Everything you need to know about the 2026 NCAA football season

The GIST: The transfer portal and NIL are just the beginning — college football is having an identity crisis, with consequential off-field drama shaping the future of the sport and the NCAA at large. Buckle up.

🚨 Looming changes to the College Football Playoff (CFP): As a limited number of schools and conferences amass power, money, and talent, there’s near-constant tinkering to the CFP selection process and bracket structure to increase revenue and fan interest.

• The convoluted, subjective process by which the committee selects 12 CFP contenders is now more straightforward (kind of): NCAA leadership refined the rules around who earns an automatic bid and how teams are seeded in the bracket.

• Many stakeholders want to expand the bracket to a whopping 24 teams in the future…but for now, they’re sticking with 12 lucky schools vying for the title.

🤔 Eligibility questions pose existential threat to sport’s future: Numerous court rulings have complicated the once-straightforward question of who can suit up for a collegiate roster. NCAA athletes previously had four years of eligibility — as soon as they signed professional contracts, they voided that eligibility and were disallowed from NCAA competition in that sport.

• Now, student-athletes from the high school class of 2022 won an extra year of eligibility thanks to a Colorado court ruling — but an appeals court stayed that order, meaning athletes were eligible one day and ineligible the next, and their future is still tied up in the legal system. Stressful.

• Even more controversial, some athletes in question had already moved on to the pros, but certain rulings carved out exceptions for players who signed professional contracts, once unthinkable in college sports. Welcome to the wild wild West.

The GIST: The AP Top 25 poll is your guide to the contenders, although it’s far from a crystal ball. Five different teams received votes for the coveted No. 1 preseason ranking — let’s discuss those squads who could go the distance.

🌰 No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes (40 first-place votes out of 69): The 2024 champs shook off last season’s disappointing ending, earning their first preseason No. 1 ranking since 2015. Their schedule features six preseason Top 25 teams, including two Top 5 matchups — if they survive that gauntlet, the natty’s theirs to lose.

🦆 No. 2 Oregon Ducks (14 votes): Oregon is perhaps the best team to never win a ’ship, advancing as far as last season’s CFP semifinal before losing in a blowout to the eventual champs. With a talent-packed roster and a chip on their shoulder, famously intense head coach (HC) Dan Lanning will do anything to bring his team a title.

☘️ No. 4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (six votes): Speaking of a chip on their shoulder, the Irish were controversially snubbed from the CFP last season, and to say they were mad would be an understatement. If the 2024 CFP runners-up reach the final again, it’ll be thanks to the rage fueling them…and Heisman Trophy frontrunner and second-year starting quarterback (QB) CJ Carr.

❤️ No. 6 Indiana Hoosiers (eight votes): The defending champs will start from scratch after former QB and reigning Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza went pro. But HC Curt Cignetti can turn almost any program into a winner, and with sought-after TCU transfer Josh Hoover filling Mendoza’s cleats, the Hoosiers could make magic (and memes) once again.

🌀 No. 7 Miami Hurricanes (one vote): Miami squeaked into the CFP bracket last year, then went on a generational run, upsetting three higher-ranked teams to reach the final. Their plan to return to the pinnacle? Shell out: They have one of the most expensive rosters in the NCAA, led by the sport’s highest-paid player, QB Darian Mensah.

👏 Honorable mentions: The No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs and No. 5 Texas Longhorns may not have received any first-place votes, but no one’s overlooking these juggernauts. Both programs are synonymous with college football itself and will likely dominate the cutthroat SEC.

The GIST: Preseason Heisman predictions are almost never accurate, but there’s no doubt these guys will be executing highlight-worthy plays all season.

🤘 Arch Manning, Texas QB: Despite an uninspiring sophomore campaign, fans remain bullish on Manning — but hype around Peyton and Eli’s nephew is nothing new. If he can shrug off the pressure and find some consistency, he’ll lead the Longhorns to a CFP berth…and maybe even win himself a Heisman Trophy.

🦆 Dante Moore, Oregon QB: Moore could have gone as high as No. 2 overall in the last NFL Draft, but chose to return to Eugene for his junior season. He posted 32 touchdowns last year and is known for his precision passing, something he’ll need to help Oregon meet expectations against their stacked Big Ten slate.

🌰 Julian Sayin, Ohio State QB: The only 2025 Heisman finalist returning to the NCAA, pundits love Sayin — especially his old coach, Nick Saban. The redshirt sophomore also has a phenomenal target in wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, so look for this dynamic duo to tear up Big Ten secondaries all season long.

• Speaking of Smith, if any non–QB is going to win college football’s MVP honor, it’ll likely be him. Two non–QBs in three years? Stranger things have happened.

☘️ Leonard Moore, Notre Dame cornerback: If you’re looking for talent on the other side of the ball, look no further than ND’s secondary. Moore bagged five interceptions last season and creates headaches for opposing QBs every single game. Offense is sexy, but you know what they say about defense…