Coaches 2025 Preseason Poll
GBK Football Analyst Gordon Larson chimes in …
A question recently posed in our 12th Knight Forum was “which Academy Team will start the season in the Top 25?” The USA Today Coaches Poll released on August 4 suggests the answer is none, but of the three academies, Army West Point finished highest in the poll at 35th, while Navy was ranked 42nd and Air Force finished out of the voting.
The coaches voting heavily favored the Power 4 conference schools with the top 24 coming from the 4 power conferences, with Boise State being the only G6 school that managed to slip into Top 25 (barely) at #25. This, no doubt, reflects the fact that the Power 4 conferences have absorbed most of the teams from the G5 that received votes in the past.
Four teams from the American Conference received votes in the poll, with Memphis finishing just ahead of Army at 34th, Tulane trailing Army by one spot at 36th, and Navy the only other American team that received votes in the poll.
Army travels to Manhattan, KS to play #20 ranked Kansas State on September 5th, and the outcome of that game will have a strong bearing on Army’s chances of finishing in the Top 25 this season. The Tulane game in New Orleans on October on October 18th, and the Navy game at the end of the season are another two games that will strongly influence Army’s chances of cracking the Top 25. The Tulane game will likely also bear on Army’s chances of repeating as conference champions.
The top 5 conference champions will make the playoffs, and with four teams in the top 42, the poll suggests that the American Conference champion will have the best chance of finishing in the top 5, but the poll also suggests that Boise State could repeat as one of the top 5 conference champions, but Air Force could spoil their chances with a home field win on September 20th, and Boise will have to show up against Notre Dame later in the season.
Army recorded the most wins of any team in academy history last season and earned its spot in the preseason rankings, but it will have to match last season’s stellar performance to finish in the top 25 again this season.
Meanwhile, Coach Jeff Monken is, no doubt, far more concerned about beating Tarleton State.
