12 College Football Bold Predictions For 2026, From The CFP Field To Coaching Gigs
We can't predict the future, neither can you, and in a sport like college football, chaos, upsets and endless debates are pretty much the only guarantees. But looking ahead to the 2026 college football season, we had to throw down some predictions. From the 12-team College Football Playoff field and the 2026 national champion to coaches' projections with their new teams and Heisman Trophy finalists, we're breaking down our bold predictions.
Some may come to fruition, and some may not be quite right come January, but this is how we see the season unfolding. So as FOX Sports' college football experts, here are our 12 bold predictions for the 2026 season. Perhaps my Bloomington roots are showing, but I’m shocked at how much it feels like the defending national champs aren’t being taken seriously to repeat as Big Ten champions.
Quarterback is a real question, albeit Josh Hoover has all the experience you could want in someone taking over for a Heisman winner. The defense will be as good as any in the country again and if things click under center, I like the Hoosiers to push Ohio State and Oregon for the Big Ten title. One other note that hasn’t been discussed enough — Cignetti brings back nine of his 10 on-field assistants from last year’s squad.
That’s not nothing. — Ben Portnoy In my Ultimate 138 CFB Rankings, I put North Dakota State just out of my initial top 25, and that piqued the interest of many. It might shock you that I believe the Bison will not only enter FBS and be immediately competitive but the best Group of Six team in the sport. In the eyes of the committee, that's what they'll have to achieve to make the College Football Playoff this season.
As the rules state, only the highest-ranked Group of Six program will be rewarded with a spot in the CFP — regardless of whether that team won its conference title. After announcing their move to FBS earlier this year, I asked Bison coach Tim Polasek a pointed question. "Do you think your team is capable of competing for the College Football Playoff?" I asked.
"I think I like our team," Polasek told me. "We’re going to have some learning and growing to do about our opponents, but I really like our process, the year-round work that we do and how we practice. Those things position us to be very competitive in every game.
And if you happen to knock them down one at a time, there's no reason North Dakota State can't be in the conversation for the College Football Playoff." — RJ Young After getting off to a rough start in his first year as the Longhorns starting quarterback — who wouldn’t be impacted by all that national hype and expectations? — Arch Manning will look like the five-star talent everyone has been waiting for. He gave us a taste toward the end of last season, especially against Texas A&M and Michigan, but this season he’ll find that next level. Texas has one of the more challenging schedules in the country, but Manning’s leadership and growth will have the Longhorns poised for a national championship run. — Laken Litman When discussing his chances of winning the Heisman Trophy during an interview at Big Ten Media Days last month, Smith told reporters the only way for a player at his position to accomplish that feat is if the production mimics that of former Alabama wide receiver DeVonta Smith, who caught 117 passes for a staggering 1,856 yards and 23 touchdowns in 2020.
There’s an opportunity for Smith to approach that kind of output in a receiving corps lacking proven targets behind him now that Carnell Tate is playing in the NFL. Only one receiver in college football history has eclipsed 2,000 yards in a season: Trevor Insley of Nevada in 1999. It’s time for Smith to push for that milestone. — Michael Cohen Despite all the hoopla surrounding Lane Kiffin — the latest being LSU recruiting tight end Dae’Quan Wright after he was waived by the Cleveland Browns — the Tigers will make the CFP for the first time since the 2019 season when they won the national championship.
And in doing so, Kiffin will remind the college football world just how good of a coach he truly is. — Laken Litman Realize Miami, Notre Dame, Washington and TCU combine for three more national title game appearances since 2022 than the SEC. Realize the SEC champion hasn’t reached the national title game since 2022. Realize that Mario Cristobal is 5-1 against the SEC at Miami and won his last five in a row against the league where "it just means more." Finally, realize the Big Ten has seen a member win the last three national titles and is poised to pull off a feat that only the SEC has in CFP era: feature two members from its own league in the national title game if the rankings hold true.
From Ohio State to Oregon to Indiana, there’s every reason to believe the Big Ten can increase its streak to four. But how devastating will it be to fans of the SEC if it goes 0-for-4 in national title game appearances in the same timeframe? I’d like to find out. — RJ Young Lincoln Riley has signaled he believes this might be his best Trojans' team.
A large part of his confidence centers on alignment between himself, athletics director and president at USC. He learned the value of that alignment while at Oklahoma, and has developed it at USC. He also returns a starting quarterback, in Jayden Maiava, who can lead USC past good opponents, and a pair of running backs he believes can be as productive as Joe Mixon and Samaje Perine were on his Oklahoma teams.
He brought in a College Football Hall of Fame coach as his defensive coordinator in Gary Patterson. All of this has turned me into a believer in the 2026 Trojans. — RJ Young I picked Miami quarterback Darian Mensah to take home the hardware, but the receiver class could steal the headlines in this year’s Heisman campaign. Cam Coleman is the type of freak athlete that could find his way into the mix if the Longhorns live up to their billing.
Jeremiah Smith is, well, Jeremiah Smith, and I’d be shocked if he doesn’t lead the Buckeyes and the Big Ten in receiving this year. Malachi Toney, too, will likely get some consideration if Miami is as good as advertised. What about tailbacks Kewan Lacy (Ole Miss) or Jadan Baugh (Florida)?
Or, let’s get weird and see Navy quarterback Braxton Woodson in the mix. Bring it on. — Ben Portnoy The James Franklin era begins at Virginia Tech. The Hokies went 3-9 last year, but Franklin has brought in a strong transfer class, which includes former Penn State quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer, who earned valuable experience when he replaced an injured Drew Allar last season.
The Hokies have road games at Clemson, SMU and Miami and will win at least one of those, while Franklin's former employer, Penn State, will struggle in its three toughest games against USC, Michigan and Washington. — Laken Litman DeBoer was arguably the hottest name on the coaching carousel following two incredible seasons at Washington, which ended with a national championship game appearance in 2023. Since then, though, he’s lost four games in each of his first two years at Alabama — a far cry from the impossible standard set by predecessor Nick Saban — including four defeats to unranked opponents. That’s the same number of unranked losses that Saban suffered in 17 years with the Crimson Tide.
And while DeBoer signed a new seven-year contract in April that will pay him an average of $12.5 million per season, his buyout of $10 million might be worth stomaching for wealthy Alabama fans if things go awry this fall. — Michael Cohen This isn’t the hottest take on the planet, but I have a really hard time seeing anyone from the ACC outside of Miami challenging for a College Football Playoff spot. Rhett Lashlee has done incredible work at SMU in a relatively short time, moving the Mustangs up from the American Conference to the Power Four, but I’m not sold quarterback Kevin Jennings is the guy to get the Ponies back into the CFP mix. Outside of SMU, who is challenging Miami this year?
Louisville? Maybe. Cal?
For reasons above, perhaps, but that’s asking a lot. — Ben Portnoy No Big Ten player will receive more scrutiny than Indiana quarterback Josh Hoover, a TCU transfer tasked with following in the footsteps of Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza. But head coach Curt Cignetti and his staff have proven they can identify quarterback talent as well as — or better — than seemingly everyone else, so casting doubts about Hoover seems rather foolish.
If Hoover can perform anywhere near the level established by Mendoza and predecessor Kurtis Rourke, who also guided Indiana to the College Football Playoff, then this loaded Hoosiers’ roster can extend one of the sport’s best fairytales. — Michael Cohen
