| Rank | Team | Comments | Prior | |
| 1 |  | Alabama | Coach Saban and the Crimson Tide will host the MAC's Kent State at Bryant-Denny Stadium on 9/3. | 1 |
| 2 |  | Oklahoma | Quarterback Landry Jones and Coach Bob Stoops will look for a good start to the season against Tulsa on 9/3. | 2 |
| 3 |  | LSU | LSU will play Oregon of the Pac-12 in Arlington, Texas in a fantastic week one match-up on 9/3. | 3 |
| 4 |  | Wisconsin | The Badger rushing attack and transfer QB Russell Wilson will host UNLV on Thursday 9/1 at Camp Randall. | 4 |
| 5 |  | Nebraska | Nebraska will kick off their first year in the Big Ten by hosting FCS opponent Chattanooga on 9/3. | 5 |
| 6 |  | Oregon | Oregon will go to Arlington, Texas to play LSU on 9/3 in a battle that will be the premier game of week 1. | 6 |
| 7 |  | Florida State | Jimbo Fisher will begin his 2nd season at FSU with high expectations and a visit from Louisiana-Monroe on 9/3. | 7 |
| 8 |  | Boise State | Boise State will kick off their first season in the MWC with a trip to Atlanta to face The Georgia Bulldogs on 9/3. | 8 |
| 9 |  | Oklahoma State | The Louisiana Rajin Cajuns travel to Stillwater to play the Cowboys on Saturday 9/3. | 9 |
| 10 |  | South Carolina | Steve Spurrier and his talented Gamecock team will face East Carolina in Charlotte on 9/3. | 10 |
| 11 |  | Stanford | New Cardinal Head Coach David Shaw and veteran quarterback Andrew Luck will host San Jose State on 9/3. | 11 |
| 12 |  | Texas A&M | Quarterback Ryan Tannehill and the Aggies will welcome SMU of the C-USA to Kyle Field on Sunday 9/4. | 12 |
| 13 |  | Ohio State | Interem HC Fickell and the Buckeyes will put all the off field issues behind them when they host Akron on 9/3. | 13 |
| 14 |  | Arkansas | The Razorbacks welcome Missouri State from the MVC to Fayetteville in their opener on 9/3. | 14 |
| 15 |  | Florida | The Will Muschamp era opens with a home game against Florida Atlantic on Saturday 9/3. | 15 |
| 16 |  | Arizona State | Coach Dennis Erickson and the Sun Devils open against FCS opponent UC Davis on Thursday night, 9/1. | 16 |
| 17 |  | Virginia Tech | The Hokies will start another season of Beamer Ball by hosting a very good FCS team in Appalachian State on 9/3. | 17 |
| 18 |  | Texas | Coach Mack Brown and the Longhorns will look to start the season off with a win as they host Rice on 9/4. | 18 |
| 19 |  | West Virginia | The Mountaineers will host Marshall and battle for the Governor's Cup in the debut of head coach Holgorsen on 9/4. | 19 |
| 20 |  | Mississippi State | Quarterback Chris Relf and the Bulldogs will travel to Memphis to take on the Tigers on Thursday, 9/1. | 20 |
| 21 |  | USC | USC will start their second and final bowl ineligible season by hosting the Golden Gophers of Minnesota on 9/3. | 21 |
| 22 |  | TCU | TCU will start their final season before heading to the Big East by traveling to Waco to face Baylor on Friday night, 9/2. | 22 |
| 23 |  | Penn State | Coach Paterno will kick off his 46th season at Penn State against the Sycamores of Indiana State on 9/3. | 23 |
| 24 |  | Missouri | Miami (OH) will visit Columbia on 9/3 with new HC Don Treadwell. Miami (OH) had a 10-4 record last season. | 24 |
| 25 |  | Notre Dame | Coach Skip Holtz takes his USF Bulls to face the program his Dad helped make great on 9/3. | 25 |
Preseason Football Top 25
Mon, 08/01/2011
