Iowa in Preseason Top 25, Six Teams Receive First Place Votes
We're just about ready to put boot to ball to begin the college football season, and the preseason coaches poll has officially arrived.
The AFCA released its first poll of the season on Tuesday, and Kirk Ferentz' Iowa Hawkeyes have once again made the initial cut.
Iowa comes in at #22 in this year's poll, and in a show of parity, there were six different programs that garnered first-place votes.
Per ESPN.com:
Big Ten teams won each of the past three College Football Playoff national championships, and Ohio State will start the 2026 season as the No. 1 team in the AFCA Coaches Poll.
The Buckeyes, who will be led by a pair of Heisman Trophy contenders in quarterback Julian Sayin and receiver Jeremiah Smith, received 38 of 72 first-place votes. It's the first time the Buckeyes will start a season No. 1 in the coaches' poll since 2015.
Another Big Ten team, Oregon, is No. 2, followed by No. 3 Georgia, No. 4 Texas and No. 5 Notre Dame.
Defending national champion Indiana, which went 16-0 last season to win its first title in school history, will start this season at No. 6. The Hoosiers brought in former TCU quarterback Josh Hoover to replace Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza, who was the first overall pick of the Las Vegas Raiders in the NFL draft.
The Hoosiers were among six teams that received first-place votes and had the second most with 14. Oregon (six), Georgia (seven) Texas (two) and Notre Dame (five) also received first-place votes.
| School | Pts. | '25 Rec. |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ohio State (38) | 1,741 | 12-2 |
| 2. Oregon (6) | 1,637 | 13-2 |
| 3. Georgia (7) | 1,591 | 12-2 |
| 4. Texas (2) | 1,544 | 10-3 |
| 5. Notre Dame (5) | 1,5224 | 10-2 |
| 6. Indiana (14) | 1,522 | 16-0 |
| 7. Miami | 1,409 | 13-3 |
| 8. Texas A&M | 1,174 | 11-2 |
| 9. Oklahoma | 1,104 | 10-3 |
| 10. Ole Miss | 1,096 | 13-2 |
| 11. Alabama | 1,050 | 11-4 |
| 12. Texas Tech | 1,034 | 12-2 |
| 13. LSU | 951 | 7-6 |
| 14. Southern Cal | 838 | 9-4 |
| 15. BYU | 781 | 12-2 |
| 16. Michigan | 719 | 9-4 |
| 17. Penn State | 463 | 7-6 |
| 18. Tennessee | 428 | 8-5 |
| 19. Washington | 406 | 9-4 |
| 20. SMU | 378 | 9-4 |
| 21. Utah | 313 | 11-2 |
| 22. Iowa | 291 | 9-4 |
| 23. Clemson | 235 | 7-6 |
| 24. Houston | 194 | 10-3 |
| 25. Missouri | 158 | 8-5 |
Source: Ohio State, Oregon atop college football preseason coaches' poll - ESPN
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