Surprising Big Ten team leads preseason NCAA Re-Rank 1-136

Penn State tops the USA TODAY Sports College Football Re-Rank, followed by Georgia and Clemson.
The SEC and Big Ten dominate the top 30, with 10 and 8 teams each.
There are multiple matchups in Week 1 between teams in the top of the rankings.
There are multiple matchups in Week 1 between teams in the

The Big Ten and SEC lead the way in the debut USA TODAY Sports College Football Re-Rank 1-136 for the 2025 season, mirroring the very top of the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll.

Texas and Ohio State don’t top the list, however. Instead, the re-rank starts with No. 1 Penn State and No. 2 Georgia, followed by No. 3 Clemson. The Longhorns land at No. 4 and the Buckeyes at No. 6, sandwiching No. 5 Notre Dame.

At this point, the Nittany Lions are more of a sure thing than Ohio State, which has a new quarterback, a new backfield, a largely remade defensive front seven and new coordinators on offense and defense.

The switch to Georgia atop the SEC stems from one of the biggest questions in the Bowl Subdivision entering the regular season: After beating Texas twice last season, are we really sure the Bulldogs are poised to cede control of the conference to the Longhorns?

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But this might not last past the year’s first full weekend, when Ohio State hosts Texas in one of the marquee season openers in recent FBS history. A win by either team might be enough to justify a leap into the top spot.

Rounding out the top 12 are No. 7 Alabama, No. 8 Oregon, No. 9 Miami, No. 10 LSU, No. 11 Oklahoma and No. 12 Illinois. LSU is another team in line for a major boost after Week 1 should the Tigers win at Clemson.

Overall, the top 30 teams in the first re-rank include 10 from the SEC, eight from the Big Ten, five from the Big 12, four from the ACC, two from the Mountain West and one independent in the Fighting Irish.

The favorites by Power Four conference are Penn State, Georgia, Clemson and No. 13 Kansas State. The Wildcats are at the front of a very crowded top of the Big 12 that includes No. 18 Arizona State, No. 19 Texas Tech, No. 28 TCU and No. 30 Utah.

Over in the Group of Five, the preseason favorites are No. 23 Boise State (MWC), No. 35 Tulane (American), No. 48 James Madison (Sun Belt), No. 50 Toledo (MAC) and No. 55 Western Kentucky (Conference USA).

And at the bottom of the 1-136 stands a familiar face: No. 136 Kent State will begin the regular season in the same spot where the Golden Flashes ended 2024.