Top 25 College Football Rankings Predictions After Opening Week of 2026 NCAA Season

The two biggest stories to come out of Saturday's college football Week 1 games involved the LSU Tigers and Michigan Wolverines.

LSU delivered a statement butt-kicking of the Clemson Tigers on home soil to kick off the Lane Kiffin era.

Michigan narrowly avoided defeat at home to the Western Michigan Broncos out of the MAC.

The most difficult decisions voters have to make for the Week 2 polls is where to properly place both programs.

LSU is deserving of a jump inside the top 10, while Michigan might be worthy of a drop from No. 16.

Week 2 Top 25 Prediction

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1 Ohio State (1-0)

2. Oregon (1-0)

3. Georgia (1-0)

4. Notre Dame

5. Texas (1-0)

6. Indiana (1-0)

7. Miami (1-0)

8. LSU (1-0)

9. Texas A&M (1-0)

10. Ole Miss

11. Oklahoma (1-0)

12. Texas Tech (1-0)

13. Alabama (1-0)

14. USC (1-0)

15. BYU (1-0)

16. Penn State (1-0)

17. Washington

18. Tennessee (1-0)

19. Michigan

20. SMU

21. Utah (1-0)

22. Houston (1-0)

23. Iowa (1-0)

24. Louisville

25. Missouri (1-0)

How High Will Lane Kiffin's LSU Jump?

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Lane Kiffin's LSU Tigers made the biggest statement among the ranked teams on Saturday.

The 11th-ranked Tigers blew out the Clemson Tigers in Baton Rouge, a result that will likely cause voters to move them up a few spots in the polls.

A jump into the top 10 is likely. LSU could follow a trend of big jumps from the preseason polls to Week 2 that was set last year.

LSU itself moved six spots and the Miami Hurricanes jumped five spots after their Week 1 victories a year ago.

A reshuffling of the deck is likely in the top 10 now that we've seen all of the teams on the field.

A leap into the top five isn't entirely out of the question since most of the teams in front of LSU played weaker opposition.

Regardless of where they land ahead of Week 2, LSU will have two opportunities to further move up the polls in September with SEC clashes against the Ole Miss Rebels and Texas A&M Aggies.

Will Michigan Drop Because of Poor Performance?

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The Michigan Wolverines barely survived a potential upset bid from the Western Michigan Broncos on Saturday night.

The lackluster performance in Kyle Whittingham's debut as head coach will likely drop the Wolverines a spot or two in the rankings.

The results on Sunday and Monday could alter Michigan's position even more because the Louisville Cardinals have a chance to beat a top-10 team in Ole Miss and the SMU Mustangs have a chance to pick up a road ACC win.

The Washington Huskies, who sit right behind Michigan in the preseason AP poll, could impress on Sunday afternoon as well in their rivalry clash with the Washington State Cougars.

Michigan gave voters plenty of reasons drop it on its own, but that combined with other results could place the Wolverines on the bottom edge of the top 20 ahead of their Week 2 battle with the Oklahoma Sooners.