Ohio State and Oregon Headline 2026 College Football Preseason Power Rankings as Defending Champion Indiana Looms

The pads are cracking and the 2026 college football season is officially underway. After a 2025 campaign that shattered every conventional paradigm—culminating in the Indiana Hoosiers' magical undefeated run to a national title over Miami—the sport resets with a familiar titan back on top. Ohio State opens the year at No. 1 across the consensus preseason power rankings, carrying the weight of massive expectations and a roster built to win it all right now.[1][2][4]

The Buckeyes dominated the preseason FWAA/Super 16 poll, grabbing 28 of 56 first-place votes to mark their 25th all-time appearance at No. 1. It is the first time since 2015 that a Big Ten program has claimed the top preseason spot. With quarterback Julian Sayin pulling the trigger, running back Bo Jackson in the backfield, and the terrifying wideout tandem of Jeremiah Smith and incoming freshman Chris Henry Jr., Ryan Day's squad is the undisputed heavyweight entering Week 1.[1][2]

But the margin for error at the top is razor-thin. Right behind Ohio State sits conference rival Oregon at No. 2, marking the highest preseason ranking in the Ducks' program history (surpassing their No. 4 start in 2024). Dan Lanning has built a machine in Eugene, though the Ducks are desperate to break through after seeing their last two seasons ended by the eventual national champions.[2][3]

Notre Dame claims the No. 3 spot, also setting a program high-water mark for preseason expectations. The Fighting Irish missed the College Football Playoff in 2025 following early-season losses to Miami and Texas A&M, but they return a dangerous roster. Selection Sunday needs to feel different in South Bend this year, and the Irish have the top-tier talent to ensure they aren't left on the outside looking in.[1][2][3]

Texas checks in at No. 4, joining Ohio State and Georgia as the only programs to open each of the last three seasons ranked in the top five. The Longhorns are primed for a massive year in the SEC, while Kirby Smart's Georgia Bulldogs loom at No. 5—a spot that analysts have remarkably described as "under the radar" for the perennial powerhouse.[2][3]

The most fascinating storyline of the preseason, however, belongs to the defending national champions. The Indiana Hoosiers open at No. 6, making their first appearance in the preseason poll in program history. After running the table and hoisting the trophy at Hard Rock Stadium last January, the Hoosiers are no longer the hunters; they are the hunted.[2][4]

Miami, the team Indiana vanquished in that CFP National Championship game, sits at No. 7. The Hurricanes are the ACC's lone representative in the top tier of the rankings, carrying the banner for a conference looking to reassert its dominance on the national stage.[2][4]

Out in the Big 12, the landscape remains as chaotic and unpredictable as ever. Texas Tech begins the year as the conference's highest-ranked team at No. 11. The reigning Big 12 champions enter 2026 with their highest preseason AP ranking since 1977, fresh off a dominant 2025 campaign driven by a suffocating defense.[2][5]

The Red Raiders won't walk to a repeat title, though. Kalani Sitake's BYU Cougars, who reached last year's Big 12 title game, are the most battle-tested challengers. With quarterback Bear Bachmeier returning alongside a veteran core, the Cougars are hunting their first conference championship since 2007. Houston and a new-look Utah squad under Morgan Scalley round out the top tier of a crowded Big 12 race.[5]

As Week 1 kicks off, the expanded College Football Playoff era continues to deliver unprecedented parity and stakes. The SEC leads all conferences with seven ranked teams in the preseason consensus, followed closely by the Big Ten with five. The road to the national championship is officially open, and if 2025 taught us anything, it is that the preseason polls are just the opening argument in a four-month war of attrition.[2]

While the top of the rankings remains theoretical until the heavyweights take the field, the opening weekend of action has already started shaking up the national picture. North Carolina's upset over TCU and Virginia's 34-8 destruction of NC State have triggered immediate movement in the early-season form guides, proving that August football is as volatile as ever.[6]