The long wait for college football fans is almost over. After more than seven months of an offseason, the official return of the game starts with Week 1.
So how will the 2026 season play out? That’s a matter for our experts to weigh in on. However, there’s a lot of uncertainty to work though after an offseason of transfer portal movement, coaching changes and departures and maybe returns from the NFL.
One thing we do know that’s different than recent seasons: There’s not clarity about who starts as the favorite. Ohio State is No. 1 in the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll, but six teams received multiple first-place votes – the most since 2008. One of those teams is defending champion Indiana, which starts sixth despite being first on 14 ballots.
That uncertainty about the also extends to the other significant questions of the season. Who will win the Heisman Trophy? Who will be the biggest surprises and disappointments? Our college football experts weigh in with their answers to these topics and more in our season predictions.
Who makes the 2026 College Football Playoff?
Who wins the 2026 college football national championship?
John Brice: Sure, the Texas schedule is a meat-grinder, but this 12-team CFP era doesn’t mandate perfection across the regular season. The Longhorns win with great play in the trenches and Arch Manning making all the right – not all the highlight – plays.
Jordan Mendoza: Notre Dame. Not only are the Fighting Irish talented, but they have a friendlier schedule than most teams. That sets them up to be experienced and fresh for a playoff run that finally results in a title.
Matt Hayes: Georgia: Three straight years without a CFP win, so the motivation is there. So is the stout defense, and an experienced, talented quarterback.
Paul Myerberg: Notre Dame. The Irish have the depth and quarterback play to snap a nearly 40-year title drought.
Erick Smith: Georgia. The Bulldogs have whiffed in the College Football Playoff the last two seasons. But with experience at quarterback and another talented defense, they break through after a third SEC title in row.
Eddie Timanus: Ohio State. The Buckeyes have too tough a schedule to go wire-to-wire. But they’ll be the last bunch standing when it’s all said and done.
Blake Toppmeyer: Ohio State. The Buckeyes are loaded with offensive firepower. Julian Sayin should be even better in his second season starting at quarterback.
Who wins the 2026 Heisman Trophy?
Brice: Dante Moore over CJ Carr. Struggled with this one but Moore will have flashier numbers and more showcase opportunities in the regular season leading into the early-December vote-tally.
Mendoza: Jayden Maiava. Maiava has one of the best arms in the country, and if is Southern California makes the playoff, it’s because of his stellar play. He takes home the top individual prize in college football and Lincoln Riley has his fourth Heisman winner.
Hayes: CJ Carr. Had a strong season in 2025 as a first-year starter. He’ll be elite this fall, with the Notre Dame brand in tow.
Myerberg: Arch Manning. The name recognition is off the charts and so is his supporting cast, thanks to one of the top transfers classes in the country. Manning has spent his entire career at Texas under a spotlight and is ready for the pressures of competing for the Heisman.
Smith: Trinidad Chambliss. Mississippi is going to make the College Football Playoff, and it is going to Chambliss that carries the Rebels there.
Timanus: Jeremiah Smith – The voters have shown willingness to vote for non-QBs of late. Smith will be the best player on the field against top-notch competition on an almost weekly basis, and we will definitely notice.
Toppmeyer: Dante Moore. The Oregon quarterback has plenty of showcase opportunities, including games against Southern California, Ohio State and Michigan. His dual-threat abilities should generate Heisman love.
What will be the 2026 college football game of the year?
Brice: I’m cheating: Most insane game will be LSU at Ole Miss. Best game will be Ohio State at USC, Halloween Day. We think we’re prepared for the Grove and fans finding all ways to taunt Lane Kiffin. We are not.
Hayes: Miami at Notre Dame. This is a season in the making, and the Irish aren’t the only team trying to prove a point.
Mendoza: Ohio State vs. Southern California. This has the potential to be a shootout. Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum will be rocking when these heavyweights meet, and a back-and-forth affair makes for a thrilling contest that goes all the way down to the final play.
Myerberg: Ohio State at Texas. The impact will be immediate for both teams, making the winner the early favorite for the national title and leaving the loser with a low margin for error in conference play. There’s also the fallout in terms of how the selection committee eventually views and compares the Big Ten and SEC in the debate over at-large bids.
Smith: Georgia at Alabama. This matchup in early October will be huge for Kalen DeBoer’s future and could ultimately decide which team makes the SEC title game. Bulldogs haven’t won in Tuscaloosa since 2007.
Timanus: Oregon at Ohio State. It’s tempting to go with LSU at Ole Miss, but the product on the field can’t possibly live up to all the noise that is sure to come before. We’ll go with this early November showdown at the Shoe that could be a 1-vs.-2 matchup, though there might be a sequel or two.
