2026 College Football Pre-Season Poll - Ohio State #1

Ohio State, Oregon lead most wide-open preseason Coaches Poll top 25 since 2008 Preseason Coaches Poll RANK TEAM PTS 1ST 1 Ohio State Buckeyes 1741 38 2 Oregon Ducks 1637 6 3 Georgia Bulldogs 1591 7 4 Texas Longhorns 1544 2 5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 1524 5 6 Indiana Hoosiers 1522 14 7 Miami (FL) Hurricanes 1409 -- 8 Texas A&M Aggies 1174 -- 9 Oklahoma Sooners 1104 -- 10 Ole Miss Rebels 1096 -- 11 Alabama Crimson Tide 1050 -- 12 Texas Tech Red Raiders 1034 -- 13 LSU Tigers 951 -- 14 USC Trojans 838 -- 15 BYU Cougars 781 -- 16 Michigan Wolverines 719 -- 17 Penn State Nittany Lions 463 -- 18 Tennessee Volunteers 428 -- 19 Washington Huskies 406 -- 20 SMU Mustangs 378 -- 21 Utah Utes 313 -- 22 Iowa Hawkeyes 291 -- 23 Clemson Tigers 235 -- 24 Houston Cougars 194 -- 25 Missouri Tigers 158 -- Big Ten teams won each of the past three College Football Playoff national championships, and Ohio State will start the 2026 season as the No. 1 team in the AFCA Coaches Poll. The Buckeyes, who will be led by a pair of Heisman Trophy contenders in quarterback Julian Sayin and receiver Jeremiah Smith, received 38 of 72 first-place votes. It's the first time the Buckeyes will start a season No. 1 in the coaches' poll since 2015. EDITOR'S PICKS Updated college football Top 25: How far does Texas Tech fall without Sorsby? Mark Schlabach College Football Playoff: 31 teams that can make the CFP Heather Dinich From playoff QBs to potential stars we're stacking the 40 most crucial players Bill Connelly Another Big Ten team, Oregon, is No. 2, followed by No. 3 Georgia, No. 4 Texas and No. 5 Notre Dame. Defending national champion Indiana, which went 16-0 last season to win its first title in school history, will start this season at No. 6. The Hoosiers brought in former TCU quarterback Josh Hoover to replace Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza, who was the first overall pick of the Las Vegas Raiders in the NFL draft. The Hoosiers were among six teams that received first-place votes and had the second most with 14. Oregon (six), Georgia (seven) Texas (two) and Notre Dame (five) also received first-place votes. Preseason AFCA Coaches Poll The top 25 teams in the preseason AFCA college football coaches poll, released Tuesday (first-place votes in parentheses). SCHOOL PTS. '25 REC. 1. Ohio State (38) 1,741 12-2 2. Oregon (6) 1,637 13-2 3. Georgia (7) 1,591 12-2 4. Texas (2) 1,544 10-3 5. Notre Dame (5) 1,5224 10-2 6. Indiana (14) 1,522 16-0 7. Miami 1,409 13-3 8. Texas A&M 1,174 11-2 9. Oklahoma 1,104 10-3 10. Ole Miss 1,096 13-2 11. Alabama 1,050 11-4 12. Texas Tech 1,034 12-2 13. LSU 951 7-6 14. Southern Cal 838 9-4 15. BYU 781 12-2 16. Michigan 719 9-4 17. Penn State 463 7-6 18. Tennessee 428 8-5 19. Washington 406 9-4 20. SMU 378 9-4 21. Utah 313 11-2 22. Iowa 291 9-4 23. Clemson 235 7-6 24. Houston 194 10-3 25. Missouri 158 8-5 "The Big Ten is the best league in football, and a lot of really good football teams," Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said at last week's Big Ten media days. "It's hard to win on the road [against] very physical football teams, very well-coached. It definitely prepares you for the playoffs. There's no doubt about it; the numbers speak for themselves." Miami, which fell 27-21 against the Hoosiers in last season's CFP National Championship presented by AT&T, is No. 7 in the initial poll. The Hurricanes grabbed quarterback Darian Mensah from ACC foe Duke and return star tailback Mark Fletcher and receiver Malachi Toney. Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Ole Miss -- all from the SEC -- round out the top 10. Alabama is No. 11, followed by Texas Tech, LSU, USC and BYU. Michigan, which will play its first season under new coach Kyle Whittingham, is 16th. Penn State, which brought in coach Matt Campbell from Iowa State, is 17th. Tennessee is 18th, Washington is 19th, and SMU is 20th. Utah, Iowa, Clemson, Houston and Missouri complete the top 25. The SEC had nine teams in the initial coaches' poll, including half of the top 10. The Big Ten had eight teams in the poll, while the Big 12 had four and the ACC three. Last season, 11 teams that were ranked in the preseason coaches' poll weren't included in the final one. Three teams in the top 10 -- No. 3 Penn State, No. 6 Clemson and No. 9 LSU -- lost six games in 2025. The Nittany Lions fired coach James Franklin, and LSU let Brian Kelly go after eight games. It is Clemson's lowest preseason ranking since 2011.