Lev’s preseason Top 25: Oregon, Notre Dame lead the way; did Arizona make the cut?

I voted in the Associated Press poll each of the past 10 college football seasons. Now my personal ballot will appear exclusively in the Daily Star and on Tucson.com, with a slight twist: I will add a “first five out” each time.

The more the merrier, right?

We begin, of course, with the first poll — aka, the worst poll.

This one is always the hardest because there’s no data to draw from. It’s even harder in the transfer-portal era because roster turnover is prolific and pervasive.

I just hope to fare better than last year, when my top two teams were Penn State and Clemson — two massive flops who didn’t so much as receive a single vote between them in the final AP poll.

I was right about the Big Ten three-peating as national champion. Turns out the top squad was Indiana — whom I didn’t even put on my preseason ballot.

If I’ve learned anything the past two seasons, it’s to never underestimate Curt Cignetti and the Hoosiers.

Indiana is one of seven teams that can win this season’s title. Who are the other six? What does the rest of the Top 25 look like? Who are the first five out? Let’s take a look:

1. Oregon

2025 record: 13-2, 8-1 Big Ten (lost in College Football Playoff semifinals)

Coach: Dan Lanning (fifth year)

In a sentence: While turnover at both coordinator spots concerns me a bit, the Ducks enter the 2026 season with perhaps the most talented roster in the nation — including many star players, such as quarterback Dante Moore, who could be NFL rookies right now.

2. Notre Dame

2025 record: 10-2

Coach: Marcus Freeman (fifth year)

In a sentence: Infamously left out of last season’s CFP, the Fighting Irish will be a top-four seed this year thanks to a well-balanced roster that features stars on both sides of the ball — quarterback CJ Carr on offense and cornerback Leonard Moore on defense.

3. Ohio State

2025 record: 12-2, 9-0 Big Ten (lost in CFP quarterfinals)

Coach: Ryan Day (eighth year)

In a sentence: The Buckeyes’ offensive firepower is off the charts — it extends well beyond superstar receiver Jeremiah Smith — but major defensive losses (four top-11 picks in the NFL Draft) and a brutal schedule (at Texas, at Indiana, at USC, vs. Oregon) push AP No. 1 OSU just below the top two in my projection.

4. Texas

2025 record: 10-3, 6-2 SEC

Coach: Steve Sarkisian (sixth year)

In a sentence: Arch Manning might not be all that, but Texas has spent big to put an elite supporting cast around him that should propel the Longhorns to the top of the SEC and keep them in the national-title hunt all season long.

5. Indiana

2025 record: 16-0, 9-0 Big Ten (won national championship)

Coach: Curt Cignetti (third year)

In a sentence: Although they lost a ton of talent — including Heisman-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza — the Hoosiers return almost half their starters, reloaded at QB (Josh Hoover) and receiver (Nick Marsh) and still have the best coach in college football.

6. Miami (Fla.)

2025 record: 13-3, 6-2 ACC (lost in national championship game)

Coach: Mario Cristobal (fifth year)

In a sentence: The clear class of the ACC, Miami has as good a set of offensive “triplets” — QB Darian Mensah, RB Mark Fletcher Jr. and WR Malachi Toney — as any team in the country and a head coach who always ensures that the line play is sound, no matter the losses to the NFL.

7. Georgia

2025 record: 12-2, 7-1 SEC (lost in CFP quarterfinals)

Coach: Kirby Smart (11th year)

In a sentence: Georgia has won 11-plus games in eight straight seasons under Smart (pandemic year excluded), so the floor is as high as it gets; the question is whether senior QB Gunner Stockton is merely a game manager or someone who can help the Bulldogs reach their ceiling.

8. USC

2025 record: 9-4, 7-2 Big Ten

Coach: Lincoln Riley (fifth year)

In a sentence: College Poll Tracker would label this an “extreme pick,” as the Trojans generally land in the 12-14 range in most preseason polls; I see a team that returns its entire starting offensive line, has a quality veteran quarterback (Jayden Maiava) and has high-end talent on both sides of the ball.

9. LSU

2025 record: 7-6, 3-5 SEC

Coach: Lane Kiffin (first year)

In a sentence: The Kiffin bump at USC and Ole Miss happened in Year 2, but this is a different time and LSU is a different program that enhanced an already talented roster with NFL-bound left tackle Jordan Seaton and QB Sam Leavitt, who’s hoping to replicate Jayden Daniels’ ASU-to-LSU path to superstardom.

10. Texas Tech

2025 record: 12-2, 8-1 Big 12 (lost in CFP quarterfinals)

Coach: Joey McGuire (fifth year)

In a sentence: The Brendan Sorsby acquisition fizzled, but the Red Raiders still have the most expensive and talented roster in the Big 12, plus an extremely manageable schedule that should enable them to cruise to a second straight Big 12 Championship Game appearance.

11. Texas A&M

2025 record: 11-2, 7-1 SEC (lost in CFP 1st round)

Coach: Mike Elko (third year)

In a sentence: Another program that has invested heavily to support a meat-and-potatoes head coach, the Aggies will go as far as QB Marcel Reed takes them; he had a 25-8 touchdown-to-interception ratio in A&M’s 11 wins, 0-4 in its two losses.

