Biggest Snubs From the College Football Coaches Poll Ahead of 2026 Season

Big Ten and SEC teams predictably dominated the top – not to mention the middle and bottom – of the preseason Coaches Poll top 25 college football rankings, but the more interesting story could end up being about teams that are getting overlooked.

Having an expanded College Football Playoff with 12 open spots gives more programs a chance to make a run at a meaningful postseason, and looking over some of the teams in the initial poll, there are a few candidates you should keep an eye on in 2026.

Here are some of the teams that got snubbed in the first Coaches Poll.

Indiana should be higher

Biggest Snubs From the College Football Coaches Poll Ahead of 2026 Season — IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Preseason ranking: No. 6

Not to needlessly overreact, given the Hoosiers are still the No. 6 team in the country – the ranking where LSU’s 2019 title team started from – but the coaches were still a little too harsh on the reigning national champions, who should have debuted in the top five.

Fernando Mendoza is out of the picture, but Josh Hoover steps in as a quarterback with some valuable experience, and he’s working alongside another solid rotation of skill players, a great group of blockers, and another stout defensive rotation.

Put the names Ohio State or Alabama on Indiana’s jerseys coming off a 16-0 national championship run and bringing back what the stack of talent they have, they would be a top five ranked team, no debate, if not the No. 1 team outright.

Louisville is an ACC contender

Preseason ranking: Unranked

Just five total votes prevented the Cardinals from qualifying for the top 25 rankings, but they should have been cast to put this ACC hopeful on the right side of the poll considering the sum total of returning talent on both sides of the ball for Jeff Brohm.

Louisville’s addition would have given the ACC a fourth team in the Coaches Poll, and the return of star running back Isaac Brown plays a major role in their expectations, stacking up over 2,000 yards and 18 touchdowns over the last two seasons.

Brohm also brings on former Ohio State quarterback Lincoln Keinholz to command this offense alongside other transfers at wide receiver in Tre Richardson (from Vanderbilt) and Lawayne McCoy (from Florida State) and at tight end in Brody Foley (from Tulsa).

Florida could surprise the SEC

Preseason ranking: Unranked

It’s been a lack of leadership, not of talent, that kept the Gators out of any real contention over the last several years, a predicament the program hopes it has solved after bringing on Jon Sumrall to take over as head coach from Tulane.

There’s still a strong foundation with the likes of Jadan Baugh at running back and Dallas Wilson and Vernell Brown at wide receiver, enough firepower for new coordinator Buster Faulkner to get more than the 18 points per game they averaged last fall.

But that depends on the quality of play Florida gets at quarterback – still to be decided between Aaron Philo and Tramell Jones, Jr. – enough of a concern to give coaches pause and keep this team outside the top 25.

Don’t overlook Arizona

Preseason ranking: Unranked

Brent Brennan more than doubled his win total from 2024 to 2025, going from 4 wins to 9, in large part thanks to the work of quarterback Noah Fifita, who elected to stay at Arizona and not follow coach Jedd Fisch to Washington a couple years back.

His return, coming off leading an attack that was top 30 nationally in scoring, gives the Wildcats a serious foundational piece to build this offense around once again, alongside some game-breaking targets at wide receiver, and could just be enough to credibly influence the Big 12 championship picture in the future.

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