Historic College Football Programs Headline Phil Steele's AP Rankings Prediction

Predicting the preseason college football rankings is something Phil Steele is pretty good at, and now he’s come through with his latest projection of the first official AP top 25 poll.

Of the 170 teams in those rankings over the last 17 years, Steele correctly picked 162 of them, a success rate of 95 percent. If he says it, you can book it.

Now, the preseason magazine publisher extraordinaire has revealed his updated prediction for how AP top 25 voters will slot the best teams in college football looking far ahead to the 2026 preseason rankings.

College football rankings: Phil Steele predicts AP preseason poll in 2026

10. LSU

All eyes are on Lane Kiffin, as they tend to be, after he became the biggest attraction in a very noteworthy coaching carousel.

LSU should win games right away with Kiffin at the helm, although a spot in the College Football Playoff is far from assured just now.

Sam Leavitt steps into the offense as the QB1 after transferring in from Arizona State and the Tigers benefited from several notable transfers from Kiffin’s former Ole Miss program, as by maintaining Blake Baker as the mastermind of this defense.

LSU’s last ranking: Unranked

9. Ole Miss

The expected return of Trinidad Chambliss after being awarded another year of eligibility by a Mississippi court bodes extremely well for what should be another dynamic and explosive Rebels offense.

And this defense, while under new management, also returns some important starters in the secondary unit, all solid ingredients for what should be a smooth transition as Pete Golding takes the reins as head coach for his first full season.

Ole Miss’ last ranking: No. 3

8. Texas Tech

Texas Tech made waves coming into this season by spending a boatload in the transfer portal, and saw that investment turn out one of the best defenses in college football.

They dipped back into the portal coming off their Big 12 title by signing a top-ten class that includes Brendan Sorsby, probably the best quarterback that transferred this cycle, putting the Red Raiders squarely back in the Big 12 title picture again.

Texas Tech’s last ranking: No. 7

7. Miami

Mario Cristobal and the Hurricanes came so close to winning a national championship last season, if not for running into Indiana’s team of destiny, and now they face a serious test to reload at important positions to make another run in 2026.

The addition of former Duke quarterback Darian Mensah is a major coup after he led the Power Four in passing yards a year ago, and he’ll be aided by skill threats like wideout Malachi Toney and rusher Mark Fletcher, but this stout defense reloads up front.

Miami’s last ranking: No. 2

6. Indiana

College football rankings: Phil Steele predicts AP top 25 preseason poll for 2026 — Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Curt Cignetti may have just pulled off the single-greatest individual run in college football history, taking the perennial loser Hoosiers to unprecedented glory on the back of a 27-2 run over the last two seasons and becoming the first 16-0 team in major ball in 132 years.

Fernando Mendoza is out of the picture, but Cig just pulled down a major transfer in Josh Hoover, the former TCU signal caller who was one of the nation’s most productive passers, returning both coordinators, and beefed up their talent on both lines.

Indiana’s last ranking: No. 1

5. Georgia

Kirby Smart still runs one of the SEC’s best talent-acquisition operations and should return one of the better offenses in the conference with Gunner Stockton still at quarterback and Nate Frazier working out of this backfield once again.

Georgia’s defense may not have been as dominant as when it won those two straight championships, and it needs to replenish its stocks with some returning youngsters, especially when creating a rotation around the line of scrimmage that can generate consistent pressure.

Georgia’s last ranking: No. 6

4. Oregon

The return of Dante Moore at quarterback instead of entering the NFL Draft is a major point of positivity for the Ducks looking to get back to the playoff, in particular with the talent they return at wide receiver, including Dakorien Moore.

Defensively, this Oregon roster returns enough experience from this past season’s run to get back into the postseason picture. A trip to Ohio State and a home date against Michigan will be two of the games that decide if they get to the playoff or not.

Oregon’s last ranking: No. 4

3. Notre Dame

The loss of lead rusher Jeremiyah Love is nothing to overlook for this offense, but the return of quarterback CJ Carr should serve as a quality foundation to build around, especially after the program added Mylan Graham and Quincy Porter at wide receiver.

NFL teams made a serious run at Marcus Freeman, which gives the Irish head coach some more credibility as one of the best young coaches in college football, and he should forge a path back to the College Football Playoff facing a relatively easier schedule.

Notre Dame’s last ranking: No. 10

2. Texas

Arch Manning started off his first season as the Longhorns’ starting quarterback in a bad way, but improved well enough to garner some realistic confidence heading into 2026, especially with Auburn wideout Cam Coleman transferring in next season.

Running backs like Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown come to Texas from the transfer portal to replace some lost production from the backfield, putting this SEC title hopeful in position for a credible playoff run next season.

Texas’ last ranking: No. 12

1. Ohio State

Julian Sayin returns to the Buckeyes’ dynamic offense after emerging as college football’s most accurate quarterback this past season, and once again wide receiver Jeremiah Smith is back as arguably the single-best player in the country.

But how will the defense respond to a rash of outgoing talent? Defensive coordinator Matt Patricia has more than proven himself capable of running this unit, but now he faces a notable rebuild, albeit one aided by incoming transfers.

Ohio State’s last ranking: No. 5

(Steele)