Arizona football lands in preseason Associated Press top 25 rankings
Aug 12, 2024, 9:15 AM
Quarterback Noah Fifita #11 and wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan #4 of the Arizona Wildcats react on the bench during the final moments of the NCAAF game against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Mountain America Stadium on November 25, 2023 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
The Arizona Wildcats will enter the 2024 college football season in a competitive grouping of contenders in their new Big 12 Conference. The Associated Press top 25 poll released on Monday paralleled the Coaches Poll, ranking Brent Brennan’s Wildcats as the No. 21 team in the nation.
Of teams in its new conference, Arizona is ranked as the fourth-best team and behind No. 12 Utah, No. 17 Oklahoma State and No. 18 Kansas State.
The Wildcats are also just ahead of No. 22 Kansas, the fifth and final Big 12 team in the top 25.
Georgia is No. 1 in the AP’s preseason college football poll for the second straight year as the superconference era begins with the SEC and Big Ten dominating the top 10 of the rankings.
The Bulldogs received 46 first-place votes and 1,532 points in the Top 25 released Monday and the SEC powerhouse finished comfortably ahead of No. 2 Ohio State (15 first-place votes and 1,490 points) of the Big Ten.
New Big Ten member Oregon is No. 3, receiving one first-place vote from the panel of 62 media members who cover college football. Texas, which joins Georgia in the Southeastern Conference this season, is fourth.
The Big Ten and SEC each have four teams in the top 10.
Conference realignment has reduced the Power Five to the Power Four, with the Pac-12 whittled to just two schools. The Big Ten now has 18 schools. The Atlantic Coast Conference has 17 football teams, and the SEC and Big 12 each have 16.
All the movement created an unprecedented preseason poll with just four conferences represented: The SEC leads with nine ranked teams. The Big Ten has six, the Big 12 has five and the ACC has four.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Preseason AP college football rankings 2024
| Record | Pts | Prv | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Georgia (46) | 0-0 | 1532 | 4 |
| 2. Ohio St. (15) | 0-0 | 1490 | 10 |
| 3. Oregon (1) | 0-0 | 1403 | 6 |
| 4. Texas | 0-0 | 1386 | 3 |
| 5. Alabama | 0-0 | 1260 | 5 |
| 6. Mississippi | 0-0 | 1189 | 9 |
| 7. Notre Dame | 0-0 | 1122 | 14 |
| 8. Penn St. | 0-0 | 1060 | 13 |
| 9. Michigan | 0-0 | 995 | 1 |
| 10. Florida St. | 0-0 | 971 | 6 |
| 11. Missouri | 0-0 | 927 | 8 |
| 12. Utah | 0-0 | 887 | – |
| 13. LSU | 0-0 | 804 | 12 |
| 14. Clemson | 0-0 | 689 | 20 |
| 15. Tennessee | 0-0 | 629 | 17 |
| 16. Oklahoma | 0-0 | 566 | 15 |
| 17. Oklahoma St. | 0-0 | 538 | 16 |
| 18. Kansas St. | 0-0 | 526 | 18 |
| 19. Miami | 0-0 | 492 | – |
| 20. Texas A&M | 0-0 | 292 | – |
| 21. Arizona | 0-0 | 237 | 11 |
| 22. Kansas | 0-0 | 231 | 23 |
| 23. Southern Cal | 0-0 | 172 | – |
| 24. NC State | 0-0 | 171 | 21 |
| 25. Iowa | 0-0 | 140 | 24 |
Others receiving votes: Louisville 111, Virginia Tech 77, Boise St. 47, SMU 33, Iowa St. 33, Liberty 32, Washington 23, West Virginia 17, Memphis 16, Nebraska 16, Wisconsin 15, UTSA 6, Tulane 5, Appalachian St. 4, Kentucky 3, Auburn 2, Colorado 1.
