Predicting Top 25 Coaches Poll for 2026 Preseason College Football Rankings
The start of the 2026 college football season is less than a month away. While we have no idea which program will be left standing at the end of the College Football Playoff, we do have a good idea of the likely contenders.
While Indiana shocked the football world to win it all last season, traditional marquee programs like Ohio State, Notre Dame, Oregon, and Texas are among the early favorites, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. On Tuesday, we'll know who the top FBS coaches believe are the best teams in the nation.
The first coaches poll is set to drop at noon ET on Tuesday. Here are our predictions for the top 25.
Preseason Coaches Poll Prediction
1 of 3
- Ohio State
- Oregon
- Notre Dame
- Texas
- Georgia
- Indiana
- Miami (FL)
- Texas A&M
- Texas Tech
- Mississippi
- Oklahoma
- LSU
- Alabama
- Michigan
- BYU
- USC
- Tennessee
- Penn State
- Washington
- Iowa
- Utah
- Arizona
- Missouri
- Louisville
- Clemson
*Preseason coaches poll to be announced at noon ET on Tuesday, August 4, with first regular-season poll on September 8.
Big Ten Looking for Four in a Row
2 of 3
The Big Ten will probably be well-represented in the preseason coaches poll, and there's a big reason for that. The conference has become arguably the most impactful in college football—yes, even above the SEC—due to its expansion and recent success.
Marquee programs USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington officially joined the Big Ten in 2024, and the conference has produced the last three College Football Playoff (CFP) national champions—Michigan, Ohio State, and Indiana.
Ohio State, Oregon, and Indiana represented the conference in last year's CFP, with the Hoosiers capping their undefeated season with a national championship.
Our guess is that the Buckeyes will top the preseason poll due to their recent success, a tremendous overall roster, and the presence of Heisman candidate and quarterback Julian Sayin. Oregon, led by future first-round pick Dante Moore, shouldn't be far behind, though.
And while Indiana lost several marquee players to the NFL this past spring—including quarterback and No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza—they're poised to make another run.
This year's Indiana team will be led by TCU transfer Josh Hoover and, of course, head coach Curt Cignetti, who believes he's competing in the nation's toughest conference.
"The Big Ten is the best league in football," Cignetti said at Big Ten media days (h/t ESPN's Paolo Uggetti). "We don't run a hype machine up here in the Midwest. We believe everything's earned, not given. And when we fall short, we say we fell short."
While the Big Ten may fall short of delivering a fourth straight national title to the conference, expect several of its members to be among the preseason favorites.
Clemson, LSU Headline Intriguing Week 1 Slate
3 of 3
Last year's race to the CFP began with an explosive battle between Ohio State and Texas, who happened to be ranked No. 2 and No. 1, respectively, on the preseason coaches poll.
While this year's schedule won't feature a matchup with quite that much combined poll power, it will have a few matchups that could shake up the rankings moving forward.
North Carolina vs. TCU will officially kick things off on August 29 as part of Week 0. The Week 1 slate, however, will feature battles between Mississippi and Louisville, Boise State and Oregon, and Notre Dame and Wisconsin.
No matchup looms larger than the latest matchup between Tigers. The grudge match between LSU and Clemson may well feature two top-25 teams, and it will mark the debut of new LSU head coach Lane Kiffin.
Kiffin, you probably recall, led Mississippi to the CFP last year but accepted the LSU job in November and left interim coach Pete Golding in charge of Ole Miss' postseason.
This will mark the second straight year in which LSU and Clemson have faced off to open the season. LSU won the 2025 matchup 17-10.
.jpg?w=2560 "Grading SummerSlam Night 1 🔠")
.jpg?w=2560 "Biggest NFL Contract Decisions 📋")
