AP Top 25 poll reactions: Oklahoma overrated, Clemson underrated in preseason college football rankings

College football's preseason AP Top 25 poll was released on Monday with several surprises, along with a few teams falling in the overrated and underrated categories. Texas is the preseason No. 1 for the first time in program history, equaling its spot in last week's Coaches Poll -- which also marked a program first.

Texas had been ranked No. 2 in the preseason AP poll on five occasions, including during its 2005 national championship season, but never in the top spot. College football's 2025 season officially kicks off Aug. 23 when nationally ranked Big 12 foes Iowa State and Kansas State battle in Dublin, Ireland.

Looking back at the last 20 years of preseason AP rankings, the only top-ranked team that won a national championship during that stretch was Alabama in 2017. However, 15 of the remaining 19 national title winners over those two decades came from teams ranked within the preseason top 5.

AP Top 25 poll: Texas makes history as preseason No. 1, Penn State is No. 2 in college football rankings

So, yes, preseason rankings hold merit. In August, the projected elites at the top of the poll tend to shape the playoff conversation as the season matures. That said, voters don't always nail the rankings during the first time around.

There are a few teams we've deemed underrated -- or overrated -- entering the regular season.

Opener: Illinois State, Aug. 30

For the Sooners, the two-deep will be vastly different from the squad that finished 6-7 in 2024. That said, putting a team facing several questions inside the top 20 could be setting Oklahoma up for a failure to meet expectations.

Brent Venables' firm position on one of the nation's hottest seats forced his hand this offseason to go all-in in terms of personnel and coaching staff enhancements with the notable additions of former Washington State quarterback John Mateer, his previous offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle, new general manager Jim Nagy and California transfer running back Jaydn Ott. Quality pieces aside, this team is overvalued at No. 18 in the preseason. No program nationally allowed more sacks (50) last season and the Sooners are using fall camp to figure out the right rotation to ensure their group up front is much-improved in 2025.

Opener: LSU, Aug. 30

Back for his third season under offensive coordinator Garrett Riley as Clemson's starting quarterback, Cade Klubnik took his game to new heights as a junior last fall with 36 touchdown passes and 3,639 yards through the air. Much of that production came via rising stars at the wideout spot and the Tigers remain loaded at the position.

On the other side of the football, pass rushers T.J. Parker, Peter Woods and cornerback Avieon Terrell are all potential first-rounders and spearhead the eight returning starters on defense. No team in the ACC has more veteran firepower within the two-deep than Clemson and the Tigers have an opportunity to bookend the season with wins against a pair of SEC teams -- LSU and South Carolina -- to further improve poll placement. As long as Klubnik stays healthy and the Tigers don't suffer any injuries along their veteran-rich offensive line, this Clemson team has a chance to be the program's best since 2020.

Opener: Georgia State, Aug. 30

Too much emphasis was put on last season's results from voters rather than diving deeper into this year's roster. Very few 2024 contributors, which were a part of 21 total wins over the last two seasons, remain at Ole Miss. No team in the SEC returns fewer starters than the Rebels (5), who are banking on a top-5 transfer class to make an immediate impact. Lane Kiffin has followed this script before and managed success, but something feels different this time around with four newcomers along the offensive line, first-year starter Austin Simmons at quarterback and Cayden Lee being the only known commodity offensively.

After three top-15 finishes over the last four seasons, this Rebels team could mirror the 2022 squad that started off hot before capsizing during the second half of the campaign. Ole Miss faces four opponents in the preseason AP Top 25 and also matches up with Tulane from the Group of Six. Kiffin has earned the benefit of the doubt with an offensive machine that produces in bunches, but if the Rebels intend on validating this preseason distinction from voters, they're going to need elite play on a defense with nine new starters. And that's worrisome.

Opener: Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Aug. 30

Can Joey McGuire and this group manage a jackpot return on a calculated gamble this offseason in the transfer portal? Texas Tech signed the nation's second-best class behind LSU with 21 transfers, but the most important player in the two-deep is quarterback Behren Morton. Maybe the most underrated signal caller at the Power Four level, Morton eclipsed 3,000 yards and tossed 27 touchdown passes last season and used the entire offseason to rehabilitate a shoulder injury.

If the Big 12 program with the heftiest payroll gets to November with a chance to reach the conference championship game, talent may win out down the stretch and lead the Red Raiders into the CFP for the first time.

Opener: Old Dominion, Aug. 30

Ranked in the preseason for only the third time since 1969, there's pressure on Indiana. What will be the Hoosiers' encore to last season's all-time finish as a first-time playoff qualifier and one of the Big Ten's top teams?

Curt Cignetti is going to once again rely on a bevy of transfers -- nearly two dozen within a top-25 portal haul -- to handle the heavy lifting this fall. The influx of newcomers is highlighted by former Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza, Maryland transfer running back Roman Hemby and ex-Notre Dame offensive lineman Pat Coogan. There's no yellow brick road to a playoff appearance this season in terms of scheduling since the Hoosiers play three top 15 teams in Big Ten play -- Illinois, Oregon and Penn State.