Biggest Takeaways from College Football Spring Games Across the Country

Like most things about college football, the spring itself has been the subject of some notable changes in recent years, and the 2026 preseason has proven no different.

Coaches and programs have traditionally used the spring to bring on new players, figure out depth questions, and get a first look at their product on a field running drills, all culminating in the traditional spring game for fans.

Nearly a quarter of FBS programs came into this spring with new head coaches, along with all those other new faces that work under them.

What are some of the most important storylines emerging across college football as we play through a consequential 2026 spring preseason?

Biggest Takeaways from College Football Spring Games Across the Country

Lane Kiffin’s first impression

Arguably no other coaching move in college football could prove more consequential, and certainly no other attracted as much attention after Kiffin left Ole Miss ahead of its College Football Playoff run to take over one of the SEC’s most accomplished programs.

LSU should be a factor right off the bat with Kiffin at the helm, buoyed by a solid NIL fund and a roster that includes former Arizona State star quarterback Sam Leavitt, who headlines the nation’s No. 1 ranked transfer class.

But he still has to acclimate his new players with the vets and turn these parts into a cohesive whole that can credibly knock out the heavyweights of the SEC.

Who can challenge Miami in the ACC?

The ACC is coming off one of its strongest football seasons in a while, with Duke emerging as the champ and Miami playing in the national championship game.

While only three schools bring on new head coaches, other personnel changes could prove impactful, with Chad Morris taking over the offense at Clemson, SMU replacing both coordinators, and James Franklin taking over at Virginia Tech this fall.

Miami scored some promising inputs to replace outgoing talent on that stalwart defense, and brought in Darian Mensah to succeed Carson Beck at quarterback on a roster that looks like the favorite to represent the ACC in the playoff again.

Can the Hoosiers do it again?

Curt Cignetti helped challenge the idea that coaches need a long time to rebuild programs after taking college football’s losingest team and turning it into a behemoth in just two years, culminating in last season’s remarkable 16-0 national championship run.

With all that success comes even more pressure, especially as Cig faces a roster that lost its Heisman winning quarterback, top rushing threats, key receiving targets, and important defensive contributors.

The replacements are solid on paper, including veteran quarterback Josh Hoover, wideout Nick Marsh, and running back Turbo Richard filling in crucial offensive roles facing a critical season for Cignetti and Indiana to prove they have staying power.

Big questions at Alabama

We haven’t had to ask what the identity of the Crimson Tide has been for most of this century, but the transition from Nick Saban to Kalen DeBoer has introduced some instability for a program that has dominated the sport in this millennium.

Although they made the College Football Playoff a year ago, the Tide was dismantled by Indiana in the Rose Bowl, ranked just 125th in rushing, and looked positively outmatched in the trenches at times, an anathema for Alabama football purists and a marked weakness for any legitimate SEC contender.

Now four of the Tide’s offensive blockers are out of the picture, as is quarterback Ty Simpson, and now they face an absolutely critical QB battle between Keelon Russel and Austin Mack.

Ohio State recycles its defense

Losing NFL-caliber players rarely costs the Buckeyes too dearly on either side of the ball given how finely-tuned their recruiting operation has been for years, but this defense is definitely undergoing some big changes that could affect their playoff hopes.

Ohio State is poised to replace eight starters from a defense that surrendered just over 9 points per game a year ago, but the presence of Matt Patricia as coordinator has proven to be a massive stabilizer for the unit.

He stepped in for the departing Jim Knowles last offseason, replaced a ton of starters on what was the No. 1 defense in the country, only to emerge as the top ranked scoring unit again, but the exits of Caleb Downs and Arvell Reese are something to watch closely.

Texas builds around Arch Manning

It’s safe to say former No. 1 recruit Arch Manning hasn’t lived up to his name or ranking yet, but the Longhorns’ quarterback did see some serious improvement over the second half of his first season as the full time starter.

Since then, Steve Sarkisian has made big changes to the roster, flipping tailback Hollywood Smothers from Alabama in the portal, adding rusher Raleek Brown, and bringing on No. 1 transfer wideout Cam Coleman to fill out an offense that could propel Texas towards an SEC title.

Big 12 looks wide open in 2026

Defending conference champion Texas Tech predictably leads the way in most early Big 12 power rankings, but this spring finds the conference undergoing some notable coaching and coordinator changes and roster overhauls brought on by the transfer portal.

Once again, the Red Raiders were active in the portal after such a successful and expensive offseason a year ago, including former Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby and some key defensive inputs.

Oklahoma State starts over after the 20-year tenure of Mike Gundy came to an inglorious end last fall, with Eric Morris coming over from North Texas, joined by Drew Mestemaker at quarterback and Caleb Hawkins at running back.

Rebound at Clemson coming?

It’s a question we’ve been asking about Dabo Swinney’s program for the last several years amid its apparent decline since their College Football Playoff dynasty days.

Now, they’re coming off their worst season in a decade and lose 10,000-yard passer Cade Klubnik, installing the inexperienced but former top 10 prospect Christopher Vizzina.

As expected, Clemson didn’t pursue a transfer at quarterback, a vote of confidence of sorts in Vizzina, and he should have a solid group of receivers to work with as Bryant Wesco and T.J. Moore return in 2026.

Who’s on the hot seat going in?

Hope springs eternal in college football this time of year, but a lot of that hope at some big programs is more sharply constrained by feelings of real pressure for some coaches whose jobs appear to be on the line in 2026.

Mike Norvell at Florida State, for one. Just in 2023, he led an undefeated ACC champion, but after a very controversial snub from the last four-team playoff, everything has gone downhill, winning 7 combined games since then.

Luke Fickell at Wisconsin is another name to watch after the school injected some big NIL dollars to help him out, and Dave Aranda is hoping that ex-Florida transfer quarterback DJ Lagway will help secure his job at Baylor.

Bill Belichick’s first year at North Carolina was a complete disaster right from the start, and if his second fall in Chapel Hill looks similar, there could be some hard and expensive questions that need to be asked.

No one gets fired in the spring, but the mistakes that do get coaches canned often evolve from errors made this time of year.

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