Spring football is over, and the portal is now closed. I'm not sure exactly what point "next season" became "this season," but I know we passed it a long time ago.
With rosters and coaching staffs largely set and the summer practically upon us, a number of outlets released their post-spring Top 25s. Here, we've combined them all to form something of a Consensus Pre-Preseason Top 25. How much will this resemble the final AP Top 25 in January? Not at all. But with public opinion coalescing, the preseason AP Top 25 will take this general shape.
To form the first annual FootballScoop Pre-Preseason Top 25, we combined the post-spring Top 25 from CBS (written by Brandon Marcello), On3 (Andy Staples), Fox (Joel Klatt), Athlon (Bryan Driskell) and 247 (an actual poll of their writers). ESPN and others will likely have their own soon (ESPN released their 2024 edition on May 20), but it's unlikely anyone will shift the consensus of the pundit class heading into training camp. (May 21 Update: We have now included entires from ESPN, The Sporting News and The Athletic.)
In general, here's how The Experts see the national scene heading into the preseason:
24. Oklahoma (Highest: 14 | Lowest: NR)
For my money, OU will be the most fascinating team in the country this season. One could argue four of the five most people in the program -- executive adviser Randall Stephenson, GM Jim Nagy, offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle, quarterback John Mateer -- are brand new to the team.
24. Auburn (Highest: 13 | Lowest: NR)
Oklahoma bought high and sold low on Jackson Arnold. Or at least that's the hope at Auburn, where Hugh Freeze was a quarterback away from a 9-win team a year ago. Is Arnold that quarterback?
22. Indiana (Highest: 9 | Lowest: NR)
Curt Cignetti has no interest in being a flash in a pan. IU has invested significantly in his coaching staff, and also invested enough to nab QB Francisco Mendoza away from Cal. Nine wins feels like a great follow-up for the Hoosiers.
22. Ole Miss (Highest: 15 | Lowest: NR)
Lane Kiffin had the fifth best-draft class on his roster last season and still couldn't make the Playoff. Maybe this time the Rebels will surpass muted expectations after falling short of their lofty hype in 2024.
21. Iowa State (Highest: 14 | Lowest: NR)
Iowa State lost two NFL receivers but returns QB1 Rocco Becht. The run defense has to improve, as evidenced by their last-place ranking in the Big 12 (other than Oklahoma State, who was its own level of disaster last season) and the Cyclones' constanct presence in Cam Skattebo's highlight reel.
20. Texas A&M (Highest: 11 | Lowest: NR)
Marcel Reed is entrenched at QB after beginning last season as a backup, and Mike Elko spent the winter portal upgrading Reed's options at wideout.
19. Texas Tech (Highest: 11 | Lowest: NR)
Hoo boy. Expectations will be higher than Tommy Norris's blood pressure after what was surely a record-breaking portal spending spree. Tech did not have a single winning season in Big 12 play from 2010-21, but is 3-for-3 in that department under Joey McGuire. Last year's team beat Big 12 champ Arizona State and runner-up Iowa State, but missed the title game thanks to a 24-point no-show vs. Baylor and a controversial 1-point loss to TCU (with weren't without controversy). Now's the time.
18. Kansas State (Highest: 13 | Lowest: NR)
Dare I say, a reputation pick? Avery Johnson will have to play better in 2025 than he did in '24 for K-State to live up to this ranking. Handed the reins from Will Howard, Johnson finished 62nd in passing efficiency last season.
17. SMU (Highest: 12 | Lowest: NR)
SMU hasn't lost a regular-season conference game since Nov. 17, 2022. A fantastic debut ACC season was marred by a bummer of a finish, but Rhett Lashlee has steadily built the Mustangs' depth and QB1 Kevin Jennings returns.
16. Michigan (Highest: 12 | Lowest: NR)
The entire season will be a waiting game until No. 1 recruit Bryce Underwood takes the QB1 job. A September visit to Oklahoma looms, as do Weeks 3 and 4.
13. BYU (Highest: 14 | Lowest: 22)
Arizona State was the 2024 Big 12 champion, but BYU finished tied with the Sun Devils in the standings and blew out Colorado, who also tied for first in the Big 12, in the Alamo Bowl. Kalani Sitake has won 10+ games in three of his last five seasons.
