Arkansas receives votes, not ranked in first AP Top 25 Poll
The first AP Top 25 Poll of the college football season was released on Monday morning and there wasn’t much of a surprise.
The top five teams in the AP Poll were the same as the USA Today Coaches Poll, which was released one week ago. Georgia begins their quest for a third straight title as No. 1 after receiving 60 of the 63 possible first place votes.
Michigan came in at ranked behind the Bulldogs. The only difference in the top five from the AP poll to the Coaches Poll was that Ohio State is ranked third in the AP poll, ahead of Alabama. LSU comes in at No. 5 to round out the top five.
Six teams from the SEC are included in the initial AP Poll – the most of any conference. Tennessee (No. 10), Ole Miss (No. 22) and Texas A&M (No. 25) are the other three teams representing the SEC.
Arkansas is effectively the No. 30 team in the AP Poll, receiving 22 votes. They were behind UTSA (64 votes), UCLA (66 votes), South Carolina (73 votes) and Texas Tech (101 votes).
The AP Poll will be released each Sunday at 1:00 p.m. CT during the regular season.
25. Iowa
The Iowa Hawkeyes make an appearance in the AP Top 25 after finishing 8-5 last season with a win over Kentucky in the Music City Bowl. An influx of transfers should help improve their struggling offense from a year ago.
24. Tulane
Tulane was a feel good story last year. The Green Wave went 12-2 with an appearance in the Cotton Bowl where they pulled off a dramatic upset win over No. 10 USC.
23. Texas A&M
The Texas A&M Aggies made a splash this offseason when Jimbo Fisher hired Bobby Petrino as his new offensive coordinator. One thing is certain, A&M will be appointment television this season.
22. Ole Miss
Lane Kiffin’s Rebels are poised to battle Arkansas for the No. 3 spot in the SEC West this season. Right now, Ole Miss holds the advantage over the Hogs.
21. North Carolina
The North Carolina Tar Heels have a lot of weapons for Mack Brown’s offense this season. They could be a surprise team to win the ACC if they can finally put it all together for a full year.
20. Oklahoma
Second-year head coach Brent Venables is hoping his Oklahoma Sooners can put the disappointing 2022 season behind them. This year’s team has a much better chance to be successful.
19. Wisconsin
The Wisconsin Badgers have a new coach for the first time in eight seasons as Luke Fickell takes over for Paul Chryst. Badgers fans should be optimistic that they will be able to improve on their 7-6 mark from a year ago.
18. Oregon State
The last time Oregon State had winning seasons in three straight years was 2007-2009. If the Beavers go above .500 this year, it’ll be three straight. They have the team to accomplish that feat.
17. TCU
After getting absolute drubbed by Georgia in the last year’s title game, the TCU Horned Frogs are hoping to get a chance to redeem themselves. They lured Kendal Briles away from Arkansas to take over their offense, so it will be interesting to see how things go this year.
16. Kansas State
Before last year, Kansas State hadn’t won 10 or more games since 2012. Chris Klieman will have another contender in the Big 12 this year, albeit without dominant running back Deuce Vaughn toting the rock.
15. Oregon
The Oregon Ducks are perennial Pac 12 contenders, and this season will be no different. It will be the last time Oregon has a chance to win the conference as they head to the Big Ten in 2024.
14. Utah
The Utah Utes have appeared in back-to-back Rose Bowls and a third would establish them as one of the elite programs in college football. This team might have loftier goals this season and could be a dark horse playoff contender.
13. Notre Dame
Notre Dame recovered nicely from an embarrassing 0-2 start last season, which included an embarrassing upset loss to Marshall. They went on to finish 9-4 and Marcus Freeman’s team is looking to accomplish more this year.
12. Tennessee
It’s somewhat surprising to not see Tennessee inside the top 10 of this initial AP Poll. If Joe Milton is as good as advertised and can replace what Hendon Hooker gave the Volunteer offense last season, the ceiling is championship contention in Knoxville.
11. Texas
The Texas Longhorns begin their final year in the Big 12 as the conference’s highest ranked team. Are the Longhorns finally back this year? If only these preseason rankings actually meant something.
10. Washington
Since this is the Pac 12’s final season (as we know it), many believe it would be fitting to have USC cruise to another conference title. Don’t count out the Huskies, though. Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. is the real deal.
9. Clemson
After missing out on the playoffs in back-to-back seasons, the Clemson Tigers are rock solid once again. They still aren’t quite national title contenders, which is the expectation now, but you can never count them out.
8. Florida State
Can Florida State return to the relevance and dominance they enjoyed in the 1990s and early 2000s? Mike Norvell has gotten the Seminoles rolling again and they’re coming off of a 10-win season in 2022.
7. Penn State
While the Penn State Nittany Lions aren’t quite on the level of Michigan or Ohio State, they’re still a really good football team. An upset here or there could propel Penn State into a playoff position.
6. USC
The USC Trojans will go as far as their Heisman-winning quarterback, Caleb Williams, takes them. Lincoln Riley’s squad could cruise into a playoff berth or could slip and miss out on a New Year’s Six bowl game altogether. We’ll have to see what happens.
5. LSU
Brian Kelly’s first year in Baton Rouge went about as well as you could’ve hoped. The LSU Tigers return quarterback Jayden Daniels and will most likely be competing with Alabama for SEC West supremacy once again.
4. Alabama
Until Nick Saban hangs up his whistle, the Alabama Crimson Tide will be title contenders every year. This year, Saban’s Tide have to figure out the quarterback position, but every other position is littered with elite playmakers.
3. Ohio State
Ohio State was a few seconds away from upsetting Georgia and making it to the national championship game. Once again, the Buckeyes will be fighting with their rivals up north for conference supremacy and, most likely, a playoff berth. Only this year, they won’t have CJ Stroud under center.
2. Michigan
Michigan finally got over the hump and beat Ohio State to earn a playoff berth. Unfortunately, the Wolverines couldn’t hold off TCU. Jim Harbaugh’s team will look to redeem their playoff loss from a year ago and return a lot of key players to help them do it.
1. Georgia
Georgia is looking to cement their legacy as college football’s greatest dynasty. No team has ever won three straight national titles during the AP Poll era (1936). If they do that, their greatness is undeniable at that point.
