Seven College Football Teams That Were Overrated or Underrated in Preseason Coaches’ Poll

Indiana? Alabama? Clemson? Here’s a closer look at teams that got the benefit of the doubt—or got overlooked in the first Top 25 of the 2026 season.

Curt Cignetti and the defending national champion Indiana Hoosiers may have some gripes about their standing in the preseason coaches’ poll. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

College football season is on the horizon. In just 25 days, TCU and North Carolina will officially begin the 2026–27 campaign with a nonconference game in Dublin, opening Week Zero play with a rematch of last year’s college debut of Bill Belichick, a Horned Frogs blowout that set the stage for a truly bizarre first campaign for pro football’s greatest coach in the college ranks.

Voters in the preseason college football polls took a wait-and-see approach with the Tar Heels a year ago, and that proved to be appropriate. UNC didn’t receive a vote in either the preseason AP or Coaches Top 25 polls, and Belichick is still seeking his first vote from the media or his peers. 

Of course, that doesn’t mean the voting bodies are perfect. USA Today unveiled the preseason coaches poll on Tuesday, an annual tradition that is as much about getting people talking about the sport as anything else. And with this inaugural ranking, we certainly have plenty to talk about.

With the year’s first Top 25 live, it is only appropriate that we pick the selections apart and render our verdicts on which teams are over- and underrated based on the coaches' selections. It is truly the reason for the season.

Overrated: No. 3 Georgia

Gunner Stockton was an effective starter in 2025, but the Georgia offense struggled to generate explosive plays. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Bulldogs are about as reliable a bet to win double-digit games, contend for a conference championship and reach the College Football Playoff as there is in the country. The floor that Kirby Smart has built in Athens is remarkably high, and that is especially true in 2026, when Georgia will return around 68% of last year’s production, per ESPN’s Bill Connelly, one of the best marks in the nation. And while players can take seismic leaps from one year to the next, all of that returning production—as well as a largely intact staff under Smart—indicates that the ’26 Bulldogs will strongly resemble the ’25 Bulldogs.

Gunner Stockton was incredibly efficient in 2025, his first year as starter after Carson Beck’s transfer out of the program last year, and hit some huge throws in big games, but this was not a particularly explosive offense a year ago. And as Dawg fans know well, with Mike Bobo set to begin his 12th season (across two stints) as Georgia offensive coordinator, the philosophy on that side of the ball likely won’t see a radical change. Will the addition of former Georgia Tech wide receiver Isiah Canion (33 receptions, 480 yards, four touchdowns in ’25) help unlock a big play threat for Stockton & Co. That is yet to be seen. 

Defensively, this should be an elite, veteran unit once again and should lead the way for Smart’s program. The recent Bulldog defenses, however, haven’t been the same caliber of lockdown unit that helped define the championship squads from earlier this decade. Georgia dropped a game to a flawed Alabama team a year ago, gave up 35 and 39 points to Ole Miss, with the second matchup coming in a CFP loss, and had to escape an overtime shootout against Tennessee, 44–41. Throw in other recent losses to Alabama and Ole Miss and the CFP quarterfinal upset loss to Notre Dame to end their 2024–25 season, and UGA has been a bit suspect when up against teams with similar high-end talent. On paper, this season might not be radically different.

Underrated: No. 6 Indiana

The first mistake was doubting Curt Cignetti last season and the only way to make that worse would be doing the same in 2026. And yet the defending national champions fell outside of the top five, despite receiving the second-most first-place votes of the group. That would imply there are some coaches that believe the Hoosiers will come crashing back down to Earth this season—and frankly, that’s a reasonable conclusion.

Josh Hoover, although more experienced than Fernando Mendoza upon arriving to Bloomington, is far more turnover-prone. Indiana also lost its top two rushers (Roman Hemby and Kaelon Black) and its top two receivers (Omar Cooper Jr. and Elijah Sarratt) from 2025. That’s without even mentioning the defense, which saw a whole brigade of leaders and stars (Aiden Fisher, D’Angelo Ponds and Louis Moore to name a few) make way for the NFL.

And still, giving Cignetti any more bulletin board material feels like a tactical error by other program leaders. Last year’s Indiana team was virtually mistake free and better coached than any program in the country. Why can’t the Hoosiers do it again in 2026?

Underrated: No. 7 Miami

After leading Duke to an unexpected ACC championship, Darian Mensah has national championship aspirations at Miami, last year’s College Football Playoff runners-up. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Hurricanes were the national runners-up to Indiana last year and may have gotten better, at least offensively, in the offseason—and still didn’t land a single first-place vote. Darian Mensah is an upside upgrade at quarterback compared to Carson Beck, coming off of a season where he was second in FBS in passing yards and tied for second in passing touchdowns. And that was with a far less explosive supporting cast at Duke. Mensah, who’s had a meteoric rise since breaking out at Tulane two seasons ago, will be surrounded in South Beach by Miami sophomore sensation Malachi Toney and Cooper Barkate, his favorite target last year with the Blue Devils, while being supported by a much improved offensive line and a dependable veteran running back in Mark Fletcher Jr.

The defense lost some pieces, namely at edge rusher (Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor) and in the secondary (Keionte Scott and Jakobe Thomas), but still returns enough production to keep the Canes in the national championship conversation. Whoever wins the game between Miami and Notre Dame on Nov. 7 in South Bend may have a fast track to a first-round bye, or even the No. 1 seed.

