Saturday will mark two weeks out from the 2026 college football season, officially. Right around the corner. With that in mind, ESPN has produced its final update of the SP+ rankings.
But first it’s important to know what exactly the SP+ rankings are and what they’re designed to do. ESPN’s Bill Connelly explains as follows, and it’s worth keeping all this in mind as you read through the rankings:
“SP+ is a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency. It is a predictive measure of the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football, not a résumé ranking, and, along those same lines, these projections aren’t intended to be a guess at what the AP Top 25 will look like at the end of the year. These are simply early offseason power rankings based on the information we have been able to gather to date.”
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So which team topped the SP+ rankings heading into the 2026 season? It was a reasonably tight race, but one team stood out. Let’s dive in below.
ESPN SP+ 2026 Preseason Rankings: 11-25
25. SMU Mustangs (12.1)
24. South Carolina Gamecocks (12.6)
23. Clemson Tigers (13.1)
22. Iowa Hawkeyes (14.6)
21. BYU Cougars (14.9)
20. Florida Gators (15.2)
19. Missouri Tigers (15.4)
18. Washington Huskies (15.8)
17. Penn State Nittany Lions (16.2)
16. Ole Miss Rebels (16.5)
15. Michigan Wolverines (17.0)
14. Tennessee Volunteers (17.3)
13. Alabama Crimson Tide (17.6)
12. USC Trojans (17.7)
11. Oklahoma Sooners (18.8)
LSU stumbled once again under Brian Kelly and couldn’t make the kind of forward progress that fans on the bayou demanded. So he’s gone. In steps Lane Kiffin, who has had a good deal of success at multiple stops now, including in the SEC.
The Tigers brought in Arizona State quarterback transfer Sam Leavitt this offseason. Assuming he can stay healthy, he’ll captain an LSU team with plenty of weapons. Kiffin brought in more than 40 players in the transfer portal, so he’ll need them to gel quickly. But this has the look of a definite top 25 squad.
To some extent, the formula for Texas A&M is really simple: Marcel Reed needs to prove he can be that guy. The talent is undeniable, but he was at his worst in some of the biggest moments a year ago. Sure, some of that is probably Texas A&M not doing enough around the quarterback position.
But if the Aggies want to get beyond just an appearance in the playoff, they’re going to need more out of Reed. He’s perfectly capable. The rest of the roster is pretty well balanced and should produce. Now it’s about building on last year’s success, particularly against the Top 25 opponents on the slate.
Texas Tech checks into the SP+ rankings a little higher than many other preseason prognostications. The program has been consistently been pouring more and more resources into athletics and coach Joey McGuire made it pay with a breakout season in 2025. The Red Raiders reached the College Football Playoff after winning the conference.
The offseason was a whirlwind thanks to the Brendan Sorsby saga. But the Red Raiders remain as loaded as ever and quarterback Will Hammond is no slouch in his own right. The expectation will be to repeat as Big 12 champs and once again emerge as a playoff contender.
Miami reached the College Football Playoff national championship and came up just a little short. Now it’s got to replace quarterback Carson Beck and defensive stars Rueben Bain, Akheem Mesidor and company. The good news? Beck should be a plug-and-play fill.
The transfer of Duke superstar Darian Mensah this offseason was a huge one for Miami. He will lead the charge. He’ll be working with running back Mark Fletcher and receivers Malachi Toney and Cooper Barkate, among others, so the ‘Canes could have one of the best offenses in recent memory. It should be fun to watch.
Texas was close to the College Football Playoff cutoff range a year ago, but a loss to Florida likely did the program in. It was emblematic of the inconsistency the Longhorns showed, especially offensively, early in the season.
But quarterback Arch Manning is back in 2026 and he was playing his best football late in the year last fall. Texas has spent handsomely to add weapons for him in the transfer portal. Assuming the offensive line and run game come together, the Longhorns figure to be as big a threat as anyone to make a deep run, charge up the SP+ rankings and get into the playoffs this winter.
If you want a blueprint of how to turn around a college football program in short order, start studying what Curt Cignetti did at Indiana. He took the Hoosiers to the playoff in his first year and won 11 games, but clearly didn’t quite have enough in the tank. He reloaded via the transfer portal.
In Year 2, he went out and had a Heisman Trophy winning quarterback and bulldozed just about everyone in his path. Now for an encore? He’s brought in TCU quarterback Josh Hoover to help carry the torch. Nobody’s betting against Cignetti, but it would take a lot to repeat last year’s success.
Georgia hasn’t found much luck in the playoffs in the last couple years, but the Bulldogs are always in the hunt and near the front end of the Top 25. Don’t expect that to change in 2026, with Kirby Smart’s bunch returning quarterback Gunner Stockton and a host of other talent.
Stockton was playing some of his best football in the big games last year and could be a Heisman Trophy contender this fall. The real question for Georgia is whether an elite pass-catcher or two emerges. If that happens, watch out.
Notre Dame was on the cusp of a College Football Playoff berth last year, but came up just short after losing its first two games of the season by a hair. The margin for error for the program is pretty thin, although a special CFP provision this year will help.
That said, Notre Dame has a ton of returning talent despite losing some stars to the NFL. The SP+ reflects that. Quarterback CJ Carr is back and could be one of the nation’s best. The defense is pretty loaded. And the schedule only includes a handful of truly tricky spots — the flip side of the narrow margin for error coin. All the ingredients are there.
Oregon’s done virtually everything except win the one or two games against the truly national title caliber teams in the Top 25 in the last year or two. Get over that hump and the Ducks will likely be lifting the program’s first national championship trophy.
Quarterback Dante Moore is back to lead the charge for the Ducks this season. He’ll have one of the most talented pass-catching corps to work with nationally. If there’s a potential snag for Oregon, it’s replacing some very good coordinators who departed for head coaching jobs.
Ohio State was similar to Texas A&M last year, putting together a remarkable start and then hitting a wall hard in the final stages. The Buckeyes lost a tough Big Ten conference title game to Indiana, then lost to eventual runner-up Miami in the playoffs.
The goal in 2026 is straightforward. Ohio State is out to win its second national title in three years. The SP+ shows that’s well within reach. Quarterback Julian Sayin and receiver Jeremiah Smith are back. The Buckeyes have talent at every other position and will once again be one of the preseason favorites. For good reason. It should make for a heck of a campaign.
