Texas holds the top spot in the USA Today preseason coaches football poll. Defending national champion Ohio State is No. 2 followed by No. 3 Penn State, No. 4 Georgia and No. 5 Notre Dame.

Allar was a 5-star recruit and the No. 3 overall player in 247Sports' ranking for the 2022 class. He's by far the best QB of the Franklin era. The Ohio native made positive strides under first-year offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki. His completion percentage rose from 59.9 to 66.5, and he averaged 8.4 yards per attempt compared to 6.8 in 2024.