The final Associated Press college football rankings came out Tuesday, and 12 of the 25 teams in the AP preseason poll weren't ranked in the final poll. National champion Indiana was ranked No. 1, of course, and the Hoosiers started the season ranked No. 20. Here are both polls, starkly different.
MIAMI, Fla. — The final Associated Press college football poll was released Tuesday, the day after Indiana won its first-ever football national title on Monday night, beating Miami 27-21 at Hard Rock Stadium.
The Hoosiers and Hurricanes were Nos. 1-2, of course, with College Football Playoff semifinalists Ole Miss and Oregon finished third and fourth respectively.
The final poll looks far different from AP's preseason poll, where Indiana was ranked No. 20 and were 100-to-1 longshots to win the national title. Miami was ranked No. 10 in the preseason. Oregon was No. 7, and Ole Miss No. 21 in the August 2025 poll.
Here is the final AP poll, with their records for the year and their preseason rankings in parentheses:
1. Indiana Hoosiers 16-0 (No. 20)
2. Miami Hurricanes 13-3 (No. 10)
3. Ole Miss Rebels 13-2 (No. 21)
4. Oregon Ducks 13-2 (No. 7)
5. Ohio Sate Buckeyes 12-2 (No. 3)
6. Georgia Bulldogs 12-2 (No. 5)
7. Texas Tech Red Raiders 12-2 (No. 23)
8. Texas A&M Aggies 11-2 (No. 19)
9. Alabama Crimson Tide 11-4 (No. 8)
10. Notre Dame Fighting Irish 10-2 (No. 6)
11. BYU Cougars 12-2 (No. 26)
12. Texas Longhorns 10-3 (No. 1)
13. Oklahoma Sooners 10-3 (No. 18)
14. Utah Utes 11-2 (No. 27)
15. Vanderbilt Commodores 10-3 (no votes)
16. Virginia Cavaliers 11-3 (no votes)
17. Iowa Hawkeyes 9-4 (No. 44)
18. Tulane Green Wave 11-3 (No. 33)
19. James Madison Dukes 12-2 (No. 38)
20. USC Trojans 9-4 (No. 30)
21. Michigan Wolverines 9-4 (No. 14)
22. Houston Cougars 10-3 (no votes)
23. Navy Midshipmen 11-2 (No. 42)
24. North Texas Mean Green 12-2 (no votes)
25. TCU Horned Frogs 9-4 (No. 45)
Others receiving votes in final poll: Illinois 123, Washington 76, SMU 69, Duke 58, Arizona 54, Georgia Tech 44, Tennessee 10, Missouri 8, Louisville 7, Old Dominion 3, Western Michigan 2, Wake Forest 2, Boise State 1, Hawaii 1.
Dropped from rankings: Arizona 21, Georgia Tech 24, Missouri 25.
Major fall from grace for preseason favorites#
There were 12 schools that were ranked in the preseason top-25 that didn't make the the top-25 in the final poll. That's nearly half, and should tell you all you need to know about preseason polls.
Those with poor seasons include preseason No. 2 Penn State (7-6), No. 4 Clemson (7-6), No. 9 LSU (7-6), No. 11 Arizona State (8-5), No. 12 Illinois (9-4), No. 13 South Carolina (4-8), No. 15 Florida (4-8), No. 16 SMU (9-4), No. 17 Kansas State (6-6), No. 22 Iowa State (8-4), No. 24 Tennessee (8-5), No. 25 Boise State (9-5).
Doing the math, those 12 ranked teams combined to lose 67 games.
So when those preseason ranking come out in 2026, take them all with a grain of salt. And whichever team is ranked No. 20 like Indiana, keep on eye on them.
Can lightning strike twice?