12. BYU

2025 record: 12-2, 8-1 Big 12

Coach: Kalani Sitake (11th year)

In a sentence: The defense is loaded with returning starters and standouts, QB Bear Bachmeier should grow in Year 2 and tailback LJ Martin, the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, is back for his senior season; my only question is whether the Cougars have enough juice on the outside to keep opposing defenses honest.

13. Oklahoma

2025 record: 10-3, 6-2 SEC (lost in CFP first round)

Coach: Brent Venables (fifth year)

In a sentence: You know the defense will be stout under Venables, but QB John Mateer is an even bigger wild card than A&M’s Reed; improving last season’s 113th-ranked rushing attack could be the difference between making the CFP again or missing out.

14. Michigan

2025 record: 9-4, 7-2 Big Ten

Coach: Kyle Whittingham (first year)

In a sentence: Despite all the chaos that preceded his arrival, Whittingham is entering a good situation with a program that won it all just two seasons ago; the variable this season is QB Bryce Underwood, who couldn’t live up to the hype as a true freshman but now gets a fresh start in a new offense.

15. Ole Miss

2025 record: 13-2, 7-1 SEC (lost in CFP semifinals)

Coach: Pete Golding (first year)

In a sentence: The Rebels have the personnel — including QB Trinidad Chambliss, RB Kewan Lacy and LB Suntarine Perkins — to keep last season’s momentum going, but it’s fair to wonder if they’re headed for a slight drop-off after losing Kiffin and facing a gauntlet of a schedule that includes trips to Florida, Texas and Oklahoma.

16. Washington

2025 record: 9-4, 5-4 Big Ten

Coach: Jedd Fisch (third year)

In a sentence: Arizona took off in Year 3 under Fisch, who has all the ingredients to produce a top-shelf offense — if talented QB Demond Williams Jr. can take the next step in his development after a promising but inconsistent sophomore season and a bumpy offseason.

17. Alabama

2025 record: 11-4, 7-1 SEC (lost in CFP quarterfinals)

Coach: Kalen DeBoer (third year)

In a sentence: The Crimson Tide took a tangible step forward in DeBoer’s second season, but blowout losses in the SEC Championship Game and the CFP quarterfinals and a shocking inability to run the ball give me pause; something just feels slightly amiss about the DeBoer-Bama fit.

18. Tennessee

2025 record: 8-5, 4-4 SEC

Coach: Josh Heupel (sixth year)

In a sentence: I invariably find the Volunteers’ high-end talent alluring, and they invariably disappoint; they enter 2026 with uncertainty at quarterback — will five-star freshman Faizon Brandon be the guy? — but the potential for significant improvement on defense with Jim Knowles on board as coordinator.

19. Penn State

2025 record: 7-6, 3-6 Big Ten

Coach: Matt Campbell (first year)

In a sentence: I’m hesitant to expect too much of “Iowa State East” given how the Cyclones wobbled last season, but a lot of that had to do with injuries — including to new Nittany Lions QB Rocco Becht, who’s healthy now and in prime position to have a big-time bounce-back season.

20. Houston

2025 record: 10-3, 6-3 Big 12

Coach: Willie Fritz (third year)

In a sentence: The Cougars could be due for some regression after going 6-1 in one-score games last season, but they’ve upgraded the roster while retaining QB Conner Weigman and WR Amare Thomas; a second straight 10-win season is within the realm of possibilities.

21. SMU

2025 record: 9-4, 6-2 ACC

Coach: Rhett Lashlee (fifth season)

In a sentence: Similar to Arizona’s Noah Fifita, QB Kevin Jennings is about to conclude his college career with the same school with which he started; but as hopeful as SMU fans are, the schedule is full of landmines, including trips to Florida State (Sept. 7), Louisville (Sept. 21) and Notre Dame (Nov. 21).

22. Arizona

2025 record: 9-4, 6-3 Big 12

Coach: Brent Brennan (third season)

In a sentence: Brennan has a good thing going with Fifita back, a deep receiving corps and a veteran defensive front, but will the offense’s expected gains offset the regression that seems inevitable in the defensive backfield, which is seeking to replace four NFL Draft picks?

23. Louisville

2025 record: 9-4, 4-4 ACC

Coach: Jeff Brohm (fourth season)

In a sentence: The Cardinals have won 28 games in Brohm’s three seasons, and I see no reason that trend won’t continue after Louisville splurged in the transfer portal, adding former Ohio State QB Lincoln Kienholz, among others, to complement RB Isaac Brown, who averaged 8.8 yards per carry last season.

24. Virginia

2025 record: 11-3, 7-1 ACC

Coach: Tony Elliott (fifth year)

In a sentence: The Cavaliers surprisingly have gotten little preseason polling love after an 11-win campaign; well-traveled new QB Beau Pribula brings a dual-threat element to the offense, and Virginia’s conference slate features neither Miami nor Louisville.

25. Boise State

2025 record: 9-5, 6-2 Mountain West

Coach: Spencer Danielson (third year)

In a sentence: The flagship program of the new-look Pac-12, Boise State returns the majority of its starters on offense — including 1,125-yard rusher Dylan Riley — and could run the table after the opener at Oregon, positioning the Broncos for a return to the CFP.

First five out (in alphabetical order): Cal, Iowa, Navy, TCU, Utah