Toppmeyer: LSU-Ole Miss. Fore! Top-Flight X-Outs will be sold out in Oxford, Mississippi, when Lane Kiffin makes his return into a hornet’s nest.
What will be the biggest surprise team?
Brice: Virginia Tech. The Hokies have an overall soft schedule for onset of the James Franklin era and clearer, cleaner alignment among school leaders and their vision for the program.
Hayes: Penn State: New coach Matt Campbell brought 23 players from a strong Iowa State team to State College, with the motivation to prove they can play at the elite level of college football.
Mendoza: California. Tosh Lupoi is generating serious hype in year one at Berkeley, and the Golden Bears have the talent to back it up. The road is set up nicely for a fast start that makes Cal a ranked team with a chance to win 10 games for the first time in 20 years.
Myerberg: Washington. It’s a crowded race for the top of the Big Ten and the two (or three) at-large bids the league will earn in December. Washington might not be at the same level as OSU, Oregon and Indiana, but the Huskies have some major firepower and a schedule that gives them opportunities to make national noise.
Smith: Arizona. In a wide-open race in the Big 12, don’t be surprised if the Wildcats threaten for a spot in the conference title game behind veteran quarterback Noah Fifita.
Timanus: Virginia Tech. The Hokies aren’t going to win the ACC, but they’re going to show tangible progress with James Franklin in charge and Brent Pry going back to doing what he’s good at running the defense.
Toppmeyer: Auburn. The blind squirrel finally found a nut. I’m a believer that Auburn finally got a coaching search right by nabbing Alex Golesh. Better yet, Golesh brought his quarterback with him. Byrum Brown and Golesh will be a breath of fresh air for a program starved for a good QB-coach combo.
What team will be the biggest disappointment?
Brice: The Tigers still have talent, especially at linebacker, wideout and some individuals along their defensive front and secondary. They don’t have enough offense, yet again, and don’t get elite QB play in an era that often demands it.
Hayes: LSU: No matter how many games the Tigers win, it’s CFP or bust. The bar is too high, too soon.
Mendoza: Mississippi. The Rebels are returning one of the best 1-2 punches in Trinidad Chambliss and Kewan Lacy, but there’s reasonable concern if Pete Golding is ready for the gauntlet of a full season. This won’t be a complete disaster for Ole Miss, but it misses the playoff.
Myerberg: LSU. It’ll take a title in Year 1 to justify all the attention paid to Lane Kiffin and his program. It’s much more likely that LSU wins eight or nine games during the regular season and falls short of those expectations.
Smith: Tennessee. Starting a true freshman quarterback in the SEC requires something extra special. Faizon Brandon might be very good one day but hard to see him carrying things this season.
Timanus: Texas. The Longhorns are too good to be bad, but that schedule is an absolute killer. For a team starting in the top five with title aspirations, 8-4 would most assuredly be seen as a letdown.
Toppmeyer: Oklahoma. Too much schedule. Way too much schedule for the Sooners this season.
Who will be 2026 college football coach of year?
Brice: Marcus Freeman. Notre Dame’s fifth-year coach has elevated Irish recruiting to levels not seen since Lou Holtz stalked sidelines, helped as a key figure in the construction of the nine-figure Shields Hall that now houses Notre Dame football and deploys the most talented roster in decades. A manageable schedule and a star QB provides the runway to a dominant regular season.
Hayes: Charles Huff. Wildly undervalued Memphis coach arrives on the big stage of the CFP — in first season with Tigers.
Mendoza: Kalani Sitake has continuously built BYU into a Big 12 contender, and all the pieces fall into place in getting the Cougars into the playoff, capped off by a conference title.
Myerberg: Marcus Freeman. He’s moved Notre Dame into some elite company since taking over earlier this decade and done a great job learning on the fly after being promoted from defensive coordinator. The next step is to complete a perfect regular season, which seems well within reach based on who the Irish are set to face.
Smith: Brian Newberry. Navy enters the season among the American favorites and will navigate a difficult schedule to land in the College Football Playoff before playing archrival Army.
Timanus: Tim Polasek. You think North Dakota State can’t win the Mountain West in their first FBS season? Take a look at how fast James Madison went from FCS power to Sun Belt champion and think again.
Toppmeyer: Kalani Sitake. My semi-bold prediction is that the Big 12 qualifies two teams for the playoff. If Brigham Young makes its first playoff bid, that’s coach of the year material for Sitake. Never mind his feud with BYU’s athletic director, because Sitake has the Cougars roaring on the field.