Preseason AP Top 25 Poll Released, Purdue Football to Play 5 Ranked Opponents

Purdue faces one of the most difficult schedules in all of the college football during the 2021 season. The team will play five of the programs ranked inside the preseason AP Top 25.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The preseason AP Top 25 poll was released Monday afternoon, and the defending national champion Alabama Crimson Tide opened as the country's top program for the fourth time in the last six seasons.

The list also featured five Big Ten programs and in-state power Notre Dame. It was already apparent that Purdue football had a difficult 2021 schedule ahead, but the national rankings only solidified that notion.

The unranked Boilermakers are scheduled to face five of the county's top 25 programs during the upcoming season, including two ranked inside the top 10.

Purdue Football 2021 Ranked Opponents

• No 4. Ohio State Buckeyes
• No. 9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
• No. 12 Wisconsin Badgers
• No. 17 Indiana Hoosiers
• No. 18 Iowa Hawkeyes

Purdue is also scheduled to play the defending Big Ten West champion Northwestern Wildcats, who were ranked as high as No. 10 in the AP Top 25 in 2020. According to Pro Football Focus, the Boilermakers are facing the fourth-hardest strength of schedule in all of college football.

Here's a look at the full list of ranked teams ahead of the 2021 season:

Preseason AP Top 25

• No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide
• No. 2 Oklahoma Sooners
• No. 3 Clemson Tigers
• No 4. Ohio State Buckeyes
• No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs
• No. 6 Texas A&M Aggies
• No. 7 Iowa State Cyclones
• No. 8 Cincinnati Bearcats
• No. 9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
• No. 10 North Carolina Tar Heels
• No. 11 Oregon Ducks
• No. 12 Wisconsin Badgers
• No. 13 Florida Gators
• No. 14 Miami Hurricanes
• No. 15 USC Trojans
• No. 16 LSU Tigers
• No. 17 Indiana Hoosiers
• No. 18 Iowa Hawkeyes
• No. 19 Penn State Nittany Lions
• No. 20 Washington Huskies
• No. 21 Texas Longhorns
• No. 22 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
• No. 23 Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns
• No. 24 Utah Utes
• No. 25 Arizona State Sun Devils 

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