College Football Rankings: ESPN Reloads the New Top 25 Poll for Week 1

The first official game action of the 2026 college football season is in the books following the annual Week 0 slate, giving us our first update of the new top 25 rankings heading into the first full Saturday of games.

With relatively few games actually taking place, and only one that involved a team in the AP preseason rankings, there predictably was little prominent movement in the updated ESPN poll, but enough to warrant a change in the national pecking order moving into Week 1.

College Football Rankings: ESPN Reshuffles the New Top 25 Poll for Week 1

25. Iowa

Win-loss projection: 8-4

Few programs in college football have less returning talent to work from than the Hawkeyes, who have an expected six starters back in 2026, but two of them on offense are talented blockers who will pave the way for what should be a solid rushing attack as they acclimate another new quarterback.

24. SMU

Win-loss projection: 8-4

Rhett Lashlee and his staff went to work compiling one of the best recruiting classes the SMU program has ever put together, with designs on making another run at the playoff through the ACC championship. The return of quarterback Kevin Jennings is a major piece of that puzzle, as are three returning blockers and some great skill players.

23. South Carolina

Win-loss projection: 6-6

While the power index doesn’t see the Gamecocks improving that much in terms of their overall record – they went just 4-8 last fall – they like enough of what they’re returning, including quarterback LaNorris Sellers and edge rusher Dylan Stewart, to name them a 12 point favorite against what the algo deems an average team, hence this ranking.

22. Auburn

Win-loss projection: 7-5

Alex Golesh steps in to resurrect the Auburn program, and brings along quarterback Byrum Brown to finally give this offense a pulse, but serious questions still revolve around what remains in the skill arsenal and if they can make anything of a passing defense that was 90th nationally.

21. Missouri

Win-loss projection: 7-5

We’re still waiting on the final verdict of how much Ahmad Hardy will be used after being injured in an offseason shooting, but the Tiger tailback was the SEC’s most productive last fall, and needs to be a point of stability on a roster undergoing plenty of change elsewhere.

20. BYU

Win-loss projection: 9-3

Coming off back-to-back seasons of winning 11 games and playing for the Big 12 championship a year ago, the preseason media poll favors the Cougars to reach that summit this time out and knock off Texas Tech from the throne. Having quarterback Bear Bachmeier, lead rusher LJ Martin, and a stacked defense will help in that cause.

19. Clemson

Win-loss projection: 8-4

A slight improvement from last season’s demoralizing 7-6 outing, sure, but Clemson expects a lot more. It’s been a while since the glory days when they were terrorizing the College Football Playoff field, but now there’s a brand new quarterback in play, even if Chad Morris is back to call this offense and this wide receiver group does look very good.

18. USC

Win-loss projection: 8-4

Southern Cal already has one win on the books after a solid performance against San Jose State in the Week 0 opener, even if not many people decided to show up to see it. Jayden Maiava has the arm to take this offense somewhere special, but we’re still waiting to see if Gary Patterson can revive this defense, or if that’s simply a lost cause.

17. Florida

Win-loss projection: 7-5

Neither the Coaches nor the AP top 25 voters put the Gators in their rankings, but the power index favors this team by about two touchdowns against average opponents, and new head coach Jon Sumrall does bring back a promising group that should punch at or above its weight against SEC opponents.

16. Penn State

Win-loss projection: 9-3

A more winnable schedule, a head coach in Matt Campbell who is a proven winner, and a roster of returning skill and promising transfers, including quarterback Rocco Becht. The formula is there for the Nittany Lions to play more than passable football.

15. Tennessee

Win-loss projection: 7-5

Not what Vols fans are expecting, especially with a pretty good wide receiver room and a defensive rotation that, while it loses some key tacklers, is now under the direction of Jim Knowles, two years off a national title at Ohio State.

14. Michigan

Win-loss projection: 8-4

Kyle Whittingham has more than proven himself an able defensive strategist over the last two decades, leaving few structural concerns when projecting how that side of the ball will perform, but Bryce Underwood needs to take a big step at quarterback to punch through the grind of a Big Ten slate.

