for the conference. Among them, four teams are in the top 10.

Texas also received 38.5% of the votes for first place, which is the lowest percentage for a team ranked number one in the preseason ranking since 2008. At the same time, the team has shown consistent progress, winning 25 of its last 30 games.

In the 2025 season, Texas has high expectations, including preparation for matches against other strong teams, such as Oklahoma and Texas A&M. It begins to be noted that the ranking of Penn State in second place could be a good sign, as the last two representatives of the Big Ten in this position won national titles.

Tags: Sport/American football