AP Top 25 preseason college football poll, futures odds: Collapsing Pac-12 lands five schools on list; Tulane lone non-Power 5 program

The college football season starts in less than two weeks, and the AP Top 25 poll was released Monday with two-time defending national champion Georgia at the top, and Michigan No. 2. The two schools occupied the same spots in the previously announced Coaches' Poll. We'll focus a bit on the Pac-12, which might be in its final year of existence and got five schools in, as well as on the only non-power school in the poll: Tulane.

The Pac-12 hasn't won a national title in the College Football Playoff era, and history says that trend will continue. USC is the only school in the conference with a realistic shot of making the playoff. The Trojans are ranked sixth in the poll and only schools in the AP preseason top six have gone on to win the title in the Playoff era. Of course, USC brings back the most electric player in the sport in quarterback Caleb Williams, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner and +550 favorite at DraftKings to repeat.

Head coach Lincoln Riley's team does have a reasonably tough schedule with four preseason Top 25 teams on it: at No. 13 Notre Dame on Oct. 14, vs. No. 14 Utah on Oct. 21, vs. No. 10 Washington on Nov. 4, and at No. 15 Oregon on Nov. 11. The Trojans were 0-2 vs. the Utes last year, including a loss in the Pac-12 title game.

USC, UCLA, Washington and Oregon are headed to the Big Ten next year, and Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah will move to the Big 12. Just one of the Pac-12 teams in the poll has not yet announced an imminent departure from the conference: No. 18 Oregon State, which might have to go to the Mountain West next season along with Washington State. (What Stanford and Cal plan to do remains to be seen.)

The SEC leads with six schools on the list – and Oklahoma and Texas, also ranked, will be league members next year. The Big Ten has five – it would also have eight if this were next year.

There is just one non-Power 5 conference school in the Top 25, and that's reigning American Athletic Conference champion Tulane at No. 24. The Green Wave finished at 12-2 and upset No. 10 USC in a wild Cotton Bowl. Coach Willie Fritz has brought many starters back, including QB Michael Pratt.

Overall, the Green Wave are set to return four of the team's five starters on the offensive line, two of the team's top three rushers (Pratt is one), two of the top four receivers (Jha'Quan Jackson and Lawrence Keys III), the team's punter and kicker, its leader in interceptions (Jarius Monroe) and three of the five leading defensive players in tackles for losses (Patrick Jenkins, Darius Hodges and Keith Cooper Jr.).

Hey, if Tulane can upset No. 22 Ole Miss on Sept. 9 and run the league table, and it is the +210 favorite to repeat as AAC champion, maybe a playoff spot isn't impossible. Cincinnati was selected in 2021 as an AAC school (now a Big 12 member) and remains the only Group of 5 team that's reached the College Football Playoff.

An preseason unranked school has made the playoff each of the past two seasons: TCU in 2022 and Michigan the year before.

AP preseason Top 25 (DraftKings odds to win national title)

1. Georgia +215
2. Michigan +800
3. Ohio State +650
4. Alabama +600
5. LSU +1100
6. USC +1600
7. Penn State +2200
8. Florida State +2000
9. Clemson +1800
10. Washington +4000
11. Texas +2200
12. Tennessee +3000
13. Notre Dame +3000
14. Utah +7000
15. Oregon +4000
16. Kansas State +10000
17. TCU +10000
18. Oregon State +10000
19. Wisconsin +7000
20. Oklahoma +6000
21. North Carolina +10000
22. Ole Miss +10000
23. Texas A&M +6000
24. Tulane +30000
25. Iowa +15000

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