While the start of the 2024 college football season is less than two weeks away, the release of the Associated Press Top 25 is up next.

Recently, the Coaches Poll crowned Georgia as the preseason No. 1 team. The same result is expected when the AP voting body releases its initial poll, which is slated for unveiling on Monday, Aug. 12.

And then, we can begin stamping official rankings next to teams on previews, score bugs and all that wonderful stuff.

Until the College Football Playoff selection committee takes over, the AP Top 25 is viewed as the authoritative ranking. Ahead are three storylines to know before the poll is posted.

Any Surprise at No. 1?

The full expectation is Georgia will enter the season as the No. 1 team in the country. Kirby Smart has built a powerhouse in Athens, and the return of quarterback Carson Beck stabilizes the hype.

If anyone was to jump UGA, however, it'd probably be Ohio State.

Although the Buckeyes lost signal-caller Kyle McCord to transfer, they brought in Kansas State's Will Howard. He's yet another veteran on a roster that saw a handful of respected, draft-eligible players decide to stick around for a final season in Columbus.

Ohio State landed at No. 2 in the Coaches Poll, receiving seven of the nine No. 1 rankings not given to UGA. That, in all likelihood, will become a trend in the preseason AP Top 25.

Nevertheless, it seems Georgia will start on top.

Big Ten, SEC Loaded in Top 10

Top team, Georgia. Next up, Ohio State.

After that duo, expect a whole lot of programs from their counterparts in the SEC and Big Ten, respectively.

In the Coaches Poll, other top-10 schools included the Big Ten's Oregon (third), Michigan (eighth) and Penn State (ninth). The SEC also featured a trio in Texas (fourth), Alabama (fifth) and Ole Miss (sixth)—and, for good measure, Missouri (11th) and LSU (12th) were close behind.

While the SEC should have more overall top-25 picks, both conferences will likely combine for eight of the 10 highest AP teams, too.

Intrigue Starts at 17

Seems like a very specific number, right?

The reason for that is simple: offseason consensus tends to create a few defined tiers of perception within the voting body.

As happened in the Coaches Poll, some version of Clemson, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah will likely fall in the 13-16 range. That quartet trails Florida State, Missouri and LSU, for instance, but is clearly ahead of Miami, Kansas State and Oklahoma State.

Beginning there, expect some variance.

Texas A&M made a surprise appearance at No. 20 in the Coaches Poll, while 2023 runner-up Washington went unranked. It wouldn't be shocking if that flips entirely in the AP poll.

Will voters have a higher opinion of North Carolina State or USC? Will any other ACC team—think Louisville, SMU or Virginia Tech—land a top-25 nod over Kansas or Iowa?

Those are the main storylines at the back end of the AP poll.