NCAAF · 1 hour ago

USA TODAY’s 6 Winners and Losers from the College Football Coaches Poll

Joe Cervenka

Host · Writer

You Tell Us! Where Did the Coaches Poll Get it Right and Wrong?
Join the Coaches Poll Debate

We’ve officially audited USA TODAY's six biggest winners and losers from the 2026 preseason Coaches Poll, but college football is all about the debate!

The Indiana Snub: Did voters disrespect the defending national champion Hoosiers by ranking them at No. 6 behind Ohio State and Oregon?

The Kiffin Hype: Is No. 13 too high for LSU in Lane Kiffin's first year, or will Sam Leavitt lead them straight to the 12-team playoff?

The Conference War: Is the Big Ten's total dominance (8 ranked teams) proof that the national title runs through the Midwest again?

Drop your hot takes, thoughts, and own rankings in the comments!
USA TODAY's Coaches Poll Winners and Losers
Poll Position: Winners and Losers from the 2026 Preseason Coaches Poll

The official countdown to the 2026 college football season is officially underway. The freshly minted US LBM Coaches Poll just dropped, offering our first real look at how coaches, scouts, and evaluators view the national landscape before a single ball is kicked. Between heavyweights stacking the top tier, wild portal reloads earning instant respect, and defending champions getting disrespected, the initial ballot sheets generated plenty of fireworks.

We audited the entire top 25 ballot and broke down Paul Myerberg of USA TODAY's six biggest winners and losers from the debut rankings.

Check out who gained momentum and who took a hit in the initial poll.
1. Big Ten (Winner)
8 Teams in Coaches Poll

The Midwest power conference continues its complete stranglehold on the sport's upper echelon. Coming off a dominant multi-year run, flexing eight total programs inside the Top 25 proves just how deep this roster of teams really is across the board.

"The king of the FBS hill chases a fourth consecutive national championship behind a deep collection of Top 25 contenders headlined by three in particular: Indiana, Oregon and Ohio State. But that's not all the Big Ten has to offer — though it may be enough to keep the title streak alive."
2. Indiana Hoosiers (Loser)
Defending National Champions

Talk about getting a severe lack of respect after hanging a championship banner! Even after stringing together a dominant multi-year run capped by a national title, voters are still treating the Hoosiers like an underdog who has to re-prove themselves, even with Josh Hoover and Nick Marsh joining the fold.

"Not that it's Indiana's fault that some voters remain a little skeptical of a program that has gone 27-2 and claimed a national title in the past two seasons... For voters to rank IU No. 6 overall and third in the Big Ten reflects an apparent level of distrust with a team that has every reason to believe it can go back-to-back"
3. LSU Tigers (Winner)
The SEC Sparkplug

Death Valley is officially buzzing again after a monster offseason overhaul in Baton Rouge. Between bringing in Lane Kiffin to command the offense and reloading the depth chart with Sam Leavitt, Jordan Seaton, and Princewill Umanmielen, the voting panel is going all-in on an immediate 2026 resurgence.

"The No. 13 Tigers have the highest preseason ranking of the six teams in the Coaches Poll to finish last season unranked... Voters believe the pieces are place for a splash first season for Kiffin and a possible run at the national title."
4. ACC (Loser)
Even SMU and Clemson Getting Little Respect

Aside from the top dog down in South Florida, the rest of the conference took a massive reputation hit on the ballot sheets. With only three programs cracking the rankings, and heavyweights like Clemson and SMU tucked toward the bottom, the league faces a steep uphill narrative battle in 2026.

"Voters clearly like Miami as a title contender but are not high on the ACC as a whole, ranking just another two teams toward the back end of the poll in No. 20 SMU and Clemson... The dearth of ranked ACC teams reflects a reputational issue for the conference that will only be fixed by on-field success against other Power Four leagues."
5. Miami Hurricanes (Winner)
The U is the A+ of the Conference

Coral Gables is buzzing with legit championship energy for the first time in two decades. Guided by a loaded offense featuring Darian Mensah, Mark Fletcher Jr., and Malachi Toney, Mario Cristobal's squad enters the autumn campaign holding the definitive target on their back in their conference.

"The voting panel might not be head over heels with the ACC — more on that below — but Miami lands at No. 7 after finishing as last year's runner-up, giving the program its highest preseason ranking since 2004."
6. Group of Six (Loser)
Group of 6 Were 86ed from Coaches Poll

The talent gap between the major powerhouses and the rest of the country feels wider than ever on paper. As winter transfer portal raids continue to funnel high-end talent upward toward bigger NIL budgets, non-power conferences were completely shut out of the initial Top 25 picture altogether.

"There are no Group of Six teams — it's now six non-major conferences with the rebirth of the Pac-12 — in the preseason poll for the second time in three years... While a Group of Six team is guaranteed to make the playoff and at least one should post 11 or more regular-season wins, voters are acutely aware of the notable talent gap between the major and non-major conferences."
You Tell Us! Where Did the Coaches Poll Get it Right and Wrong?
Join the Coaches Poll Debate

We’ve officially audited USA TODAY's six biggest winners and losers from the 2026 preseason Coaches Poll, but college football is all about the debate!

The Indiana Snub: Did voters disrespect the defending national champion Hoosiers by ranking them at No. 6 behind Ohio State and Oregon?

The Kiffin Hype: Is No. 13 too high for LSU in Lane Kiffin's first year, or will Sam Leavitt lead them straight to the 12-team playoff?

The Conference War: Is the Big Ten's total dominance (8 ranked teams) proof that the national title runs through the Midwest again?

Drop your hot takes, thoughts, and own rankings in the comments!
USA TODAY's Coaches Poll Winners and Losers
Poll Position: Winners and Losers from the 2026 Preseason Coaches Poll

The official countdown to the 2026 college football season is officially underway. The freshly minted US LBM Coaches Poll just dropped, offering our first real look at how coaches, scouts, and evaluators view the national landscape before a single ball is kicked. Between heavyweights stacking the top tier, wild portal reloads earning instant respect, and defending champions getting disrespected, the initial ballot sheets generated plenty of fireworks.

We audited the entire top 25 ballot and broke down Paul Myerberg of USA TODAY's six biggest winners and losers from the debut rankings.

Check out who gained momentum and who took a hit in the initial poll.