The AP Top 25 college football poll preseason rankings will be released Monday at noon EDT. A tradition since 1936, no organization has been ranking teams and naming a major college football national champion longer than the AP — and now you can follow live updates before and after the poll drops.

Getting the right collection of teams can help guide a manageable path to a conference championship game and even help set up a national championship run.  Then, there's the other side. Some years, seemingly every bad schedule break goes your way and can elevate a coach to the hot seat.

Texas received 25 first-place votes and 1,552 points to give the Southeastern Conference the preseason No. 1 team for a record fifth straight year. The Nittany Lions got 23 first-place votes and 1,547 points for their highest preseason ranking since they were No. 1 to open the 1997 season.