The Indiana Hoosiers owned the 2025 college football narrative, and coach Curt Cignetti engineered one of the best two-year turnarounds in the history of sports, ending with the program’s first national championship.
Indiana was, truly, unbeatable. And the first 16-0 team since Yale in 1894 will take the national title trophy home to Bloomington, Indiana.
When the Hoosiers crushed the Oregon Ducks in the CFP semifinals to improve to 15-0, they reached the level of 2018 Clemson, 2019 LSU, 2022 Georgia and 2023 Michigan for consecutive wins in a season. I felt I was watching the emergence of a new king of the sport.
Then Monday, the College Football Playoff national championship game proved me correct with the No. 1 Hoosiers’ 27-21 victory against the No. 10 Miami Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium — the Hurricanes’ own backyard.
The best team in the country heading into the 2026 season thumbed its nose at 100-to-1 preseason odds to win it all and will begin the offseason as one of the best bets to win it all again. It’s proven to be bad business to bet against Cignetti.
With that, here’s a look at my way-too-early top 25 rankings heading into the 2026 college football offseason.
2025 record: 9-4
Arizona head coach Brent Brennan returns senior quarterback Noah Fifita after the program notched its second nine-win season in three years — and its first under Brennan. Now, the Wildcats aim to make a serious run at the Big 12 championship.
2025 record: 9-4
Entering his sixth year as USC’s head coach, Lincoln Riley returns starting quarterback Jayden Maiava, but the Trojans will be without Biletnikoff Award winner Makai Lemon, who declared for the NFL Draft, and defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn, who left for Penn State. While a replacement for Lynn has not yet been named, proven defensive play-callers Wink Martindale and Pete Kwiatkowski are among the candidates who could step in to help Riley guide USC to its first College Football Playoff appearance.
2025 record: 8-5
The Vols didn’t see their 2025 starting quarterback throw a meaningful pass until August, yet they still went 8-5 and stayed ranked all season. If Josh Heupel can develop redshirt freshman quarterback George MacIntyre or true freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon into a legitimate starter, Tennessee could surprise many in 2026.
2025 record: 11-3
Virginia head coach Tony Elliott led the Cavaliers to their best season in more than 30 years in 2025. Adding former Missouri starting quarterback Beau Pribula and former Pitt starting quarterback Eli Holstein gives the Cavs experienced passers who, when healthy, could help Virginia return to the ACC title game, and perhaps even win it.
2025 record: 9-4
The Mustangs have shown remarkable consistency, falling just short of an ACC title game appearance in consecutive seasons. Likely entering his final year as SMU’s starting quarterback, Kevin Jennings gives head coach Rhett Lashlee one of college football’s top passers — a valuable asset in a season where proven quarterbacks are in high demand amid heavy transfer portal movement.
2025 record: 11-4
The Tide will enter their first season without a starting quarterback recruited out of high school by Nick Saban. With Austin Mack and Keelon Russell in the mix, head coach Kalen DeBoer has two talented quarterbacks capable of competing in a preseason derby before a starter is named.
2025 record: 11-2
After years as Utah’s defensive coordinator — and being considered the program’s head-coach-in-waiting — Morgan Scalley will get his first chance to lead the Utes. In 2025, Utah’s only two losses came against the teams that advanced to the Big 12 championship game.
2025 record: 9-4
After one of the more memorable “will he or won’t he” transfer sagas of the 2026 cycle, Huskies star quarterback Demond Williams Jr. is staying put with coach Jedd Fisch retained — keeping alive Washington’s hopes for its first 10-win season since he took over in 2024.
2025 record: 7-6
New Penn State head coach Matt Campbell left a Big 12 program he had built into a budding power to take over one of college football’s most storied programs. Players following Campbell, like former Iowa State players like quarterback Rocco Becht — along with unrealized talent such as former Ohio State running back James Peoples — should make Penn State competitive at the top of the Big Ten from Week 1 onward.
2025 record: 9-4
Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham, one of the most underrated coaches in the sport, will enter 2026 leading the winningest program in college football history with a quarterback talented enough to help the Wolverines contend for the Big Ten championship.
