AP Top 25 poll: Clemson is preseason No. 1 for first time, Alabama and Georgia also top college football rankings

This year's Preseason AP Top 25 also looks similar to the Preseason Coaches Poll

By Ben Kercheval

Aug 19, 2019 at 12:12 pm ET • 1 min read

Week 0 of the 2019 college football season is here. Come Saturday, Aug. 24, you'll be able to watch Miami vs. No. 8 Florida in Orlando, followed by Arizona at Hawaii on CBS Sports Network. Speaking of games involving ranked teams, the 2019 Preseason AP Top 25 is out. And the top 10 looks identical to that of the Preseason Coaches Poll.

From Clemson to Texas, the first 10 teams in both top 25 polls are identical. The defending champion Tigers beat out Alabama as the preseason No. 1 team in the nation for the first time in program history. Clemson had 52 first-place votes, per the AP, with Alabama landing the remaining 10. Georgia comes in at No. 3 after missing the College Football Playoff last year, while the Sooners round out the preseason top four with Ohio State coming in at No. 5.

The changes start coming at No. 11, which is where AP voters have placed Oregon. The Ducks are projected to win the Pac-12 North this season and could be a playoff contender with quarterback Justin Herbert coming back. Pac-12 favorites Utah come in at No. 14. UCF is once again the highest-ranked Group of Five team at No. 17 -- which is also their ranking in the Coaches Poll.

The Big Ten leads all conferences with seven teams in the poll while the SEC is second with six, including four in the top 10. All SEC teams are ranked in the top 16 -- same as the Coaches Poll. The Pac-12 has five teams listed while the Big 12 has three teams placed. The ACC rounds out the Power Five conferences with two teams. Notre Dame (Independent) and UCF are the two remaining ranked teams.

Here's the Preseason AP Top 25 poll in its entirety:

1. Clemson
2. Alabama
3. Georgia
4. Oklahoma
5. Ohio State
6. LSU
7. Michigan
8. Florida
9. Notre Dame
10. Texas
11. Oregon
12. Texas A&M
13. Washington
14. Utah
15. Penn State
16. Auburn
17. UCF
18. Michigan State
19. Wisconsin
20. Iowa
21. Iowa State
22. Syracuse
23. Washington State
24. Nebraska
25. Stanford