Overrated: No. 11 Alabama

The Crimson Tide haven’t landed this low in a preseason coaches’ poll in 18 years—the second season of Nick Saban’s tenure in Tuscaloosa (and we all know how that turned out). And yet still, this feels like an overvalue of a program that has serious question marks going into 2026. Kalen DeBoer is undoubtedly feeling the heat, and though he and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb should be commended for turning Ty Simpson from a Jalen Milroe backup into a first-round draft pick, the quarterback situation could be much shakier this season.

No decision has been made between Simpson’s backup, Austin Mack, and highly touted freshman Keelon Russell ahead of camp and that might not even be Alabama’s biggest problem. Concerns still linger about the offensive line, a group that was almost entirely rebuilt in the offseason, and the run game generally. The defense returns significantly more production than the offense, led by linebacker Yhonzae Pierre (14 1/2 tackles for loss, eight sacks in 2025) and safety Bray Hubbard (four interceptions). But patience is wearing thin for a fan base that’s used to national championships. And on paper, this team is closer to Tennessee or Missouri than it is to Georgia or Texas.

Overrated: No. 12 Texas Tech

Texas Tech quarterback Will Hammond hopes to be ready to start the season as QB1 after a gambling scandal sidelined projected starter Brendan Sorsby. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Given the amount of vitriol directed at the Red Raiders for their management of the Brendan Sorsby situation, it was worth wondering whether coaches would be more inclined to knock them down further in the opening poll. Nope! Texas Tech came in first among Big 12 schools, three spots above BYU. Will Hammond will take over behind center with Sorsby out of the equation, and showed flashes of being a Power 4–caliber starter in relief of Behren Morton last season. But he’s coming off a torn ACL and doesn’t quite have the weapons, outside of running back Cameron Dickey, that Morton had in 2025.

The real hits came to the defense, which lost Bednarik Award winner Jacob Rodriguez, No. 2 pick David Bailey and All-Big 12 defensive end Romello Height to the NFL. Austin Romaine (Kansas State), Adam Trick (Miami Ohio) and Trey White (San Diego State) are more or less Joey McGuire’s transfer replacements for that trio and have tons of experience at their previous stops. There’s just too many unproven guys in high leverage spots to give this Tech team such grace at the start of the season.

Underrated: No. 19 Michigan

Michigan will go as sophomore Bryce Underwood goes in 2026, with a new coaching staff looking to help him reach his five-star potential. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The fact that last year’s 9–4 record and No. 18 final ranking was considered a significant disappointment shows just how high expectations were—and are—in Ann Arbor. The very expensive commitment of quarterback Bryce Underwood was a major reason, and the former five-star’s freshman season was a mixed bag by any measure. He enters his sophomore season without the same fanfare that he had a year ago, but he showed enough in 2025 for Michigan fans to hold onto their stock.

Underwood’s sophomore campaign comes with what should be an upgraded coaching staff, as former Utah coach Kyle Whittingham brings along offensive coordinator Jason Beck, mastermind of some very explosive and quarterback-friendly offenses over the last few seasons at New Mexico and with the Utes. Expect to see Underwood flash his athleticism more, even after running for nearly 400 yards as a freshman. The passing game has some question marks, though the transfer additions of JJ Buchanan and Jaime Ffrench Jr. (from Utah and Texas, respectively) should give the Wolverines some additional options, while running back Jordan Marshall (932 yards, 10 touchdowns in ’25) will be behind an experienced offensive line. While Whittingham bemoaned the protection that Underwood had a year ago, he’s also confident in his staff to coach the group up, and his top six linemen combined for 45 starts a year ago. There’s plenty of room to grow on that side of the ball.

Defensively, the Wolverines should have one of the nation’s better secondaries led by cornerbacks Jyaire Hill and Zeke Berry and Utah transfer Smith Snowden. Whittingham also imported Utes star pass rusher John Henry Daley coming off of an 11 1/2-sack campaign a year ago. There are questions to be answered in the middle of the defense, but the cupboard was far from bare at Michigan a year ago, and Whittingham’s staff should be able to take full advantage.

Overrated: No. 23 Clemson

The pressure is on Dabo Swinney to return Clemson to national prominence. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

A preseason ranking of No. 23 is hardly ample praise for a program that was one of the two most dominant in the sport just a few short years ago, but considering how Clemson’s 2025 season played out, and how quiet their offseason was, the Tigers are still trading on reputation with the voting body.

After fielding a mediocre-at-best offense that scored just 10 points in losses to LSU and Penn State that bookended a disappointing 7–6 season, Dabo Swinney did make a change at coordinator … though he was about as backwards-looking as it gets. In steps former Clemson OC Chad Morris, who went 18–40 as head coach at SMU and Arkansas after leaving the Tigers and was last seen coaching wide receivers at Texas State. He helped turn the Tigers into one of the most fearsome offenses in the country, but that was a decade and many significant changes to the game ago. Swinney appears prepared to hand the offense to quarterback Christopher Vizzina, he of 71 total pass attempts a year ago. There is upside for this offense, if the receiver duo of Bryant Wesco Jr. and T.J. Moore can stay healthy, and the offensive line has experience, though much of it is far from positive.

The defense from 2025 was far ahead of the offense and defensive end Will Heldt—a rare transfer in a year ago—was as good as advertised. Still, this was a fringe top-25 unit a year ago, per ESPN’s SP+, and was diced up not only by strong Duke and SMU offenses, but by Syracuse to the tune of 34 points, even after an injury to Orange quarterback Steve Angeli turned that unit into one of the country’s worst. Clemson has talent and can certainly take a jump back into the Top 25 this season, but this is a very bullish early position for the Tigers given what we know. 

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