Aug. 6—Once again, I will represent the state of Illinois on The Associated Press AP Top 25 panel. It is an honor and one of my favorite parts of the job I have been doing for 38 years.Of course, some of you won't like how I rank the teams each week and that's cool. We are all entitled to our opinions. I will take any criticism you want to deliver. If you make a convincing argument, I will change my mind.The poll starts with a preseason Top 25 that will be released Aug. 17. To get the poll talk going, I'm going to use this space over the next month and a half to count down my Top 40.Why 40? Because that is number of teams I usually trackclosely during the year, give or take a team or two.Who is unveiled today ...— Without Lane Kiffin lurking around every corner while waiting for his bigger, better deal, the team is definitely more likable. Pete Golding, in his first full year in charge, did a solid job handling all the distractions and keeping his team together. And he did an even better job landing the No. 2 transfer portal class. Yes, LSU was No. 1. No big deal.Golding added guys mostly from Power Four schools, Thirteen were from other SEC teams.— Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss found the right people to say "you get another year of eligibility." I'm just glad we can watch him play again. He passed and ran for more than 4,500 yards and 30 touchdowns. No wonder he finished in the Too 10 in Heisman votes. He will contend again.— Running back Kewan Lacy, who began his career at Missouri, was one of the nation's top producers in 2025. He gained 1,567 yards and scored 24 touchdowns on the ground. He added another 177 on 29 catches.Sept. 19 vs. LSU. It is the circleiest game of them all, the night Kifin dares to show his face in Oxford. It was obviously not a happy parting of the ways. Best way for the home team to show its feelings is to win in a romp. Possible. Texas, Georgia and Oklahoma come later in what will be a challenging schedule.10. Texas A&M SEC11. BYU Big 1212. Michigan Big Ten13. LSU SEC14. Southern California Big Ten15. Houston Big 1216. Washington Big Ten17. Alabama SEC18. Penn State Big Ten19. Texas Tech Big 1220. Missouri SEC21. Utah Big 1222. SMU ACC23. Louisville ACC24. Iowa Big Ten25. Tennessee SEC26. Boise State Pac-1227. TCU Big 1228. Clemson ACC29. Florida SEC30. Illinois Big Ten31. South Carolina SEC32. Arizona Big 1233. Virginia Tech ACC34. Auburn SEC35. Kansaas State Big 1236. Georgia Tech ACC37. Pitt ACC38. Arizona State Big 1239. Virginia ACC40. UCLA Big Ten

Source: Yahoo Sports