Alabama’s season‑opening victory over East Carolina (48‑10) in Tuscaloosa earned the Crimson Tide a rise to No. 12 in the Associated Press Top 25 college football poll, the first ranking released for the 2026 regular season.
SEC dominance across the poll
The SEC continues to shape the national landscape, fielding nine teams in this week’s poll: No. 2 Georgia, No. 4 Texas, No. 8 LSU, No. 9 Ole Miss, No. 10 Texas A&M, No. 11 Oklahoma, No. 12 Alabama, No. 18 Tennessee and No. 23 Missouri. The conference’s depth underscores its status as the premier football league in the country.
Top‑ranked programs
Ohio State retained the No. 1 spot by a wide margin, collecting 46 of the 69 first‑place votes from the AP voting panel of writers and broadcasters. The Buckeyes will open the season against No. 4 Texas on Saturday, a matchup that promises a high‑profile showdown early in the year.
Georgia, Notre Dame, Texas and Indiana each moved up one spot in the rankings. Oregon climbed from No. 2 to No. 6 after a 34‑27 win over Boise State as a 25.5‑point favorite.
Other notable moves
LSU’s 51‑10 rout of Clemson in Lane Kiffin’s debut in Baton Rouge propelled the Tigers from No. 11 to No. 8, marking their first top‑10 finish since a 4‑0 start last season. The Tigers’ surge pushed Oklahoma out of the top ten; the Sooners sit at No. 11 after a 51‑0 shutout of UTEP.
Auburn received two votes after a narrow 17‑16 win over Baylor in Atlanta, placing the Tigers at No. 41 overall. Virginia earned a No. 25 ranking following a Week 0 victory over North Carolina State, the program’s first appearance in a preseason poll since 2005.
Teams on the bubble
Michigan fell out of the Top 25 after moving from No. 16, a rare drop for a program that has not seen such a slide since at least 2008. Kansas State also slipped from No. 17 to unranked after its season‑opening performance.
Other programs receiving votes included Boise State (86), Florida (83), Michigan (69), Arizona (33), Memphis (23), South Carolina (19), Western Michigan (12), Pittsburgh (11), Navy (10), UCLA (7), Virginia Tech (6), Illinois (6), James Madison (4), Minnesota (4), Colorado (3), Arizona State (2), and Vanderbilt (2).
Upcoming marquee matchups
The first regular‑season top‑five clash this weekend pits No. 1 Ohio State against No. 5 Texas, a rematch of the 2025 season opener in which Texas entered as the No. 1 team and fell 14‑7. The game will be a key early test for both programs as they look to solidify their positions in the national race.
Fans can also look forward to SEC battles later in the week, with Georgia, Texas, LSU and Ole Miss all slated for high‑stakes conference matchups that could further shuffle the rankings.
What the poll means for fans
For Alabama supporters, the modest climb to No. 12 reflects a strong start and sets a positive tone for the season. The broader SEC presence in the Top 25 highlights the conference’s depth and suggests that many of the nation’s most competitive games will feature SEC teams.
As the season progresses, weekly polls will continue to track the ebb and flow of performance, giving fans a clear picture of where their favorite programs stand on the national stage.
Original reporting: Alabama News Network — read the source article.
