The college football landscape is already buzzing, even after an exciting 2025 season paved the way for a whole new crop of frontrunners and dark horses. FOX Sports’ RJ Young dropped his way-too-early Top 25 and his preseason Ultimate 138 CFB Rankings, and let me tell you, things are shifting. While No. 1 held tight, Virginia fell off the list entirely, and Florida jumped in. It is officially watch-list season, Emerald City.
Who’s Rising And Who’s Got The Juice Early On
Some teams are absolutely primed for a breakout year. Look at Arizona: head coach Brent Brennan is bringing back senior quarterback Noah Fifita after notching the program’s second nine-win season in three years, and their first under Brennan. These Wildcats are gunning for a Big 12 championship run. Over in Charlottesville, Tony Elliott led Virginia to their best season in over three decades in 2025. Adding former starting quarterbacks Beau Pribula from Missouri and Eli Holstein from Pitt gives the Cavaliers experienced passers who could propel them back to the ACC title game, and maybe even win it. And don’t sleep on SMU. They’ve been remarkably consistent, falling just short of the ACC title game two seasons straight. With Kevin Jennings, one of college football’s top passers, likely in his final year, head coach Rhett Lashlee has a huge asset, especially with all the transfer portal movement.
Big Names, Big Questions For The 2026 Season
On the other side of the coin, some powerhouse programs are navigating some serious changes. USC’s Lincoln Riley, entering his sixth year, has starting quarterback Jayden Maiava returning. But they’re without Biletnikoff Award winner Makai Lemon, who declared for the NFL Draft, and defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn, who went to Penn State. Wink Martindale and Pete Kwiatkowski are among the candidates for DC, but that’s a big hole to fill if they want their first College Football Playoff appearance. Tennessee went 8-5 last year despite their starting quarterback not throwing a meaningful pass until August. Now, Josh Heupel needs to develop either redshirt freshman George MacIntyre or true freshman Faizon Brandon into a legit starter if the Vols want to surprise anyone. And then there’s Alabama. Kalen DeBoer’s first season means no starting quarterback recruited by Nick Saban. Austin Mack and Keelon Russell are in the mix, competing in a preseason derby before a starter gets named. After years as Utah’s defensive coordinator, Morgan Scalley finally gets his shot as head coach after Utah’s only two losses in 2025 came against the Big 12 championship teams. The stakes are already high for these programs.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Fox Sports.
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