13. Miami (Highest: 9 | Lowest: 21)
After losing the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Miami slides in the guy everyone assumed at this time last year would be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the 'Canes should be really good on offense again. Mario Cristobal and new coordinator Corey Heatherman have to fix a defense that turned what should've been an ACC championship, CFP-berth season into a Pop-Tarts Bowl loss.
13. South Carolina (Highest: 11 | Lowest: 22)
South Carolina returns top-of-the-draft talent at premium positions in QB LaNorris Sellers, WR Nyck Harbor and DE Dylan Stewart. There's not a single game on the schedule South Carolina can't win.
12. Arizona State (Highest: 10 | Lowest: 17)
Cam Skattebo will be a big loss, but Arizona State returns arguably the game's top QB-WR tandem in Sam Leavitt and Jordyn Tyson, who were each offered millions to leave Tempe this offseason according to a source.
11. Florida (Highest: 10 | Lowest: 19)
Billy Napier survived all the preseason eulogies written for him after an 11-14 start to his tenure and the toughest (preseason) schedule in college football history. No one's going to be firing Napier this summer, but now his reward for exceeding expectations in '24 is greater expectations in '25. No one would be surprised if DJ Lagway emerges as the game's top quarterback this season.
10. Illinois (Highest: 9 | Lowest: 14)
Indiana was the Big Ten's breakout team in 2024, but Illinois -- who won 10 games and returns starting quarterback Luke Altmyer -- has the pundit class's confidence entering the season.
9. LSU (Highest: 6 | Lowest: 15)
Garrett Nussmeier can sling it, but has Brian Kelly built enough around him to compete for titles?
8. Alabama (Highest: 5 | Lowest: 10)
This will be a pivotal year for Kalen DeBoer specifically and for Alabama generally. After more than a decade and a half as the main character in college football, will the Tide return to the forefront now that DeBoer has "his guys" in key spots (OC Ryan Grubb, QB1 TBD), or is Alabama just another program now? Alabama will start in its lowest spot since 2008.
7. Oregon (Highest: Highest: 4 | Lowest: 8)
After playing 29-year-old Bo Nix and 32-year-old Dillon Gabriel at quarterback the past two years (both numbers approximate), Dan Lanning turns to 20-year-old Dante Moore, who may prove to be the best QB in Oregon history.
6. Georgia (Highest: 3 | Lowest: 8)
Georgia never quite clicked in 2024, and still won the SEC. Now, pundits view the Bulldogs outside the top-top tier heading off a "down" season; Georgia will likely start outside the AP top-5 for the first time since 2017.
5. Notre Dame (Highest: 2 | Lowest: 7)
Beating Georgia and Penn State at neutral sites won this program a lot of respect, but they remain a step away from winning hardware. Marcus Freeman has upgraded the base talent and athleticism across the roster, and now he'll have to win with a quarterback Notre Dame signed out of high school.
4. Clemson (Highest: 2 | Lowest 7)
Is Clemson truly back among the nation's elite, or are we all talking ourselves into a team that was fortunate to win an ACC title game where it entered as an underdog and was generally non-competitive against Georgia and Texas last season, dropping Dabo Swinney's team to 3-7 in its last 10 games against the SEC? We should find out quickly: Clemson opens with LSU at Death Valley East.
3. Ohio State (Highest: 1 | Lowest: 5)
The defending national champions lost a heckuva lot from the 2024 team: the fourth-best draft class of all time, and both coordinators. A whole lot of talent stuck around, though, starting with arguably the best offensive and defensive players in college football in wideout Jeremiah Smith and safety Caleb Downs.
2. Penn State (Highest: 1 | Lowest: 4)
It feels like we've had a few "If not now, when?" seasons for James Franklin as he heads into Year 12 at Penn State, now nearly a decade removed from his lone B1G title and his last win over Ohio State. Penn State will have arguably the best front seven in college football and arguably the best backfield in college football, with a re-vamped receiver room. Will it be enough to get over the hump?
1. Texas (Highest: 1 | Lowest: 4)
Been a while since you've heard a "Is Texas back?!?!" joke, hasn't it? The only team to make the last two CFP semifinals, Texas is 25-5 over the past two seasons as expectations ratchet up for Steve Sarkisian with Arch Manning stepping into the QB1 role for, as of the current expectation, the next two seasons.
Also receiving votes: Tennessee, Louisville, TCU, Nebraska, Boise State, Baylor, Iowa, Georgia Tech, Navy