To help you prepare for the college football season that begins with FBS games on Aug. 29, some of our coverage plans are below. For questions, please contact Dave Zelio (dzelio@ap.org).
An up-to-the minute listing of all stories planned, including games and events, is available in Coverage Plan on AP Newsroom in https://newsroom.ap.org/coverageplan. Sports content can be found here. For access to AP Newsroom and other technical issues, contact AP Customer Support at apcustomersupport@ap.org or 877-836-9477.
This advisory will be updated. All times Eastern.
FBC—T25-College Football Poll — Indiana is the defending national champion, but fellow Big Ten programs Ohio State and Oregon will be in the hunt along with a host of powerhouses including Georgia, Notre Dame and Texas. The preseason Top 25 college football poll will help set the table. By Eric Olson. Text, photos at noon Aug. 17. With agate list, a highlights glance, bracket watch and an analysis (Aug. 18).
With:
— FBC—AP Preseason All-America Team — AP releases its preseason AP All-America teams. By Eric Olson. Text, photos, agate at noon Aug. 18. With Localize It option to highlight hometowns of All-Americans across the country.
— AP Sports Extra: Preseason AP Top 25: A paginated look at the preseason AP Top 25 in full, half and tab formats will be available Aug. 17. Find in AP Newsroom by searching for “Top 25” under the Graphics tab.
FBC—Season Preview — For all the angst over revenue sharing and the size of the playoff, perhaps the biggest on-the-field storyline for college fotoball this season is whether the Big Ten can win a fourth consecutive national championship for the first time since the early 1930s. The league has a number of contenders but so does the Southeastern Conference and Notre Dame hopes to crash that party, too. By Eric Olson. Text, photos and FBC—Season Preview-Things To Know by 3 p.m. Aug. 24.
FBC—CRP-Predicting The Playoff — Can a Manning finally win a national championship? Texas will sure give the storied family a chance. But maybe this is finally the year of the duck since Oregon has been so close and returns another terrific team. A preseason prediction of playoff contenders. By Eddie Pells. Text, photos by 3 p.m. Aug. 25.
— Bowl Subdivision conference previews (700 words each, with photos): Big Ten and American (Aug. 18); Atlantic Coast and Conference USA (Aug. 19); Southeastern, Pac-12 and Mid-American (Aug. 20); Big 12, Mountain West and Sun Belt (Aug. 21).
— Team previews (500-word capsules, photos): Big Ten teams (Aug. 18); ACC teams (Aug. 19); SEC teams (Aug. 20), Big 12 teams (Aug. 21).
FBC—Pick Six-Coach Watch: New coaches and hot seats to watch this season. By Maura Carey. Text, photos by 5 a.m. Aug. 10.
FBC—Pick Six-Impact Transfers: The transfer portal was red hot again and a host of top players changed schools. By Steve Megargee. Text, photos by 5 a.m. Aug. 11.
FBC—Pick Six-Critical Games: Don’t miss these 10 critical showdowns in the regular season that will set the conversation around the national title hunt. By Maura Carey. Text, photos by 5 a.m. Aug. 12.
FBC—Pick Six-Under The Radar: Some of the nation’s best players on teams likely to struggle. By Steve Megargee. Text, photos by 5 a.m. Aug. 13.
FBC—Pick Six-Small College Stars: Small college players who could be worth NFL attention. By Steve Megargee. Text, photos by 5 a.m. Aug. 14.
FBC—Pick Six-Awards: Early predictions for the top player awards, including the Heisman. By Maura Carey. Text, photos by 5 a.m. Aug. 18.
FBC—Pick Six-Group Of Six — The Group of Five is now the Group of Six with the return of the Pac-12. We look at potential playoff contenders from the group. By Steve Megargee. Text, photos by 5 a.m. Aug. 19.
FBC—Pick Six-What’s New. A look at what’s new this college football season, from two new FBS members to rules changes and a guaranteed spot in the playoff for a storied program if it’s in the top 12. By Maura Carey. Text, photos by 5 a.m. Aug. 20.
FBC—Pick Six-Freshmen To Watch: True freshmen who are poised to make a splash this season. By Steve Megargee. Text, photos by 5 a.m. Aug. 24.
FBC—Pick Six-Top 25 Journey -- Mapping out a dream college football road trip for the 2026 season, with stops to see each team in the AP Top 25 at least once. By Noah Trister. Text, photos by 5 a.m. Aug. 25.
FBC—Pick Six-Toughest Schedules — Which FBS school has the toughest schedule in the country? Or, conversely, the easiest path to an undefeated season? By John Marshall. Text, photos by 5 a.m. Aug. 26.
AP will provide brief recaps for every Bowl Sudivision and select other games, with more robust coverage for matchups involving Top 25 teams and Power Four conference teams (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC as well as Notre Dame). Preview capsules will be sent for most FBS matchups, with top 10 games also getting a full preview story.
The following fixtures are planned during the regular season:
— Mondays: FBC—T25-Top 25 Extra Points analysis (begins Aug. 18) by 6 a.m. and FBC—Player of the Week (begins after Labor Day) by 2 p.m.
— Tuesdays: Big Ten or Big 12 spotlight features (begins Sept. 8). Preview capsules for most FBS games (by 6 a.m.).
— Wednesdays: FBC—T25-College Football Picks (by noon, begins Sept. 2), FBC—T25-What To Watch (by 10 a.m., begins Sept. 2). ACC or SEC spotlight features (begin Sept. 9).
— Thursdays: FBC—This Week previews for each Power Four league (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC), all by 6 a.m. (begin Sept. 3). Previews for weekend games (top 10 teams, others on merit).
— Sundays: AP Top 25 poll, 2 p.m. release. The preseason poll will be sent Aug. 17; the first regular-season weekly poll will be released Tuesday, Sept. 8, at 2 p.m. and then will be sent every Sunday at 2 p.m. through Dec. 6. The final poll will be sent at noon Tuesday, Jan. 26, the morning after the national championship game in Las Vegas.
