Alabama is ranked No. 1 in the Preseason Top 25 AP Poll, which was released Monday.
This marks the sixth time the Crimson Tide starts the season at No. 1 since Nick Saban took over as head coach in 2007. Alabama, which won the College Football Playoff championship in 2020, also was ranked No. 1 in the USA Today/Amway Coaches Poll.
The last time Alabama started the season at No. 1 and won the AP national championship was 2017.
Oklahoma opened the season at No. 2 and received six first-place votes. The Sooners are shooting for a seventh straight Big 12 championship.
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Clemson opens at No. 3. The Tigers were the Preseason No. 1 each of the last two seasons under Dabo Swinney, and they are in the top five for the sixth consecutive season.
Ohio State, Georgia and Texas A&M took the next three spots. The Buckeyes received one first-place vote at No. 4, and the Bulldogs received five first-place votes at No. 5. The five teams receiving first-place votes in the preseason is the most since 2016.
Iowa State opened at No. 7, the highest preseason ranking in program history. Cincinnati, Notre Dame and North Carolina round out the top-10.
AP Preseason Top 25
| RANK | SCHOOL | VOTES | 1ST |
| 1 | Alabama | 1,548 | 47 |
| 2 | Oklahoma | 1,462 | 6 |
| 3 | Clemson | 1,447 | 6 |
| 4 | Ohio State | 1,393 | 1 |
| 5 | Georgia | 1,364 | 5 |
| 6 | Texas A&M | 1,223 | 0 |
| 7 | Iowa State | 1,160 | 0 |
| 8 | Cincinnati | 1,014 | 0 |
| 9 | Notre Dame | 1,009 | 0 |
| 10 | North Carolina | 999 | 0 |
| 11 | Oregon | 968 | 0 |
| 12 | Wisconsin | 743 | 0 |
| 13 | Florida | 728 | 0 |
| 14 | Miami | 663 | 0 |
| 15 | USC | 660 | 0 |
| 16 | LSU | 631 | 0 |
| 17 | Indiana | 549 | 0 |
| 18 | Iowa | 513 | 0 |
| 19 | Penn State | 456 | 0 |
| 20 | Washington | 449 | 0 |
| 21 | Texas | 350 | 0 |
| 22 | Coastal Carolina | 232 | 0 |
| 23 | Louisiana | 208 | 0 |
| 24 | Utah | 176 | 0 |
| 25 | Arizona State | 125 | 0 |
Others receiving votes: Oklahoma State 107, Ole Miss 106, TCU 40, Liberty 36, Auburn 32, North Carolina State 14, Michigan 12, Northwestern 8, Boise State 7, Nevada 7, Brigham Young 6, Ball State 6, Houston 5, Boston College 5, UCF 5, West Virginia 3, UAB 2, Army 2, UCLA 2