Texas Leads 2025 AP Poll; Colorado, UNC, BYU Unranked

The 2025 preseason AP Top 25 college football poll was released, with several notable teams from the Big 12 and other conferences either ranked or receiving votes. Texas leads the poll, followed by Penn State and Ohio State, with Ohio State holding the defending champion title but ranked third behind Penn State despite their recent title win. Arizona State is the highest-ranked Big 12 team at No. 11, joined by Kansas State (17), Iowa State (22), and Texas Tech (23), while Utah, BYU, Baylor, TCU, and Colorado received votes but did not crack the top 25. BYU, despite finishing last season ranked 13th, is unranked this preseason largely due to the late transfer of quarterback Jake Retzlaff to Tulane, though the team is poised to potentially re-enter the rankings with a strong start. Colorado, under Deion Sanders, and North Carolina, led by Bill Belichick in his first college coaching role, are also unranked but have potential to be ranked if they perform well early in the season. Utah is similarly unranked but has faith from voters based on their defensive strength and potential offensive improvements, with the team embracing an underdog mentality to start the season.