Kirk Herbstreit's Son Puts College Football Powerhouse at No. 1 Ahead of 2026 Season

Kirk Herbstreit's son was among a handful of voters to rank this college football program No. 1 overall in a preseason poll.

Jan 20, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes tight end Zak Herbstreit (89) against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the CFP National Championship college football game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

College football preseason polls continue to build anticipation for the 2026 season as August wears on.

USA Today kicked off the month with the unveiling of its coaches poll on Aug. 4. During the same week, ESPN's FPI database projected the ranking of all 138 FBS programs.

On3 joined the preseason poll festivities with the release of its top 25 teams on Tuesday. Ohio State ultimately earned the No. 1 spot even though none of the 11 voters gave them a first-place vote.

Oregon was one of several teams to receive first-place votes. A trio of voters, including Zak Herbstreit, picked the Ducks No. 1 overall ahead of the 2026 season.

Who is Zak Herbstreit?

The former Ohio State tight end is the son of former Buckeye quarterback and top ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit.

Following his high school career at Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville, Tennessee, the younger Herbstreit played tight end for the Buckeyes. Ohio State won the College Football Playoff National Championship Game in Herbstreit's final season.

The case for Oregon as the No. 1 ranked team in college football

The Ducks have the rare fortune of returning a surefire top-five NFL draft pick at quarterback in Dante Moore. He was considered the No. 2 signal-caller in the 2026 class before he made the decision to return to Oregon in January.

Oregon's second and third-most productive wide receivers and tight end Jamari Johnson, who finished 2025 with over 500 yards receiving, all return to assist Moore on offense. The Ducks also bring back Evan Stewart, a former five-star wide receiver poised for an emphatic return to the field after missing all of 2025 due to injury.

The Ducks are in the same realm as Georgia, Notre Dame and Oklahoma when it comes to defensive retention. Oregon only utilized the portal to find new starters at nickelback and free safety; it promoted from within at one linebacker spot while retaining all its other starters from last season.

Why is there hesitation to rank Oregon No. 1 overall?

Dan Lanning hasn't given the college football world a reason to doubt his teams' abilities in the regular season. However, much of the stigma around Oregon stems from its results in the postseason, which have gotten worse over time.

The 2011 BCS National Championship loss to Auburn is the closest the Ducks have come to winning it all. Oregon never led after the first quarter of the inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship against Ohio State, and it trailed by as many as 34 points at different junctures in its two College Football Playoff losses in the 12-team era.

The Ducks also have new play-callers on both sides of the ball. Will Stein and Tosh Lupoi were hired to become head coaches at Kentucky and California, respectively, so Lanning promoted former tight ends coach Drew Mehringer and former defensive backs coach Chris Hampton to fill the coordinator vacancies.