Complete Guide to 2026 College Football Offseason
The drama, chaos and controversy of another great college football season has come to a close with Indiana as the national champions.
Yeah, that's still a strange thing to type.
Unfortunately, it means we have seven months until this beautiful sport is dominating our Saturdays—and wonderfully infringing on weekdays, too. But the good news is there's never a shortage of college football news.
Early in the winter, we'll be tracking the transfer portal, NFL draft decisions and upcoming signing day. Spring practice is right around the corner, too.
We'll advance toward an intriguing storyline in the late spring, followed by another wave of realignment. And, suddenly, it'll be time for real college football again.
Enjoy the break, because an offseason does not really exist.
Transfer Portal and NFL Draft Declarations
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According to the sport's calendar, the deadline to enter the transfer portal or the 2026 NFL draft has passed for 98 percent of players. The exceptions are Indiana and Miami, though that cutoff is Jan. 23 anyway.
In short: Programs are about to know their rosters.
Commitments from available transfers will still be rolling in; that deadline is to enter the portal, not make a decision. Most players have announced their choice—academic deadlines are earlier, after all—but there are still immediate-impact players on the glorified free-agent market.
The other asterisk is that if a coaching change happens, the players in that program would have a 30-day window to transfer. So, for example, if a head coach were to accept an NFL job, that possibility would open.
This portion of the offseason will promptly wrap up.
College Football Playoff Updates
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Similarly, the deadline for administrative or structural changes to the College Football Playoff is also on Jan. 23.
Are we sticking at 12 teams next season?
Or will the 2026-27 CFP have 16-plus invitations?
Right or wrong, whether we like it or not, expansion looks inevitable. (I don't like it, but my vote doesn't count.) Conferences yielded much of the decision-making power to the Big Ten and SEC, which are essentially fighting over having 16 teams (SEC) or 24 (Big Ten) in the field.
CFP director Rich Clark told reporters that ESPN, the rightsholder of the event, will not grant another extension of the deadline.
So, by Friday night, we'll know if the road to Las Vegas for the 2026's national championship will include 12, 16 or 24 teams.
February Signing Period
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Although most prospects sent their letter of intent in December, the traditional national signing day is slated for Feb. 4.
For some players, it's simply an institution-directed choice of not holding a signing period until then. For others, they needed additional time to decide—or a coaching change led them to reconsider an earlier pick.
The final signatures for the 2026 cycle will be sent in February.
Granted, that's more a beginning day than a deadline. It's possible for prospects to consider a college decision into March or April, but that's atypical.
Most of the players who remain on the board are lower-rated prospects. Still, the highest-ranked uncommitted talent is Dylan Berymon, a 4-star defensive lineman who checks in 199th overall in the class.
Spring Practice
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From the moment the national championship ends to the start of the first team's spring practice, it's only a couple of weeks.
Hope you enjoy that breath or two.
That's not a surprise, of course, because the sport's calendar just keeps on getting longer. Many programs have not played since the last weekend of November, so they've already had about two months off.
Regardless, the spring is a welcomed moment for programs to introduce new freshmen or transfers. New coaches get their initial reviews, early predictions are crafted and hype trains begin picking up steam.
Overall, the vibes are just great all around the country.
Spring games used to dominate the April calendar, but in-house scrimmages are becoming more popular. I believe it won't change in 2026, either.
1 Big Offseason Question
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Officially, there isn't a transfer window in the spring.
If you'd allow me to adjust my tin-foil hat, though, I'm not convinced we won't see players on the move anyway.
Last offseason, Wisconsin cornerback Xavier Lucas wanted to enter the transfer portal. The school pushed back, citing his NIL agreement, but Lucas ultimately left Wisconsin and went to Miami. While the NIL-related legal ramifications of that decision are beyond my expertise, the NCAA said it could not prevent a player from academically withdrawing and enrolling elsewhere.
In other words, does a true deadline even exist?
Again, NIL agreements may be a complicating factor, and programs won't let star players leave without a contractual fight.
But if a player goes through spring practice and doesn't like his spot on the depth chart or future role—and perhaps a coaching staff agrees—we might not be totally done with player movement.
Realignment, Fall Camp and Hype Season
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Before you know it, though, we'll be back.
The upcoming wave of realignment is focused on the Pac-12. Current members Oregon State and Washington State will now be surrounded with Mountain West departures Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State, as well as former Sun Belt program Texas State.
Meanwhile, the Mountain West added Northern Illinois (MAC) and UTEP (C-USA), while the Sun Belt landed Louisiana Tech (C-USA).
All of those changes are slated to take place on July 1—though the Louisiana Tech situation needs a legal resolution—and will kick-start the lead-up to the season.
In late July, programs will return to the field for fall camp. Unnecessarily long watch lists for awards will be released, preseason polls will be unveiled and we—fans and media alike—will start unleashing a whole lot of predictions.
And on Saturday, August 29, a clash in Ireland between North Carolina and TCU will formally start the 2026 campaign.
