With the calendar turning to August, college football is just a few short weeks away.
As the season gets closer, preseason polls begin to trickle out and fans get a chance to see where their team is at relative to the competition — and whether or not they will start the season ranked.
Though the preseason AP Poll is not going to be released until next week, the coaches poll dropped on Monday with a surprising team in the top slot:
College football’s preseason coaches poll just dropped. Who’s too high/low? pic.twitter.com/VZV3Xu2n25
— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) August 4, 2025
The Texas Longhorns are the coaches pick to start the season as the No. 1 team in the nation, however even more interestingly they are also the only SEC team in the top-three with Ohio State and Penn State in the next two spots.
Georgia comes in at No. 4 before Notre Dame rounds out the top-five, as Alabama and LSU take the No. 8 and No. 9 slots behind Clemson and Oregon.
In total, nine SEC teams are ranked with South Carolina at No. 13, Ole Miss at No. 15, Florida at No. 17, Tennessee at No. 18, and Texas A&M at No. 21.
The AP Poll is also expected to be SEC-heavy, but it won’t be long before the teams get a chance to prove it on the field.
Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP and hear him every weekday morning from 6 to 9 a.m. on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5, available free online.
