Big Ten lands five teams in first AP-Top 25 ranking
Big Ten lands five teams in first AP-Top 25 ranking originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The Big Ten is well-represented in the first edition of the Associated Press Top-25 college football rankings, with three teams in the top-10 and five teams in the top-25.
The voters chose defending champion Georgia as the top team in the country, with the Bulldogs receiving 60 of the 63 available first-place votes.
A pair of Big Ten schools also received first place votes, with Michigan checking in at No. 2 in the nation, with two voters choosing them as the top school.
Ohio State also received a first-place vote, and finished in the No. 3 slot.
The Penn State Nittany Lions, full of optimism and hope that they can knock off Michigan and Ohio State in the rough-and-tumble east division, is ranked No. 7.
Wisconsin, being led by new head coach Luke Fickell and transfer quarterback Tanner Mordecai, earned the No. 19 ranking, with Iowa rounding out the top-25 at No. 25.
Minnesota and Illinois each received votes, but did not crack the top-25.
Some future members of the Big Ten also received plenty of adulation, with USC clocking in at No. 6 in the first poll. Washington is also in the mix at No. 10, while Oregon is at No. 15.
The only conference to land more teams in the top-25 was the SEC, who earned six spots. Both Oklahoma and Texas, who are joining the SEC next season, also made the top-25 in the rankings.
Here is the full breakdown of the first AP poll of the year:
1 Georgia (60 first-place votes)
2 Michigan (2 first-place votes)
3 Ohio State (1 first-place vote)
4 Alabama
5 LSU
6 USC
9 Clemson
10 Washington
11 Texas
12 Tennessee
13 Notre Dame
14 Utah
15 Oregon
16 Kansas State
17 TCU
18 Oregon State
19 Wisconsin
20 Oklahoma
22 Ole Miss
23 Texas A&M
24 Tulane
25 Iowa
The first matchup involving a top-25 school will be contested on Aug. 26 when Notre Dame takes on Navy in Dublin, Ireland. That game will air at 12:30 p.m. Central time on NBC Chicago.
No. 6 USC will also be in action as they take on San Jose State at the LA Coliseum.
The rest of the college slate will get underway starting on Aug. 31, with Nebraska and Minnesota playing in the Big Ten season opener in Minneapolis.
The first scheduled matchup of ranked teams will take place on Sept. 3 when LSU and Florida State square off in a top-10 battle in Orlando.