13. Ole Miss

Win-loss projection: 7-5

It’s up to Pete Golding to prove he can take over from Lane Kiffin and maintain the program’s progress into the future. Having quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and rusher Kewan Lacy back are integral to that project, but the power index isn’t convinced, looking at a seven-win prediction.

12. Oklahoma

Win-loss projection: 8-4

Brent Venables shouldn’t have trouble designing another hard-hitting defense that will challenge SEC opponents, but there are still massive questions around whether quarterback John Mateer can produce, if last season’s 113th ranked rushing offense will improve, and how if their blockers will keep them upright long enough to gain yards.

11. Texas A&M

Win-loss projection: 8-4

Coming off their best season in a couple decades, the Aggies lose some of that production, but vitally preserve quarterback Marcel Reed and a cadre of excellent receivers. They’ll play a tougher schedule, so Reed will have to be more efficient against better defenses than he was a year ago.

10. Texas Tech

Win-loss projection: 11-1

Once again the favorites in the Big 12 championship picture, the Red Raiders lose a blue-chip trio of tacklers, but retain enough from that stellar defensive rotation to at least stay on par with last season’s output, while new quarterback Will Hammond steps into an offense with a stacked backfield and some choice blocking.

9. LSU

Win-loss projection: 8-4

Eight wins might not be enough to make the College Football Playoff, which feels like the baseline for Lane Kiffin to earn a passing grade in his LSU debut as the sport’s most analyzed head coach. This is a talented roster, but one that still needs to prove it can consistently move the ball on the ground against SEC front-line tacklers.

8. Alabama

Win-loss projection: 9-3

It’s time for Keelon Russell to prove he was worth that five-star rating after getting the nod as Ty Simpson’s successor at quarterback, but the Crimson Tide also lost their best blocker in Kadyn Proctor, and really need to find a quality rushing attack after ranking 125th last fall and needing to match SEC defenses in physicality in the trenches to prove they belong.

7. Miami

Win-loss projection: 10-2

Last season’s College Football Playoff runner-up came very close to the title in January, and while this team returns key inputs like wide receiver Malachi Toney and tailback Mark Fletcher, they lose some important defenders, too, and make a replacement at quarterback, with the very talented Darian Mensah stepping in as another transfer.

6. Indiana

Win-loss projection: 10-2

The No. 6 ranking appears to be the virtual consensus for the reigning national champion Hoosiers, fresh off a brilliant 16-0 showing and returning a ton of the people that got them there, albeit with a notable change at quarterback, as Josh Hoover takes over for Heisman winning Fernando Mendoza.

5. Georgia

Win-loss projection: 10-2

Right around 10 wins is where the power index has the reigning back-to-back SEC champion Bulldogs, returning another hard-hitting defense, particularly on the back end, but one that needs to rush the passer with a little more efficiency, while another solid offense brings back Gunner Stockton under center behind a cadre of elite blockers.

4. Oregon

Win-loss projection: 10-2

With the Big Ten on a three-year national championship run, the talk this offseason has been about how the Ducks are the next logical contender to hoist the CFP trophy, and Dan Lanning certainly returns enough firepower on both sides of the ball to make a genuine run at dethroning Ohio State as the B1G fave and make a run at the title. They go to Columbus in November.

3. Notre Dame

Win-loss projection: 11-1

The index projections like the Fighting Irish to win 11 games this season against what should prove to be an easier schedule, but one that still includes a road trip against a good BYU team that should be in the Big 12 title hunt, and home tilts opposite ACC favorite Miami and insurgent hopeful SMU.

2. Texas

Win-loss projection: 10-2

The ESPN algorithms are more bullish on the Longhorns than the coaches or preseason AP poll voters, probably thanks to how markedly Arch Manning improved from the first to second halves of last season. More of the latter, and Texas can do almost anything.

1. Ohio State

Win-loss projection: 10-2

As expected, the Buckeyes did not move from the preseason No. 1 position, and the power index prediction models are projecting the Big Ten favorites to be about four touchdowns better than an average opponent on a neutral field, but they do play a much tougher schedule in 2026, with six games against AP ranked opponents, including four on the road.

What the AP thinks: Preseason Top 25 College Football Rankings for 2026

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