Ohio State enters Texas game as No. 3 team in Associated Press poll
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- After spending the last seven months as the No. 1 team in the nation, Ohio State will begin the 2025 season ranked a little lower.
The preseason Associated Press poll was released Monday and media members voted the defending champion Buckeyes as the No. 3 team in the country. Their Week 1 opponent Texas, who lost to Ohio State in last year's Cotton Bowl semifinal, will go into the Aug. 30 game in Columbus ranked No. 1.
This is the first time Texas enters a college football season as the No. 1 team in the nation. While the Longhorns go into Ohio Stadium as the top team in the coaches and AP rankings, the Buckeyes' coaches ranking is at No. 2.
Big Ten rivals Penn State are the only other team ahead of Ohio State in the AP poll at No. 2. Those two meet again on Nov. 1 in Columbus. Clemson and Georgia round out the top-five with No. 7 Oregon the only other Big Ten team in the top-ten.
2025 Associated Press rankings (Aug. 11, 2025)
| 1 | Texas (25) |
| 2 | Penn State (23) |
| 3 | Ohio State (11) |
| 4 | Clemson (4) |
| 5 | Georgia (1) |
| 6 | Notre Dame |
| 7 | Oregon |
| 8 | Alabama |
| 9 | LSU |
| 10 | Miami |
| 11 | Arizona State |
| 12 | Illinois |
| 13 | South Carolina |
| 14 | Michigan |
| 15 | Florida |
| 16 | SMU |
| 17 | Kansas State |
| 18 | Oklahoma |
| 19 | Texas A&M |
| 20 | Indiana |
| 21 | Mississippi |
| 22 | Iowa State |
| 23 | Texas Tech |
| 24 | Tennessee |
| 25 | Boise State |
Six Big Ten teams in total are ranked in the initial top-25 while the Southeastern Conference boasts the most teams with ten. While Ohio State is set to face the top-two teams in the preseason poll, it will also face No. 12 Illinois (Oct. 11) and No. 14 Michigan (Nov. 29).
This year will mark the second with a 12-team College Football Playoff but the seeding format has adjusted slightly. The five best conference champions will still make the playoff but the four best will no longer automatically earn byes into the quarterfinals.
Projected playoff bracket using AP poll
The 2025 college football season begins on Aug. 23 with five games being played in "Week 0". Among them is a Big 12 conference clash in Dublin, Ireland between No. 22 Iowa State and No. 17 Kansas State.
Using the preseason AP rankings, Week 1, which takes place from Aug. 28 to Sept. 1, consists of three top-ten clashes.
- No. 1 Texas at No. 3 Ohio State
- No. 9 LSU at No. 4 Clemson
- No. 6 Notre Dame at No. 10 Miami