| The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press preseason college football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, 2008 records, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and final ranking: |
| |
Record |
Pts |
Pvs |
| 1. Florida (58) |
13-1 |
1,498 |
1 |
| 2. Texas (2) |
12-1 |
1,424 |
4 |
| 3. Oklahoma |
12-2 |
1,370 |
5 |
| 4. Southern Cal |
12-1 |
1,313 |
3 |
| 5. Alabama |
12-2 |
1,156 |
6 |
| 6. Ohio St. |
10-3 |
1,113 |
9 |
| 7. Virginia Tech |
10-4 |
1,054 |
15 |
| 8. Mississippi |
9-4 |
1,047 |
14 |
| 9. Oklahoma St. |
9-4 |
989 |
16 |
| 9. Penn St. |
11-2 |
989 |
8 |
| 11. LSU |
8-5 |
914 |
— |
| 12. California |
9-4 |
746 |
— |
| 13. Georgia |
10-3 |
714 |
13 |
| 14. Boise St. |
12-1 |
659 |
11 |
| 15. Georgia Tech |
9-4 |
593 |
22 |
| 16. Oregon |
10-3 |
587 |
10 |
| 17. TCU |
11-2 |
521 |
7 |
| 18. Florida St. |
9-4 |
307 |
21 |
| 19. Utah |
13-0 |
289 |
2 |
| 20. BYU |
10-3 |
267 |
25 |
| 21. North Carolina |
8-5 |
261 |
— |
| 22. Iowa |
9-4 |
229 |
20 |
| 23. Notre Dame |
7-6 |
225 |
— |
| 24. Nebraska |
9-4 |
207 |
— |
| 25. Kansas |
8-5 |
134 |
— |
| Others receiving votes: Oregon St. 122, Illinois 105, Pittsburgh 103, Michigan St. 100, Rutgers 83, Texas Tech 76, West Virginia 57, Cincinnati 44, Clemson 42, Miami 40, East Carolina 30, Tennessee 15, Arizona 13, N.C. State 10, Boston College 9, Auburn 7, Cent. Michigan 7, UCLA 7, Northwestern 5, Missouri 3, South Florida 3, Southern Miss. 3, Vanderbilt 3, South Carolina 2, Arkansas 1, Houston 1, Nevada 1, Troy 1, Tulsa 1. |
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