2025 record: 8-5
Missouri bolstered its roster by adding former Ole Miss quarterback Austin Simmons via the transfer portal. Simmons beat out Rebels quarterback Trinidad Chambliss for the starting job in 2025 — Chambliss eventually took over when Simmons was injured — and at Missouri, he’ll pair with one of the country’s best tailbacks, Ahmad Hardy, to give the Tigers a potent offensive duo.
2025 record: 10-3
Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables kept his core intact with the return of starting quarterback John Mateer, receiver Isaiah Sategna and linebacker Kip Lewis for the 2026 season. After navigating one of the nation’s toughest schedules last year, the Sooners will be poised to contend for the SEC title.
13. LSU Tigers
2025 record: 7-6
LSU head coach Lane Kiffin landed his quarterback of the future in former Arizona State starter Sam Leavitt, giving the Tigers a key piece for the 2026 season. With Blake Baker coordinating the defense, Kiffin’s Tigers should enter the year with every intention of earning a College Football Playoff invitation.
2025 record: 10-2
The Fighting Irish are assured a spot in next season’s CFP if they finish ranked among the top-12 teams in the CFP selection committee’s 2026 rankings. The additions of former Ohio State wide receivers Quincy Porter and Mylan Graham should make Notre Dame a more formidable force in the passing game, especially following the loss of running back Jeremiyah Love to the NFL Draft.
2025 record: 10-3
In the post–Diego Pavia era, head coach Clark Lea has a chance to show that his program’s success isn’t dependent on one transformational player, but on the culture that propelled Vanderbilt to its first 10-win season.
2025 record: 12-2
After narrowly missing the College Football Playoff in 2025 with true freshman Bear Bachmeier at quarterback, the Cougars should feel they are only a few plays away from making their first playoff appearance.
2025 record: 11-2
The return of Marcel Reed for the 2026 season gives Texas A&M a quarterback talented enough to win the Heisman Trophy.
2025 record: 12-2
Kirby Smart’s Georgia team learned its postseason limits with a Sugar Bowl loss to Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, whose improvisational play proved decisive. The Bulldogs will miss the production of wide receiver Zachariah Branch.
2025 record: 13-3
The Hurricanes are coming off their best season in 24 years with an appearance in a hard-fought national title game. If Miami lands a quarterback capable of navigating through the regular season and providing service to dynamic sophomore wide receiver Malachi Toney, “The U” can win its first ACC championship in school history.
2025 record: 10-3
With Texas quarterback Arch Manning receiving backfield reinforcements in 2025 All–Big 12 running back Raleek Brown and former NC State running back Hollywood Smothers, the Longhorns will feature one of the fastest backfields in the SEC.
2025 record: 13-2
With Trinidad Chambliss leading the offense, the Rebels have a quarterback who has proven he can not only guide the program to the CFP, but also win once there. While Chambliss’ eligibility for 2026 remains a legal question, his ability to perform at an elite level at the sport’s most important position is not.
2025 record: 12-2
The addition of Brendan Sorsby gives the Red Raiders one of the most established dual-threat quarterbacks in the sport heading into 2026. After winning its first Big 12 title and making its first CFP appearance, Texas Tech has become a trendy pick to emerge as a regular in the postseason tournament.
2025 record: 13-2
The Ducks fell one win short of playing for the national championship, but Oregon returns starting quarterback Dante Moore, along with one of the nation’s most talented receiving corps — led by Dakorien Moore and Evan Stewart — as the program continues inching closer to its first national title.
2025 record: 12-2
The Buckeyes lost more than three dozen players to the NFL Draft or transfer portal, but Ryan Day’s program returns starting quarterback Julian Sayin and wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. While Day lost offensive coordinator and receivers coach Brian Hartline, now the South Florida coach, he retains defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, who led the nation’s top scoring defense in 2025.
2025 record: 16-0
There’s no more Fernando Mendoza. No more Heisman winner. The dream of the 2025 season for Indiana is complete and now in the rearview mirror. Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti’s next task is to field a team that wins at least 11 games and earns a College Football Playoff invitation for a third consecutive season.
RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him @RJ_Young.
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