The first of the two major preseason polls for the 2026 college football season is out and there is some controversy to say the least.
The Coaches Poll was released today and as you might expect, it had an overwhelmingly Big Ten and SEC flavor to it. The two power conferences combined to make up 17 of the 25 teams in the top 25 (eight from the Big Ten, nine from the SEC).
Here is the full top-25:
- Ohio State
- Oregon
- Georgia
- Texas
- Notre Dame
- Indiana
- Miami
- Texas A&M
- Oklahoma
- Ole Miss
- Alabama
- Texas Tech
- LSU
- USC
- BYU
- Michigan
- Penn State
- Tennessee
- Washington
- SMU
- Utah
- Iowa
- Clemson
- Houston
- Missouri
The Fans Gives Their Thoughts
Pretty much every ranking on this list triggered some kind of gripe from the fans. Here's a sampling:
"Any ranking that doesn’t have Indiana at 1 and Miami at 2 is invalid," one user on X declared.
"I guess missing that Pop-Tarts Bowl didn't mean as much as people thought," another joked, referring to Notre Dame.
"The coaches think Oregon, Georgia, Texas and Notre Dame are better than Miami?" wrote a third.
"Pretty much the same preseason poll as any other year with the addition of Indiana to the club of big boys and BYU finally getting an ounce of respect."
Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
"Oh look, another preseason ranking with Clemson in it. Surely they won’t be a disappointment again."
"Indiana behind TWO teams from their own conference is absolutely criminal."
"Ole Miss too high, Indiana too low. Defending champs that ran the table last year at 6??? Idc who they lost until proven other wise they are #1."
"A team that didn’t even make the playoff last year is #4. Texas is always so (expletive) overhyped it’s hilarious."
If the Coaches Poll is already getting this kind of reaction, the AP poll will probably be wild.
