Where BYU Cougars landed in preseason AP Top 25 College Football poll

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The BYU Cougars earned a spot in the preseason AP Top 25 poll on Monday. Ahead of one of the biggest seasons in program history, there are a few takeaways for Kalani Sitake's team and their opponents.

BYU came in at No. 14, which is two spots below Texas Tech. Alabama is ranked between the top Big 12 teams at No. 13. There are only four conference teams to earn rankings in the initial poll. No. 21 Utah and No. 23 Houston are the other two.

This puts BYU in a perfect position to compete, while setting the stage for the Cougars to play the role of being underdogs. BYU was voted into the Preseason AP Top 25 for the 13th time in the modern era of the poll, and its ranking of 14th is its second highest in a preseason poll in program history.

At the top, Ohio State and Oregon are 1-2, giving the Big Ten Conference an advantage from the start. The Buckeyes will have to get past No. 5 Texas in Week 2, while Oregon isn't projected to face a top ten team until November 7 at Ohio State.

No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 Notre Dame are ahead of Texas in the top five. The Fighting Irish are expected to be undefeated when they visit Provo on Oct. 17. A decisive win over Marcus Freeman's team would send BYU surging in the poll. Three weeks prior to the Cougars heading to Salt Lake City for the latest installment of the Holy War on Nov. 7.

BYU and Utah will likely be fighting for pregame attention from ESPN and FOX, with Oregon and Ohio State being on the same day.

As of now, BYU's two ranked opponents are Notre Dame and Utah. This sets up a potential Big 12 championship rematch situation with Texas Tech. There's still a ton of football to be played, and it's easier said than done.

Overall, five teams received first-place votes. No. 1 Ohio State (40), No. 2 Oregon (14), No. 4 Notre Dame (6), No. 6 Indiana (8) and No. 7 Miami (1). What's interesting here is that Texas has arguably the best roster coming into the college football season, but received no top votes. The Longhorns have seven ranked opponents on their schedule to start the season. This includes four teams in the top 10.

On the other hand, Clemson received votes, but are unranked to start the season for the first time since 2011. Dabo Swinney's team has lost steam from previous College Football Playoff campaigns and are no longer the favorite in the ACC.

BYU opens the 2026 season against Utah Tech on Saturday, Sept. 5. (8 p.m. ET, ESPN).